What is the role of investments in relationship commitment?

• A. Investments only matter in monetary terms.
• B. Higher investments typically lead to greater commitment due to the perceived loss.
• C. Investments have no impact on commitment.
• D. Higher investments decrease commitment.

Answer: (B)

Investments in a relationship are the resources you’ve put into it that would be lost if the relationship ended—time, shared memories, future plans, mutual friends, emotional energy, finances, and other commitments. This idea is central to Rusbult’s Investment Model of Commitment, which shows that commitment grows not only from satisfaction or from fewer attractive alternatives, but also from the investments you’ve made. When you have more to lose, leaving the relationship becomes a bigger cost, so you’re more likely to stay. This is about the perceived loss and the sunk-cost feeling that makes commitment stronger as investments increase. It’s important to remember that investments aren’t just monetary; they’re all the nontransferable resources you’ve tied to the partnership, which helps explain why higher investments raise commitment rather than lower it.