Dr. Rhonda Balzarini is an Assistant Professor at Texas State University and an Affiliate Faculty member with the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University. Dr. Balzarini is a social psychologist studying the interpersonal processes that enhance and detract from the quality of romantic and sexual relationships. Her recent research focuses on how diverse couples can have satisfying and passionate relationships and successfully navigate challenges and distressing situations.Â
Understanding the online performer-client relationships
The Investment Model, with its focus on satisfaction, quality of alternatives, and investments, offers a valuable framework for understanding the dynamics of online relationships, particularly those between cam performers and their clients. Despite the unique nature of these relationships, the core principles of the Investment Model can still be applied to shed light on the commitment levels seen in these digital interactions.
The Investment Model of intimate relationships, developed by Rusbult in 1980, is the most prominent and widely used theory aiming to predict commitment in interpersonal relationships. Building on Thibaut and Kelley’s Interdependence Theory, this model poses that commitment to a relationship increases under three main conditions: Satisfaction, Quality of Alternatives and the Investment we make into our relationships.
