The current research offers and examines the concept of commitment desirability, defined as the subjective desire to be involved in a committed romantic relationship at a given time. In pursuing their desire for a committed romance, how do individuals high in commitment desirability strategically ensure success? We suggest that high perceived partner commitment is sought by individuals who themselves desire to be involved in a committed relationship. In three studies involving individuals both currently involved and not involved in a relationship, we found support for the hypothesized interactive effect of commitment desirability and perceived partner commitment, such that greater commitment desirability was associated with more positive relationship outcomes, especially when partners were perceived to be high in commitment. The present research suggests that commitment desirability is a meaningful predictor of relationship attitudes and behaviors. Implications for understanding relationship commitment as well as future research directions are discussed.
AckermanJ. M.GriskeviciusV.LiN. P. (2011). Let’s get serious: Communicating commitment in romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 1079-1094.
2.
AgnewC. R. (2014, July). Relationship receptivity: Commitment in a changing world. Invited keynote address presented at the 2014 International Association of Relationship Research Conference, Melbourne, Australia.
3.
AgnewC. R.DoveN. (2011). Relationship commitment and perceptions of harm to self. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 33, 322-332.
4.
AgnewC. R.HaddenB. W.TanK. (2019a). It’s about time: Readiness, commitment and stability in close relationships. Social Psychological & Personality Science. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/1948550619829060
5.
AgnewC. R.HaddenB. W.TanK. (2019b). Relationship receptivity theory: Timing in close relationships. In VanderDriftL. E.ArriagaX. B.AgnewC. R. (Eds.), Interdependence, interaction, and close relationships. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
6.
AgnewC. R.VanderDriftL. E. (2018). Commitment processes in personal relationship. In VangelistiA. L.PerlmanD. (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of personal relationships (2nd ed., 437-448). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
7.
AikenL. S.WestS. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
8.
ArriagaX. B.ReedJ. T.GoodfriendW.AgnewC. R. (2006). Relationship perceptions and persistence: Do fluctuations in perceived partner commitment undermine dating relationships?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 1045-1065.
9.
BaumeisterR. F.DeWallC. N.CiaroccoN. J.TwengeJ. M. (2005). Social exclusion impairs self-regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 589-604.
10.
BaumeisterR. F.LearyM. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497-529.
11.
BrennanK. A.ClarkC. L.ShaverP. R. (1998). Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview. In SimpsonJ. A.RholesW. S. (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 46-76). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
12.
DayM. V.KayA. C.HolmesJ. G.NapierJ. L. (2011). System justification and the defense of committed relationship ideology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 291-306.
13.
De Jong GierveldJ. (2002). The dilemma of repartnering: Considerations of older men and women entering new intimate relationships in later life. Ageing International, 27, 61-78.
14.
DePauloB. M.MorrisW. L. (2006). The unrecognized stereotyping and discrimination against singles. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 251-254.
15.
DescutnerC. J.ThelenM. H. (1991). Development and validation of a fear of intimacy scale. Psychological Assessment, 3, 218-225.
16.
EmeryL. F.LeB. (2014). Imagining the white picket fence: Social class, future plans, and romantic relationship quality. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5, 653-661.
17.
FinkelE. J.EastwickP. W. (2008). Speed-dating. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 193-197.
18.
FraleyR. C.HeffernanM. E.VicaryA. M.BrumbaughC. C. (2011). The Experiences in Close Relationships–Relationships Structures questionnaire: A method for assessing attachment orientations across relationships. Psychological Assessment, 23, 615-625.
19.
GirmeY. U.AgnewC. R.VanderDriftL. E.HarveyS. M.RholesW. S.SimpsonJ. A. (2018). The ebbs and flows of attachment: Within-person variation in attachment undermine relationship wellbeing across time. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114, 397-421.
20.
GirmeY. U.OverallN. C.FaingataaS.SibleyC. G. (2015). Happily single: The link between relationship status and well-being depends on avoidance and approach social goals. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 7, 122-130.
21.
HaddenB. W.AgnewC. R.TanK. (2018). Commitment readiness and relationship formation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44, 1242-1125.
22.
HayesA. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
23.
HolmesJ. G.RempelJ. K. (1989). Trust in close relationships. In HendrickC. (Ed.), Close relationships (pp. 187-220). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
24.
HouseJ. S.LandisK. R.UmbersonD. (1988). Social relationships and health. Science, 241, 540-545.
25.
LeB.AgnewC. R. (2003). Commitment and its theorized determinants: A meta-analysis of the investment model. Personal Relationships, 10, 37-57.
26.
LearyM. R.BaumeisterR. F. (2000). The nature and function of self-esteem: Sociometer theory. In ZannaM. P. (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 32, pp. 1-62).San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
27.
LiN. P.BaileyJ. M.KenrickD. T.LinsenmeierJ. A. W. (2002). The necessities and luxuries of mate preferences: Testing the tradeoffs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 947-955.
28.
