Comparison level is an important foundation of social exchange theory in that it provides a base level of expectations against which the individual can contrast the outcomes of their current relationship. It is when the outcomes of a relationship fall below the comparison level (what is realistic and expected) that the perceived value of a relationship falls. (Sabatelli, 1988) For that reason it is important that individuals who are consciously assessing their relationship situation must establish what is a realistic expectation of a relationship and what is not. In a study that measured the expectations of premarital individuals in exclusive relationships and compared them to the expectations exhibited by recently married individuals of the same age group (20.1 years for unmarried females, 25.2 for their married counterparts, 21.6 years for unmarried males, and 25.6 for their counterparts) a disparity was displayed, exemplifying a basic misunderstanding of marital relationships by those who have never experienced them. The study expresses the disharmony between what unmarried individuals expect and what married individuals report. A scale of 1-10 was used to measure the expectations that unmarried individuals exhibited in twenty-six different areas of interpersonal communication. The most sizable differences noted by the study are intrasexual as opposed to intersexual. There is a greater disparity between the average score reported by unmarried men (204 out of 260) and married men (179 on the same scale) than between those unmarried men and unmarried women (214 of 260.) This finding suggests that individuals are likely to have more in common, with regard to relationship expectations, with members of the opposite sex, given the variable that neither have been married, than with a married member of their own sex. (Sabatelli, 1988) The largest difference in expectation scores came in sexual issues such as frequency of sexual activity, partner interest in sex, discussion of sexual issues, companionship, and displayed affection, with each variable being rated higher by the unmarried individuals than the married respondents. This lack of fundamental understanding is a well-known fact among marriage educators, who have stressed the importance of acquiring realistic expectations of marriage, and is well understood by marriage counselors who often ask individuals in troubled relationships to outline their expectations and the behaviors that fall short when exhibited by their partners (Sabatelli, 1988). How is an unmarried individual expected to construct a viable comparison level when the realities of marriage are such a drastic leap from the socially constructed expectations? Is this a cause of relationship dissatisfaction among married couples? Is it a contributing factor to the increase in divorce rates? What, if any, information can this study provide for exclusive couples who opt not to marry?
A study of cohabitating couples in Australia, compiled from census data, sheds light on the differences in the role that relationship satisfaction plays in a committed but nonmarital relationship. In a pathway analysis researchers examined the relationship that agreement and disagreement played in the behaviors of cohabitating couples over a course of three years. According to the research, perceived relationship quality, measured in self-report fashion, had a greater influence on separation than marriage in staggering abundance. 86% of couples in which the female partner reported being dissatisfied with the relationship ended unmarried as opposed to the 63% that followed that path after the male alone reported dissatisfaction. (Qu, 2009) This finding supports a substantial claim in the literature of relationship research that information on relationship satisfaction and financial security gathered from the female of a specific dyad is likely to predict future behavior of that pair when compared to the reports of the male of that couple. This is further supported when one looks to the marriage statistics. Only 36% of the couples who reported being mutually satisfied in a significant way were married by the end of the study, while 27% married with only the female being satisfied in the relationship (Qu, 2009). The power of relationship satisfaction is apparent in this study, in that it is often a determining factor in the end of a relationship or the choice to take a relationship to the next step. Is there a way to predict this variable? Can it be influenced by methods other than the assessments of the social exchange theory? Sabatelli's study insists that the behavior of a partner influences the relationship satisfaction and perceived relationship quality experienced by their counterpart.
One study, performed in Canada, measured relational-interdependent self-construal (RISC) as a predictor of perceived relationship quality using introductory psychology students whose mean age was 19.8 years and reported on experiences with friends whose mean age was 20.0 years. RISC is studied as a variable that measures how an individual factors their interpersonal relationships into their self-concept. The main hypothesis in question during the 2009 experiment conducted by researchers Marian Morry and Mie Kito would test if RISC inspired what are known as “relationship supportive behaviors” (RSB) characterized by trusting behaviors and increased disclosure. It was hypothesized that these RSB would indirectly influence the relationship quality reported through perceived fulfillment of relationship norms. This hypothesis proved problematic in that the results differed between sex. For men, there was a significant relation between the RSB and perceived relationship quality in cross-sex friendships but no such relationship existed in there same-sex friendships or in any relationships reported by women. (Morry, 2009). If these behaviors that are considered conducive to a healthy and high quality relationship are not the key to influencing an individual's perceived value of a relationship what is? Are there personal factor at work that are not measured by studying behaviors?
