The extent to which people believe their partners are committed to the relationship (i.e., perceived partner commitment) may influence the extent to which people behave in a selfish manner in their relationships; however, theory and research make competing predictions about the direction of this influence. On the one hand, people may behave less selfishly toward partners who they perceive are highly committed because they may reason that those committed partners would be more likely to reciprocate such selfless behavior compared to less committed partners. On the other hand, given that partners are more likely to minimize transgressions and less likely to end a relationship to the extent that they are committed to that relationship, people may behave more selfishly toward partners who they perceive are highly committed because they may expect fewer harmful consequences from behaving selfishly toward committed partners compared to less committed partners. Given these competing theoretical predictions, the current research seeks to identify whether perceived partner commitment increases or decreases intimates’ selfishness. One correlational study consisting of a highly diverse sample of individuals (n = 307), one observational study of newlywed couples (n = 202), and one experiment with undergraduate couples (n = 252) examined whether the implications of perceived partner commitment for selfish behaviors depend on agreeableness. Results demonstrated that perceiving high commitment resulted in more selfish behavior among disagreeable participants (Studies 1-3), but less selfish behavior among agreeable participants (Studies 1 and 3). Together, these results suggest that signaling commitment to disagreeable partners may backfire in romantic relationships.The extent to which people believe their partners are committed to the relationship (i.e., perceived partner commitment) may influence the extent to which people behave in a selfish manner in their relationships; however, theory and research make competing predictions about the direction of this influence. On the one hand, people may behave less selfishly toward partners who they perceive are highly committed because they may reason that those committed partners would be more likely to reciprocate such selfless behavior compared to less committed partners. On the other hand, given that partners are more likely to minimize transgressions and less likely to end a relationship to the extent that they are committed to that relationship, people may behave more selfishly toward partners who they perceive are highly committed because they may expect fewer harmful consequences from behaving selfishly toward committed partners compared to less committed partners. Given these competing theoretical predictions, the current research seeks to identify whether perceived partner commitment increases or decreases intimates’ selfishness. One correlational study consisting of a highly diverse sample of individuals (n = 307), one observational study of newlywed couples (n = 202), and one experiment with undergraduate couples (n = 252) examined whether the implications of perceived partner commitment for selfish behaviors depend on agreeableness. Results demonstrated that perceiving high commitment resulted in more selfish behavior among disagreeable participants (Studies 1-3), but less selfish behavior among agreeable participants (Studies 1 and 3). Together, these results suggest that signaling commitment to disagreeable partners may backfire in romantic relationships.

Study 1 was a correlational study that examined whether perceived partner commitment and agreeableness interact to predict selfishness using two measures of selfishness (i.e., questionnaire, welfare trade-off task) with a diverse sample of undergraduates and crowd-sourced participants. After signing a consent form approved by the local human subjects review board, participants completed self-report measures that assessed their perceptions of their partners’ commitment, their own agreeableness, and their tendency to engage in a variety of selfish behaviors in their relationship. Study 2 was an observational study of newlyweds that assessed their tendency to behave in a selfish manner during problem-solving discussions. A community sample of newlyweds first completed measures of agreeableness and perceived partner commitment and then engaged in problem-solving discussions that were later coded for demanding behavior. Finally, Study 3 was an experiment that manipulated perceived partner commitment and subsequently assessed self-reported and observed acts of selfishness among undergraduate couples (i.e., the extent to which participants chose a disruptive noise blast for themselves or their partners)