LiN. P.LimA. J. Y.TsaiM. H. O. J. (2015). Too materialistic to get married and have children?PLoS ONE, 10(5), e0126543.
29.
ManningW.BrownS. L. (2011). The demography of unions among older Americans, 1980-present: A family change approach. In SetterstenR. A.AngelJ. L. (Eds.), Handbook of sociology and aging (pp. 193-210). New York, NY: Springer.
30.
MikulincerM.ShaverP. (2007). Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics and change. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
31.
MurrayS. L. (1999). The quest for conviction: Motivated cognition in romantic relationships. Psychological Inquiry, 10, 23-34.
32.
MurrayS. L.HolmesJ. G.CollinsN. L. (2006). Optimizing assurance: The risk regulation system in relationships. Psychological Bulletin, 5, 641-666.
33.
MurrayS. L.HolmesJ. G.GriffinD. W. (2000). Self-esteem and the quest for felt security: How perceived regard regulates attachment processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 478-498.
34.
MurrayS. L.HolmesJ. G.MacDonaldG.EllsworthP. C. (1998). Through the looking glass darkly? When self-doubts turn into relationship insecurities. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 1459-1480.
35.
OverallN. C.FletcherG. J.SimpsonJ. A. (2006). Regulation processes in intimate relationships: The role of ideal standards. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 662-685.
36.
OwenK.RhoadesG.ShuckB.FinchamF. D.StanleyS.MarkmanH.KnoppK. (2014). Commitment uncertainty: A theoretical overview. Couple & Family Psychology: Research & Practice, 3, 207-219.
37.
PennerA. M.SapersteinA. (2008). How social status shapes race. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105, 19628-19630.
38.
PillsworthE. G.HaseltonM. G. (2005). The evolution of coupling. Psychological Inquiry, 16, 98-104.
39.
ReisH. T.ClarkM. S.HolmesJ. G. (2004). Perceived partner responsiveness as an organizing construct in the study of intimacy and closeness. In MashekD.AronA. (Eds.), The handbook of closeness and intimacy (pp. 201-225). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
40.
RusbultC. E.AgnewC. R. (2010). Prosocial motivation and behavior in close relationships. In MikulincerM.ShaverP. R. (Eds.), Prosocial motives, emotions, and behavior (pp. 327-345). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
41.
RusbultC. E.BuunkB. P. (1993). Commitment processes in close relationships: An interdependence analysis. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 10, 175-204.
42.
RusbultC. E.MartzJ. M.AgnewC. R. (1998). The Investment Model Scale: Measuring commitment level, satisfaction level, quality of alternatives, and investment size. Personal Relationships, 5, 357-391.
43.
RusbultC. E.Van LangeP. A. M. (1996). Interdependence processes. In HigginsE. T.KruglanskiA. (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (pp. 564-596). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
44.
SimpsonJ. A.CollinsW. A.SalvatoreJ. E. (2011). The impact of early interpersonal experience on adult romantic relationship functioning: Recent findings from the Minnesota longitudinal study of risk and adaptation. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 355-359.
45.
SimpsonJ. A.GangestadS. W. (1991). Individual differences in sociosexuality: Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 870-883.
46.
SngO.NeubergS. L.VarnumM. E. W.KenrickD. T. (2017). The crowded life is a slow life: Population density and life history strategy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 112, 736-754.
47.
SpielmannS. S.MacDonaldG.MaxwellJ. A.JoelS.PeragineD.MuiseA.ImpettE. A. (2013). Settling for less out of fear of being single. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 1049-1073.
48.
SpielmannS. S.MacDonaldG.TackettJ. L. (2012). Social threat, social reward, and regulation of investment in romantic relationships. Personal Relationships, 19, 601-622.
49.
TanK.AgnewC. R. (2016). Ease of retrieval effects on relationship commitment: The role of future plans. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42, 161-171.
50.
TanK.AgnewC. R.VanderDriftL. E.HarveyS. M. (2015). Committed to us: Predicting relationship closeness following nonmarital romantic relationship breakup. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 32, 456-471.
51.
VanderDriftL. E.AgnewC. R.WilsonJ. E. (2009). Non-marital romantic relationship commitment and leave behavior: The mediating role of dissolution consideration. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 1220-1232.
52.
VanderDriftL. E.LehmillerJ. J.KellyJ. R. (2012). Commitment in friends with benefits relationships: Implications for relational and safe-sex outcomes. Personal Relationships, 19, 1-13.
53.
Van LangeP. A. M.OttenW.De BruinE. M.JoiremanJ. A. (1997). Development of prosocial individualistic, and competitive orientations: Theory and preliminary evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 733-746.
54.
WestT. V.KennyD. A. (2011). The truth and bias model of judgment. Psychological Review, 118, 357-378.
55.
WieselquistJ.RusbultC. E.FosterC. A.AgnewC. R. (1999). Commitment, pro-relationship behavior, and trust in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 942-966.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
