Zachary G. Baker

An Investigation of the Rusbult Investment Model of Commitment in Relationships with Pets

ABSTRACT The present research examines relationships between people and their pets through the lens of the Rusbult Investment Model. The Rusbult Investment Model identifies important antecedents to commitment in a relationship: satisfaction with the relationship, quality of alternatives to the relationship, and investments in the relationship. In turn, commitment predicts enactment of behaviors that involve forgoing one’s own needs to benefit one’s relationship. Among these behaviors are forgiving transgressions, accommodating undesirable behaviors, and sacrificing for the sake of one’s relationship partner. Recent research has revealed that pets benefit humans through conferral of social support. By examining commitment processes in human–pet relationships, relationship duration may be maximized, leading to greater benefits for both the human and the pet. The present research surveyed pet owners about their relationship with their pet (e.g., feelings of commitment, investment) and their willingness to engage in pro-relationship behaviors (e.g., forgiveness, accommodation). Regression analyses revealed that human–pet relationships operate in a similar fashion to human–human relationships in terms of both the predictors and outcomes of commitment. This effect was observed across a range of behaviors, among different types of pets (i.e., dogs, cats, and one fish), and in the context of both current and former relationships. These results suggest that increasing satisfaction and investments and decreasing the perceived quality of one’s alternatives, either individually or in tandem, may benefit human–pet relationships. The findings are discussed in terms of the role these factors may play in pet abandonment and its costs to animal wellbeing. This discourse erects a call for experimental and intervention-focused research that might draw upon both the present and past research on commitment to pets.

An Actor–Partner Interdependence Model of Attachment and Need Fulfillment in Romantic Dyads

The present research tested the unique associations between attachment and basic psychological need fulfillment in relationships. Past research shows that anxious and avoidant attachment are associated with distinct patterns of relationship behaviors, wherein anxious attachment is related to excessive attention to the relationship and avoidant attachment is related to detachment from the relationship. Specifically, we explored the role of romantic partner’s attachment in predicting each other’s experiences of relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Across two samples of undergraduate romantic couples (n sample 1 = 156, n sample 2 = 264), one’s own anxious and avoidant attachment predicted generally lower basic psychological need fulfillment. Having a more anxiously attached partner predicted higher relatedness but lower autonomy, whereas having a more avoidantly attached partner predicted lower relatedness but higher autonomy need fulfillment. These results extend prior research, suggesting that one’s partner’s anxious and avoidant attachment has distinct implications for one’s own outcomes.

A response surface analysis of expected and received support for smoking cessation: Expectancy violations predict greater relapse

People attempting to stop smoking cigarettes (quitters) hold expectations about the extent to which their partner will provide helpful support during a quit attempt. However, these expectations may not align with their perceptions of the helpfulness of the support they receive. We examine expected and received helpful support during a quit attempt. We hypothesized that receiving less helpful support than expected (i.e., creating an expectancy violation) would be associated with the greatest return to smoking. Sixty-two quitters completed a 21-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study. They reported expected support at baseline and support receipt and smoking during the EMA phase. At follow-up, they completed an expelled breath carbon monoxide test. Analyses using polynomial generalized linear models with response surface analysis indicated that smoking outcomes depended on the joint influence of expected and received helpful support. As hypothesized, when quitters expected more helpful support than they received, they were more likely to smoke in the first 24h and the last seven days of the EMA, and they provided higher carbon monoxide readings at follow-up. These results are consistent with an expectancy violation explanation: quitters are more likely to smoke when they perceive their partner has failed to provide support that is as helpful as expected. Given the importance of support for smoking cessation, many researchers have attempted to experimentally increase provision of support. The current findings suggest that partner support interventions might backfire if the quitter is led to expect more helpful support than the partner is able to provide.

Prevent the blue, be true to you: Authenticity buffers the negative impact of loneliness on alcohol-related problems, physical symptoms, and depressive and anxiety symptoms.

This study investigated authenticity as a moderator of the association between loneliness and depressive symptoms, anxiety, physical symptoms, and alcohol-related problems. It was expected that loneliness and health outcomes would be negatively related and that relationship would be weaker among those higher in authenticity. Significant interactions emerged between authenticity and loneliness for each outcome such that authenticity mitigated the relationship between higher loneliness and negative health outcomes. Results suggest that authenticity may be an underutilized resource for lonely individuals and warrants future investigation. The potential implications are diverse and could be incorporated in college adjustment and health promotion programs.