Manipulating and Measuring Involvement in Mass Communication Research, 1990-2009

• In Event: Advances in Measurement and Methodology

Abstract

Involvement, in its many permutations, a pivotal variable in understanding a variety of message-processing effects. This paper sought quantify and categorize the manifestations of involvement as they are practiced in the literature based on a review of 151 empirical studies of involvement published in mass communication and psychology journals in the 20 years between 1990 and 2009, including 71 in which involvement was experimentally manipulated, and 131 in which involvement was measured. The paper is provides a descriptive overview of the literature, with regard to manipulations employed, measures used, message modalities, and analyses conducted. Secondly, the paper adds synthesis by sorting the manipulations and measurements of involvement into meaningful categories, and examining how these categories compare to previous with taxonomies. Finally, based on this synthesis, we seek to identify shortcomings of the extant literature and highlight future research directions in the hopes of advancing theory-building.

Authors

• Bartosz Wojtek Wojdynski, University of Georgia

• Francesca Renee Dillman Carpentier, U of North Carolina - Chapel Hill