Involvement

Involvement as an Antecedent to Message Processing

Involvement is most often defined as the degree to which an individual perceives a message as being relevant because the subject matter (an idea or topic, product or service, cause, etc.) has consequences in their life. In public relations, James E. Grunig and Todd Hunt (1984) defined involvement as a degree of connectedness between an individual and a message. Robert L. Heath and William Douglas (1990, p. 179) explained that involvement “can be used to predict a person's willingness to process a message as well as the likelihood that existing message content will be used to assess each new message.”

Involvement moderates message processing because people are inundated with messages (informational overload) and have limited cognitive capacity to process information. People have been described as “cognitive misers” who are selective in what messages they pay attention to and devote only the effort necessary to make correct judgments. People are more motivated to process messages deemed relevant (high involvement) and less willing to exert the cognitive effort required if [Page 487]messages appear to be of little or no importance (low involvement).

Reviews of the involvement construct demonstrate the varying ways in which antecedent involvement is used. Blair T. Johnson and Alice H. Eagly (1989) suggested that antecedent involvement can be classified as outcome-, value-, or impressionrelevant involvement. Separately, Charles T. Salmon (1986) suggested a continuum in which involvement can be described as (a) an enduring overall personality trait, (b) a psychological state triggered by a message's connection to a person's enduring values, (c) a psychological state that results from the salience of a subject matter and a person's short-term interest in it (not necessarily linked to long-term values), and (d) as an inherent characteristic of a subject that prompts varying levels of interest among different populations. Michael D. Slater (1997) suggested that involvement is a goal-directed concept that pertains to a person's interest in processing messages based on six processing goals in which people engage.

Common types of involvement important to public relations message strategists include the following:

• 1.
  Political or civic involvement, an example of involvement as a personality trait, is the degree to which people are generally aware of and interested in news, civic affairs, or politics at the societal or organizational level. Certain individuals want to know about what's happening in the world around them without regard to particular issues. These individuals are sometimes referred to as all-issues publics.
• 2.
  Ego involvement or value-relevant involvement is the degree to which a subject or idea is of enduring importance to people because it links to their personal values or convictions. People become connected to many activities and causes that reflect important values or foster their self-identity. People can be motivated by their desire to either affirm or protect personal values.
• 3.
  Topic or issue involvement, also known as outcome relevant involvement, is one of the most studied forms of involvement and is defined as the degree to which a person is concerned about a situation (such as the impending actions by others) that could have an impact on the person's life. Topic or issue involvement can center on issues that have relatively little personal meaning for a person but could have a positive or negative consequence nonetheless. Examples include proposed changes in tax, utility, or tuition rates, which prompt short-term concerns.
• 4.
  Task involvement is the degree to which a person focuses attention on a message in order to make a correct judgment or to take action. People who know they must perform a task (such as making an unfamiliar or complex purchase, or passing a proficiency test) are usually motivated to learn information in order to attain a desired outcome. Their motivation often is based on their perceptions about the social consequences of their performance.
• 5.
  Impression-relevant involvement (IRI) is rooted in the desire to receive praise and avoid ridicule or criticism—in other words, the social rewards and consequences of communicating about one's beliefs, attitudes, or behavior. IRI is conceived as one's perceptions of others’ attitudes toward acceptance of a particular action.
• 6.
  Product involvement is the degree to which certain products or services are perceived as inherently more interesting to people than other products. High-involvement products can be described variously as entertaining (movies), stimulating (books), complex (computers), costly (homes), status conferring (cars), fashionable (clothes), or risky (exotic travel). By contrast, low-involvement products exhibit many of the opposite characteristics—uninteresting, simple, inexpensive, ordinary, and safe. Examples include many items purchased for everyday use—laundry detergent, snack foods, personal toiletries, furnace filters, and so forth. People's interest in particular categories of high-involvement products is readily evident in the media's coverage of topics, such as sports, travel and leisure, entertainment, travel, books, fashion, and interesting foods.