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Investigating the Behavioral Indicators of Relational Commitment

University of Nevada, Reno, dweigel{at}unr.nevada.edu

Deborah S. Ballard-Reisch

University of Nevada, Reno

Although the commitment literature has made good progress at explaining why people stay in or leave relationships, much of this literature does not address the daily behavioral aspects of relationship commitment. This article reports the results of two studies undertaken to more systematically investigate the behavioral indicators of commitment. The first study asked 248 people what things they do or say to show their commitment to their partners. Participants identified a total of 928 behaviors that were coded into 10 major categories of indicators of commitment: providing affection, providing support, maintaining integrity, sharing companionship, making effort to communicate, showing respect, creating a relational future, creating a positive relational atmosphere, working on relationship problems together, and expressing commitment. A second study with a new sample of 350 people was under- taken to explore the association between the use of these behavioral indicators and both structural and perceptual elements of the relationship. Results showed that there were significant differences in the use of behavioral indicators depending on relationship type and sex. Results also showed that the greater the use of specific behavioral indicators, the higher the levels of commitment and satisfaction.

Key Words: behavioral indicators • commitment • satisfaction

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