PY-04 Should I Stay, or Should I Go? Applying the Investment Model to College Commitment
Start Date
31-3-2023 10:30 AM
End Date
31-3-2023 12:30 PM
Document Type
Poster
Abstract
Staying in college is a balancing act comprised of weighing the pros and cons associated with obtaining a higher education. Choosing whether to stay in college, transfer to another institution, or seek permanent employment is based on individual circumstances and many factors may contribute to one’s decision.
The investment model states that romantic relationships are based on three factors: satisfaction, investments, and alternatives (Rusbult, 1980). Previous research has indicated that satisfaction and investment are positively associated with commitment and alternatives are negatively associated with commitment (Rusbult, 1980). Additionally, past literature has shown from an academic perspective that student commitment should increase when there is high satisfaction, low alternatives, and high investment (Cini & Fritz, 1996).
Still, this research is limited to non-experimental approaches and more research is needed to better understand how the investment model can be applied in other academic contexts.
In the current study, we applied the model from an academic perspective to determine if three factors have a relationship with whether an individual decides to stay at their current college or transfer to another college. We utilized a between-subjects design, where all participants were asked to read a scenario, describing how unforeseen circumstances caused by the pandemic may cause them to leave their current college.
In each scenario, satisfaction, alternatives, and investment were either high or low. Thus, the six between-subjects conditions included: (1) high satisfaction, high alternatives, high investment; (2) high satisfaction, low alternatives, low investment; (3) low satisfaction, high alternatives, high investment; (4) low satisfaction, low alternatives, low investment; (5) high satisfaction, high alternatives, low investment; and (6) low satisfaction, low alternatives, high investment.
After reading the scenario, participants were asked to rate how much they wanted to stay or transfer to another college based on their scenario’s conditions. We hypothesized that participants in scenarios where they have high satisfaction and investments will be more inclined to stay at their current college than transfer since they are more positively associated with commitment.
PY-04 Should I Stay, or Should I Go? Applying the Investment Model to College Commitment
Staying in college is a balancing act comprised of weighing the pros and cons associated with obtaining a higher education. Choosing whether to stay in college, transfer to another institution, or seek permanent employment is based on individual circumstances and many factors may contribute to one’s decision.
The investment model states that romantic relationships are based on three factors: satisfaction, investments, and alternatives (Rusbult, 1980). Previous research has indicated that satisfaction and investment are positively associated with commitment and alternatives are negatively associated with commitment (Rusbult, 1980). Additionally, past literature has shown from an academic perspective that student commitment should increase when there is high satisfaction, low alternatives, and high investment (Cini & Fritz, 1996).
Still, this research is limited to non-experimental approaches and more research is needed to better understand how the investment model can be applied in other academic contexts.
In the current study, we applied the model from an academic perspective to determine if three factors have a relationship with whether an individual decides to stay at their current college or transfer to another college. We utilized a between-subjects design, where all participants were asked to read a scenario, describing how unforeseen circumstances caused by the pandemic may cause them to leave their current college.
In each scenario, satisfaction, alternatives, and investment were either high or low. Thus, the six between-subjects conditions included: (1) high satisfaction, high alternatives, high investment; (2) high satisfaction, low alternatives, low investment; (3) low satisfaction, high alternatives, high investment; (4) low satisfaction, low alternatives, low investment; (5) high satisfaction, high alternatives, low investment; and (6) low satisfaction, low alternatives, high investment.
After reading the scenario, participants were asked to rate how much they wanted to stay or transfer to another college based on their scenario’s conditions. We hypothesized that participants in scenarios where they have high satisfaction and investments will be more inclined to stay at their current college than transfer since they are more positively associated with commitment.