Self-determined Relationship Motives, Commitment Motivated Cognition, and Relationship Maintenance Processes
Author | : Danielle Menzies-Toman |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : |
Release | : 2008 |
ISBN-10 | : OCLC:1286076116 |
ISBN-13 | : |
Rating | : 4/5 (16 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: "The purpose of this program of research was to explore commitment-motivated relationship maintenance processes and the motivational bases of commitment to romantic relationships. In regards to the former, I was primarily concerned with demonstrating that commitment impacts not only behavioural and cognitive relationship maintenance responses, but that it also affects basic perceptual processes in relationships. In regards to the latter, I was particularly interested in utilizing self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000) to distinguish between intrinsic and identified relationship motives by demonstrating that identified motives form the basis of commitment to romantic relationships and therefore promote relationship maintenance responses. Study 1 examined benign appraisals of partner transgressions as a commitment motivated relationship maintenance response. It also examined whether these appraisals mediate the established relationship between commitment and the relationship maintenance response termed accommodation. Commitment was associated with the discrepancy between participant severity ratings and that of objective raters for a reported partner transgression. Commitment predicted these benign appraisals more for objectively less severe transgressions. Although the commitment-accommodation association was replicated, benign appraisals did not mediate this relationship. Study 2 examined the potential explanatory power of applying self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000) to the context of romantic relationships. A large scale web survey and 6 month follow-up distinguished between intrinsic, identified, and introjected motives for being in a romantic relationship by determining their unique associations with relevant relationship characteristics, relationship maintenance responses (RMRs), and persistence. The results confirmed a crucial distinction between intrinsic and identified motives in that associations between intrinsic motives and RMRs were fully mediated by satisfaction but not commitment, whereas identified motives were not mediated by satisfaction and instead partially mediated by commitment. By contrast, introjected motives were negatively related to RMRs. However, both identified and introjected motives predicted persistence whereas intrinsic motives did not. Study 3 used an experience-sampling diary methodology to examine the impact of positive and negative relationship events on the well-being and relationship maintenance responses of individuals with intrinsic and identified motives. It was found that identified individuals exhibited positive relationship illusions and were buffered from the impact of negative events whereas intrinsically motivated individuals were not. Study 4 provided experimental evidence for the associations between the relationship motives and relationship maintaining cognitions and behaviours demonstrated in studies 2-3. This study showed that priming individuals with an identified motivation for being in their romantic relationship leads to greater self-partner integration (relative to individuals primed with intrinsic motives) and greater willingness to accommodate and sacrifice (as compared to those primed with introjected motives). In sum, the present studies have important implications for our ability to accurately predict relationship well-being, willingness to engage in relationship maintenance responses, and relationship persistence, as a function of both commitment and the relationship motives that form a basis for relationship commitment."--