Love and commitment in close relationships

Abstract

Kelley's (1979) Interdependence Theory and his (1983) conceptualization of love and commitment as well as Johnson's (1991) framework of commitment formed the basis for hypotheses regarding the prediction of commitment from love and other variables. From a sample of college students who were primarily steadily dating, mixed support for the hypotheses was obtained. Using Steck et al.'s (1983) love subscales, the caring aspect of love was not more predictive of commitment than the trust or need aspects of love. Unexpectedly, factor analysis on Steck et al.'s (1983) love scale resulted in two rather than three components of love. As expected, the predictors of commitment were associated with one another. Contrary to predictions, structural, external variables (alternatives to the current relationship) were more predictive of commitment than personal, internal variables (love and inequity). Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.