A New Measure of Expected Relationship Satisfaction, Alternatives, and Investment Supports an Expectations Model of Interdependence

Baker, Levi R.; McNulty, James K.; Brady, Ashlyn; Montalvo, Shae

doi:10.1017/9781108645836.015

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Whereas both past investments and future plans (collectively referred to as “valued linkages”; Agnew et al., 2008) are strong predictors of commitment, future plans seem to be an especially powerful predictor. This finding is in line with research demonstrating that expectations regarding commitment antecedents are influential predictors of current commitment level (Baker et al., 2017, 2020). Second, the perceived perceptions of important others in one's life (beyond one's partner) about one's relationship have been found to account for variance above and beyond the traditional Investment Model variables in predicting one's commitment (referred to as subjective norms; Etcheverry & Agnew, 2004).…”

Section: Investment Model Of Commitment Processessupporting

confidence: 91%

Relationship commitment regulation: Influencing a partner's commitment to achieve one's commitment goals

Machia,

Tan,

Agnew

2024

Social & Personality Psych

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We introduce a model of relationship commitment regulation, which describes how romantic partners might use empirically‐validated antecedents of commitment level strategically to influence a partner's commitment toward their relationship based on certain commitment goals they have for the relationship. People are generally aware of and relatively accurate with respect to knowing their partner's level of commitment and also have preferences regarding their desired level. We summarize key antecedents of commitment level (i.e., satisfaction level, alternative quality, investment size, future plans, and subjective norms) and then describe how each can be manipulated via relationship maintenance activities to move a partner's commitment level up or down, or maintained at a desired current level. Collectively, the model provides a strategic roadmap for actions one can take to foster desired commitment in one's partner and provides insight into the dyadic processes and outcomes of relationship maintenance.

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Section: Investment Model Of Commitment Processessupporting

confidence: 91%

Relationship commitment regulation: Influencing a partner's commitment to achieve one's commitment goals

Machia,

Tan,

Agnew

2024

Social & Personality Psych

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“…A second step for future studies is that since interdependence theory explains behavior from those attributes that reside in the dyad's interactions (and not in the individual's own attributes) (Kelley et al, 2003), another area to examine is related to the perception of the dyad's own interdependence and how this would be linked to an EER oriented to generate prosocial behaviors (Columbus & Moho, 2021). Along the same lines, in addition to the perception of interdependence, it would be relevant to consider the expectations regarding the role that interdependence plays in the maintenance of close relationships, as people base their decisions mainly on the possible options that best lead to the desired results (Baker et al, 2020). A third step would be to examine the full range of relationship functioning, as employing negative regulation strategies in the dyad might not necessarily lead to negative outcomes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional interdependence: the key to studying extrinsic emotion regulation

Kinkead

Riquelme

2022

Psicol. Refl. Crít.

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The literature on extrinsic emotion regulation or the intention to modify other people’s emotions has grown in recent years, accompanied by proposals in which its definition is made more precise, the way to understand it in relation to other related processes is delimited, and the consequences of its use in the quality of close relationships are evidenced. Conceptual reviews on this topic recognize the importance of examining the affect and dyadic dynamics that arise between those who regulate each other extrinsically. This dynamic refers to emotional interdependence, the potential of the members of a dyad to shape each other’s emotions reciprocally, particularly in those who share a close bond, such as that of a romantic couple. There is little theoretical development regarding the relevance of this characteristic in relation to EER. This article has two objectives: (1) to make a narrative synthesis of the characteristics that define EER and (2) to expand and complexify the existing model by including the emotional interdependence as a vital component in the understanding of the functioning of EER. Lastly, the role of emotional interdependence in the emergence, maintenance, and satisfaction concerning couple relationships is made explicit through phenomena such as shared reality.

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“…An abundance of research corroborates these tenets. Indeed, numerous studies have demonstrated that perceiving high quality attractive alternatives tends to decrease relationship commitment (Baker et al, 2020;Bui et al, 1996;Le & Agnew, 2001Rhoades et al, 2010;Rusbult, 1980Rusbult, , 1983Rusbult et al, 1998), which can erode the stability of the relationship (Rhoades et al, 2010). Furthermore, perceiving high quality alternatives, and subsequently experiencing low commitment, are robust predictors of infidelity (de Lenne et al, 2019;Drigotas et al, 1999;Martins et al, 2016;Mattingly et al, 2011), which is one of the strongest predictors of relationship dissolution (Amato & Previti, 2003).…”

Section: Interdependence Perspectives On Attractive Alternativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, recent research demonstrates that people are more interested in CNM to the extent that they perceive desirable alternative partners (MacDonald et al, 2021). Given that encountering desirable others often results in decreased commitment (Baker et al, 2020;Bui et al, 1996;Le & Agnew, 2001Rhoades et al, 2010;Rusbult, 1980Rusbult, , 1983Rusbult et al, 1998) and an increased risk of infidelity (de Lenne et al, 2019;Drigotas et al, 1999;Martins et al, 2016;Mattingly et al, 2011), which both tend to harm relationship satisfaction and stability (Amato & Previti, 2003;Rhoades et al, 2010), CNM may provide an option for people who are tempted by attractive others to remain committed to their primary relationship partner.…”

Section: Consensually Non-monogamous Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The changing tides of attractive alternatives in romantic relationships: Recent societal changes compel new directions for future research

Brady

Baker

2021

Social & Personality Psych

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Societal changes over recent decades have drastically transformed the frequency and manner in which people are exposed to attractive alternative relationship partners, arguably resulting in such alternatives posing a greater threat to committed relationships now than ever before. Yet despite a growing need for novel research on attractive alternatives, research on this topic has failed to account for such changes and thus is growing stagnant. Specifically, although interdependence perspectives and supporting research have consistently and robustly demonstrated that (a) attractive alternatives threaten committed relationships and (b) committed partners protect their relationships by devaluing such alternatives, research has yet to examine how the changing nature of attractive alternatives might affect these processes.To this end, the present article first reviews foundational theory and research that guided the study of attractive alternatives and then highlights how recent societal changes (e.g., technology that increases access to attractive alternatives, increasingly diverse relationship types, the emerging desire to remain single) diverge from this research and thus warrant new directions. We encourage researchers to expand how they study attractive alternatives and to ultimately reignite research on this increasingly important topic.

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A New Measure of Expected Relationship Satisfaction, Alternatives, and Investment Supports an Expectations Model of Interdependence

Cited by 4 publications

References 69 publications

Relationship commitment regulation: Influencing a partner's commitment to achieve one's commitment goals

Relationship commitment regulation: Influencing a partner's commitment to achieve one's commitment goals

Emotional interdependence: the key to studying extrinsic emotion regulation

The changing tides of attractive alternatives in romantic relationships: Recent societal changes compel new directions for future research

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