Psychology Of 'Sunk Cost' Love: This Is Why People Stay In A Bad Relationship

Ever wonder why people choose to stay in a relationship that is clearly not working?

A recent study conducted in Portugal explains the science behind the "sunk cost" of love where an individual or a couple would choose to endure a failing relationship whatever it takes.

Medical Daily reported that some people would rather bear with their partners, no matter how hopeless their relationship looks like, than to let go and start all over. This is what researchers have discovered after placing 1,000 people in different relationship scenarios for them to find out what it would take for people to leave their marriage.

Based on the participants' response, 35 percent of people who had hypothetically invested a lot of time, money and effort would stick to their husband or wife despite a huge lack of love and sex. Meanwhile, 25 percent of the participants agree to leave their supposed marriage if it is still a little past honeymoon stage and if they had not yet invested much time, money and effort.

For the study, researchers grouped 1,000 people at Minho University - Rego into four groups with different hypothetical relationship situations. The first group of participants was in a supposed loveless marriage, while the second group pretended they were married for at least one year. The third group was told they have already bought a house with their spouse, while the fourth group imagined they had already invested a lot of effort in making their marriage work.

Results show that the more time, money and effort invested in a relationship, the heavier the reasons for a couple to might as well go on with it. "Together... experiments confirmed the initial hypothesis that investments in terms of time, effort and money make individuals more prone to stay and invest in a relationship in which they are unhappy," the researchers concluded.

So unless the bride wants to spend the rest of her life doomed, she might as well make sure she has got her most ideal groom.