For the answers to what might affect an individual's comparison level, relationship satisfaction, and by extension their behaviors one must look in the basis of the theories in question. The primary factors in comparison level are the norms that individuals have come to expect in a relationship and what they feel that they deserve. Another study performed by Dr. Marian Morry measured how an individual's self-esteem influenced their metaperception (how they perceive their partner's opinion of them) and the influence that relationship had on overall relationship satisfaction. The experiment consisted of 191 introduction psychology (95 women and 96 men) whose average age was 19.8 years. In this experiment it was displayed that individuals who scored low on a scale of self-esteem consistently underestimated the perception and attributions made by their partners and reported lower relationship satisfaction while the opposite was true of those with high self-esteem (Morry, 2009). The specific hypotheses tested were first, that those high in Self-esteem would idealize their relationships and report higher metaperception than self-perception and that the inverse would be true of those low in the same measure; that they would report lower metaperception than self-perception when relating the perceptions to relationship-relevant traits such as “caring” and “invested” (Morry, 2009). Also hypothesized was the relationship between these behaviors and reported levels of relationship satisfaction. These hypotheses were proven as those low in self-esteem were deprecating, believing that their partner viewed them more negatively than they viewed themselves. As self-esteem increased this perceived regard moved toward self-verification (metaperception and self perceptions becoming equal) and then to self enhancement (metaperception exceeds self-perception) (Morry, 2009). At two standard deviations below the mean of self-esteem there was a difference of nearly one and a half points for each scale item measured on the metaperception of relationship-relevant traits, accounting for an overall difference of 10.5 points on a seven item scale. What other determining factors might there be in relationship satisfaction? Is it merely self-esteem and the behavior of a partner that influence how an individual values their relationship? What is there to be said of the resources spent on a relationship and how that cost influences perceived worth of that relationship?
The investment model, which measures an individual's commitment to a relationship by assigning importance to variables such as the quality of perceived alternatives and the resources which have been invested in the specific relationship, was tested as a predictor of relationship status and satisfaction in 1996 by researchers Jennifer Sacher and Mark Fine. This study was separated into three purposes, the first being to compare males and females from the same couple in their investment and commitment variables and then to retest and compare their satisfaction in that relationship six months later. The hypothesis of this purpose was that females would exhibit more cognitions that were geared toward maintaining a relationship than their male counterpart. The second purpose was a test of how well investment variables would predict the path taken by each couple. The specific hypothesis tested for this purpose was that high levels of commitment and low alternative quality would predict high relationship satisfaction at the second interval of testing. The third purpose was to assess differences to the extent to which males' scores and females' scores predicted relationship outcomes when drawn from the same relationship. The hypothesis at work in this purpose was that information gathered from the female of the dyad would be a stronger predictor of relationship status and satisfaction six months later. (Fine, 1996) All three of these hypotheses were proven correct as females reported higher commitment, lower alternative quality, and greater relationship satisfaction at both intervals, and the second and third hypotheses were proven simultaneously by the strong correlation between high commitment and satisfaction scores reported at the first interval by the females and the status and satisfaction reported at the second. The third hypothesis being strongly proven as only female scores at the first interval had any predictive relationship to scores recorded six months later. (Fine, 1996)
So what is it that the research community can learn from these studies? How can they be expanded upon? To better project a path for future research one must understand the shortcomings of the studies in existence. All of these studies except the Australian cohabitation research employed subjects whose mean age was less than 25 years, some going as low as 19.8. The expectations of a relationship change drastically with time as an individual's role in the life of their partner changes. One must wonder if the same levels of satisfaction would be recorded in the case of the RISC study conducted by Morry and Kito if the average age of participant's had been 30 or older. Would a male who has already established himself in a social and professional setting rely on the relationship supportive behaviors of a partner to establish his satisfaction or would the idea of “settling” and social pressures overcome shortcomings and nonconducive behaviors. One might expect that the societal influence of a family oriented society would produce a lowered threshold for acceptance of a partner in that case. Another shortcoming of these studies is the exclusion of homosexuals from the equation. If the Sacher and Fine investment study were repeated with heterosexual males would they find the relationship maintaining cognitions in one or both members of that dyad, and if so, would it predict the status of the relationship the same way? It is the general consensus that socialization of females to value relationships and include them in their self-concept more than males is the reason for the increased role women play in the determination of their relationship's course, so what would the effect of running the experiment with two men be? A researcher would be forced to control for the role each partner played in the relationship, whether it was the traditional male or female role. What of divorced individuals? Do their expectations of marriage differ from those of newlyweds in the way that newlyweds differ from unmarried respondents? The disillusionment of a divorce would undoubtedly make for lower expectations of future relationships as displayed by the self-esteem study, that those who have negative experience generalize those experiences and come to expect them.
In conclusion, the role that satisfaction plays in the course of a relationship and the construction of that satisfaction as a measurement of the relationship's quality are not fully understood by the current literature, but if the field is to expand and understand the behaviors of those who choose to continue or end their relationships more research must be done. This research must include a more broad subject base, including participants who are older, divorced, homosexual, parents, emotionally unstable, and all other variables that can influence how one might measure their own worth or that of their partner.
Bibliography:
1. Sabatelli R. (1988) Exploring Relationship Satisfaction: A social Exchange Perspective on the Interdependence between Theory, Research, and Practice
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2. Fine M. & Sacher J. (1996) Predicting Relationship Status and Satisfaction after Six Months among Dating Couples.
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3.Morry M. & Sciangula A. (2009) Self-esteem and perceived regard: How I see myself affects my relationship satisfaction.
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4.De Vaus D. & Qu L. (2009) Cohabitation and Beyond: The contribution of each partner's relationship satisfaction and fertility aspirations to pathways of cohabitating couples.
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5. Kito M. & Morry M. (2009) Relational-interdependent self-construal as a predictor of relationship quality: the mediating roles of one's own behaviors and perceptions of the fulfillment if friendship functions
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