Resisting Temptation: Devaluation of Alternative Partners as a Means of Maintaining Commitment in Close Relationships

This work tested the hypothesis that persons who are more committed to their relationships devalue potential alternative partners, especially attractive and threatening alternatives. In Study 1, a longitudinal study, perceived quality of alternatives decreased over time among stayers but increased for leavers. In Study 2, a computer dating service paradigm, more committed persons exhibited greatest devaluation of alternatives under conditions of high threat—when personally evaluating extremely attractive alternative partners. In Study 3, a simulation experiment, the tendency to reject and devalue alternatives was greater under conditions of high commitment. In all three studies, tendencies to devalue were more strongly linked to commitment than to satisfaction.