Invested or invasive? Applying the investment model to understanding obsessive relational intrusion

• Main Author: Collier, Katherine E
• Other Authors: H. Colleen Sinclair
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: MSSTATE 2014
• Subjects: Psychology
• Online Access: http://sun.library.msstate.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-04042014-081856/

<p>The present study applied the Investment Model (IM) to predict obsessive relational intrusion (ORI). Participants (n=685) were randomly assigned to read vignettes about a hypothetical relationship termination that manipulated 1) type of rejection, 2) level of investment, and 3) quality of alternatives. Next, participants were asked to report how likely it was that they would engage in pursuit (e.g., leaving gifts and calling) and aggressive (e.g., threatening behaviors) ORI. Contrary to predictions, results indicate that although level of investment affected ones likelihood of engaging in ORI, quality of alternatives did not. Further, it was expected that a more explicit rejection would lead to greater ORI; however, I found that no rejection lead to more pursuit ORI than either internal or external rejection conditions.</p>