Obtaining a Behavioral Measure of Sacrifice without Assessing Romantic Couples

Often in romantic relationships, conflict arises which may be resolved when one partner gives up their own self-interests for the well-being of their partner or relationship. Past research has focused on sacrifice through self-reported measures of hypothetical behavior and measures involving both partners in the relationship. The current study sought to create an inexpensive behavioral measure of sacrifice in which only one partner was required to participate. Participants across two samples of college students answered surveys about their relationship and were then given the option to enter either themselves or their partners into a free raffle for a magazine subscription. Results indicated that greater commitment predicted sacrificial behavior; however, gender differences in sacrificial behavior were inconsistent between the two samples. The current study suggests that behavioral measures, such as a magazine raffle, can be cost-effective and efficient ways to measure sacrifice without relying on hypothetical situations or self-report.