title: The things you do for me: perceptions of a romantic partner's investments promote gratitude and commitment.
abstract: Although a great deal of attention has been paid to the role of people's own investment in promoting relationship commitment, less research has considered the possible role of the partner's investments. An experiment (Study 1) and two combined daily experience and longitudinal studies (Studies 2 and 3) documented that perceived investments from one partner motivate the other partner to further commit to the relationship. All three studies provided support for gratitude as a mechanism of this effect. These effects held even for individuals who were relatively less satisfied with their relationships. Together, these results suggest that people feel particularly grateful for partners who they perceive to have invested into the relationship, which, in turn, motivates them to further commit to the relationship. Implications for research and theory on gratitude and relationship commitment are discussed.
authors.affiliation: 1University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Joel
authors.forename: Amie M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Emily A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Impett
authors.forename: Geoff
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Macdonald
authors.forename: Dacher
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Keltner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003380:Courtship / Q000523:psychology*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D037921:Gift Giving; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009769:Object Attachment; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: commitment; couples; gratitude; investment; romantic relationships