Commitment as a superordinate goal in romantic relationships
Abstract
Within close relationships, people pursue a wide range of goals over both long and short time periods. Recent theorizing argues that all goals can be conceptualized as cognitive constructs existing in a cognitive goal hierarchy (Kruglanski et al., 2002). A goals-as-cognitive-constructs perspective provides important descriptions of the form and function of a goal hierarchy. The cognitive properties of a goal hierarchy can be applied to a wide range of research areas in which goals are pursued. The importance of close relationships in people's lives as well as the large numbers of goals that people pursue in relationships suggests that the application of a cognitive goal perspective would add to our understanding of relationship cognition and behavior. Within the close relationships literature, commitment to a relationship is a well-researched relationship motive that fits well within the concept of a cognitive goal hierarchy. Considering commitment to a relationship as a superordinate goal in a cognitive hierarchy suggests several hypotheses about the influence of commitment on relationship goals and behavior. This dissertation describes three experiments that test how differing levels of commitment influence the importance of commitment-related goals, cognitive facilitation and inhibition among these goals, and how level of commitment influences persistence on a relationship-enhancing task in the face of exposure to appealing alternative behaviors. The results support the hypothesis that changes in commitment influence motivational aspects of goals and behavior but little support is found for cognitive effects of changes in commitment.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Agnew, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Social psychology
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