Willingness to sacrifice in close relationships.

Paul A. M. Van Lange, Caryl E. Rusbult, Stephen M. Drigotas, Ximena B. Arriaga, Betty S. Witcher, Chante L. Cox·1997·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
DOI 10.1037//0022-3514.72.6.1373

Abstract

The authors advance an interdependence analysis of willingness to sacrifice. Support for model predictions was revealed in 6 studies (3 cross-sectional survey studies, 1 simulation experiment, 2 longitudinal studies) that used a novel self-report measure and a behavioral measure of willingness to sacrifice. Willingness to sacrifice was associated with strong commitment, high satisfaction, poor alternatives, and high investments; feelings of commitment largely mediated the associations of these variables with willingness to sacrifice. Moreover, willingness to sacrifice was associated with superior couple functioning, operationalized in terms of level of dyadic adjustment and probability of couple persistence. In predicting adjustment, willingness to sacrifice accounted for significant variance beyond commitment, partially mediating the link between commitment and adjustment; such mediation was not significant for persistence.

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  2. Interdependence, Interaction, and Relationships
    Rusbult, Caryl E., Van Lange, Paul A. M. · 2003 · Annual Review of Psychology
  3. Development of prosocial, individualistic, and competitive orientations: theory and preliminary evidence
    Van Lange, Paul A. M., De Bruin, Ellen M. N., Otten, Wilma, Joireman, Jeffrey A. · 1997 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
  4. The road to forgiveness: A meta-analytic synthesis of its situational and dispositional correlates
    Fehr, Ryan, Gelfand, Michele J., Nag, Monisha · 2010 · Psychological Bulletin
  5. Cognitive interdependence: Commitment and the mental representation of close relationships.
    Agnew, Christopher R., Van Lange, Paul A. M., Rusbult, Caryl E., Langston, Christopher A. · 1998 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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How to cite

Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.

This page
CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Willingness to sacrifice in close relationships. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1037//0022-3514.72.6.1373
The paper
Lange, P. A. M. V., Rusbult, C. E., Drigotas, S. M., Arriaga, X. B., Witcher, B. S., & Cox, C. L. (1997). Willingness to sacrifice in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.72.6.1373

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