Willingness to sacrifice in close relationships.
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 me link between commitment and adjustment; such mediation was not significant for persistence.Sometimes it is easy for close partners to coordinate their behavior in such a manner as to achieve good outcomes-when two individuals* interests align, achievement of desirable outcomes is a relatively simple matter.Unfortunately, partners' interests sometimes are at odds-what is good for one partner is not good for the other.When partners' preferences do not correspond, one or both individuals may find it necessary or desirable to sacrifice their needs for their partner's needs.How do individuals resolve the conflict between that which is best for them and that which is best for their partner or relationship?What makes individuals willing to sacrifice, and is this willingness associated with healthy couple functioning?