1) Imagine there is a couple (Sid & Nancy) who have been married for 6 years. Si
ID: 3462090 • Letter: 1
Question
1) Imagine there is a couple (Sid & Nancy) who have been married for 6 years. Sid and Nancy live in a single family home, have 3 children, and one car. Sid is a successful attorney and Nancy is a stay at home mom who has not worked at all while married to Sid. For the past 3 years Sid has been physically abusive to Nancy. Over time the frequency and severity of Sid’s abuse has increased. As Nancy’s close friend, you are very worried about her safety and wonder why she doesn’t just leave Sid. Consider the following 3 theories of relationship satisfaction and commitment: Equity Theory, Investment Theory, Interaction Dynamics. Indicate which one of these 3 theories can explain why Nancy does not leave Sid and discuss how the theory explains Nancy’s reluctance to leave Sid. (2 points)
Explanation / Answer
Answer: the investment model
The investment model explains commitment on the basis of different levels of satisfaction. According to this model, people may be having low level of satisfaction, but they continue to be in a relationship because of the presence of lower numbers of alternatives. Other options would be to live alone and not to provide properly for her children. She had not been working since her marriage, and has had at least a 6 year gap in her job. Also, she has not had any job options and is not sure if she would be able to provide for her children. Hence, the reference model would be the investment model.
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