Maintenance Behaviors, Expectations for Maintenance, and Satisfaction: Linking Comparison Levels to Relational Maintenance Strategies

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to assess the relationship between expectancy fulfillment for the partner's use of relational maintenance activities and one's own satisfaction with the relationship. In Study 1, 478 people in romantic relationships completed questionnaires assessing their experience of their partner's use of maintenance activities relative to their expectations for the frequency with which maintenance should be performed. As interdependence theory predicts, the more one's experience with maintenance activities exceeded expectations, the more relational satisfaction was reported. The strongest predictors of satisfaction were the extent to which the partner's use of assurances and positivity exceeded one's expectations for these activities. In Study 2, 283 people in romantic relationships provided reports of their expectations for their partner's use of maintenance activities, as well as their perceptions of the frequency with which their partners actually engaged in maintenance behaviors. Results indicated that individuals had higher expectations for their partner's use of sharing tasks and assurances than for other maintenance behaviors. However, the perceived use of maintenance strategies was stronger in predicting relational satisfaction than were the discrepancy scores between expected and perceived use of such behaviors. Implications for an interdependence theory approach to relational maintenance are discussed.