Editing Vested interest (communication theory) (section)

==Key Factors==
===Involvement===
A key factor to consider with vested interest is the level or type of involvement the individual has with a particular attitude object. This can be broken up into three main involvement components: Value-relevant, Impression-relevant, and Outcome-relevant. Value-relevant involvement concerns behaviors which support/reinforce values of the individual. Impression-relevant involvement relates to those behaviors which serve to create or maintain a specific image of the individual. This could, in some ways, be compared to a [[Self-monitoring|low-self monitor]]. Outcome-relevant involvement concerns those behaviors which hold direct personal consequences at a premium for the individual and as a result, corresponds most closely to vested interest.<ref name="Crano"/>

The concept of involvement closely relates to collaboration which encompasses value, impression and desired outcome.  Vested interest is essential in achieving success in collaboration where two or more individuals have the potential to gain or lose.<ref name="Guard">{{cite journal |last1=Guard |first1=R. |title=Musing on Collaboration and Vested Interest |journal=The Journal of Academic Librarianship |date=2005 |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=89–90 |issn=0099-1333 |doi=10.1016/j.acalib.2005.01.007}}</ref>  Organizations who strive for collaborative success benefit from understanding vested interest and that of other collaborators in order to maintain a supportive level of involvement.<ref name="Guard" />

===Ego involvement===
The way people view vested interest as distinct from [[Id, ego and super-ego|ego]] involvement, is a construct that has been the topic of social psychological research for many years.<ref>Sherif, M., & Hovland, C. (1961). Social judgment: Assimilation and contrast effects in communication and attitude change. Yale University Press</ref> In a study conducted by John Sivacek and William D. Crano,<ref name="S&C">Sivacek, J., & Crano, W. D. (1982). Vested interest as a moderator of attitude behavior consistency. 'Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 210-221</ref> they prove the aforementioned statement that ego involvement and vested interest are indeed separate. Sivacek and Crano state,<ref name="S&C"/> "It was possible to have circumstances that an individual would perceive as involving but that it would not arouse his or her vested interest." The main focus points of ego-involvement concern the individual's psychological attitudes that are experienced as being a part of “me”. The more emotionally connected people are to an idea, concept, or value, minor differences in beliefs can be viewed as significantly large and perhaps make harsh judgments or have stronger reactions. Conversely, a person with less emotional connectivity (low ego-involvement) will have more latitude in their reactions. It is important to note that while highly vested attitudes can be experienced as ego involving, the opposite is not always true. An individual can be ego involved in a certain attitude that has no hedonic consequence. For example, religious or political ideals with little or no hedonic value may still be ego-involved because individuals view those types of beliefs as part of who they are.

Ego-involvement, as it pertains to vested interest, is relative to [[Social judgment theory|Social Judgment Theory]] in that the concept of one's identity is the primary focus of efforts in continued involvement.<ref name="Sherif et al.">{{cite journal |last1=Sherif |first1=C. W. |last2=Kelly |first2=M. |last3=Rodgers Jr. |first3=H. L. |last4=Sarup |first4=G. |last5=Tittler |first5=B. L. |title=Personal Involvement, Social Judgment, and Action |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |date=1973 |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=311–313 |doi=10.1037/h0034948}}</ref>  Essential to social judgment theory is the idea of ego thus actions or ideas with a varying degree of ego involvement carry a commensurate amount of vested interest to the individual as detailed by Sherif, Kelly, Rogers, Sarup, and Tittler.  Sherif, et al.<ref name="Sherif et al." /> conducted a series of studies to develop “indicators of ego involvement” (p.&nbsp;311).  One of the leading questions they sought to answer was how much ego involvement (vested interest) does an individual in a situation with no alternatives solutions have and does this ego involvement correlate to the number of options at hand.<ref name="Sherif et al." /> Sherif et al., suggest the question was answered by Beck and Nebergall<ref name="Beck & Neberall">{{cite journal |last1=Beck |first1=D. |last2=Nebergall |first2=R. E. |last3=Sherif |first3=C.W. |last4=Kelly |first4=M. |last5=Rodgers Jr. |first5=H.L. |last6=Sarup |first6=G. |last7=Tittler |first7=B.L. |title=Relationship Between Attitude Neutrality and Involvement; (in Personal Involvement, Social Judgment, and Action) |url=http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1974-05117-001 |website=PsycNET |publisher=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |access-date=21 June 2018 |doi=10.1037/h0034948 |volume=27 |year=1973 |pages=311–328|url-access=subscription }}</ref> in 1967 who stated that individuals with little to no options have corresponding vested interest indicating low ego involvement.<ref name="Sherif et al." />

===Attitude importance===
The factor to consider with vested interest and its application towards attitude-consistent actions is attitude importance. [[Attitude (psychology)|Attitude]] (or issue) importance concerns not only matters of personal consequence, but also matters of national or international interest.<ref name="Crano"/> While both of these can fall in line with each other, vested interest and attitude importance are not the same. For example, consider the plight of an African nation that has been ravaged by an influenza epidemic. Although an individual in America may consider this objectively important, because of the low probability of personal consequence{{snd}} i.e., vested interest{{snd}} his resultant behavior may not be indicative of his attitude towards the epidemic. In other words, since the issue is of little hedonic relevance to the perceiver, the amount of vested interest is low, and is therefore unlikely to produce attitude-consistent actions. Geographic distance and cultural differences are also a factor in attitude importance. Tragic circumstances halfway around the world or shocking behaviors by members of a culture different from the perceiver, will most likely never result in attitude change. The physical distance or cultural difference of an occurrence directly correlates to the vested interest of the perceiver. Things too far away or customs perceived to be too strange will almost never trigger a vested interest.

Indicators of vested interest can include attitude importance, as detailed by Jon Krosnick<ref name="Krosnick">{{cite journal |last1=Krosnick |first1=J.A. |title=The Role of Attitude Importance in Social Evaluation: A Study of Policy Preferences, Presidential Candidate Evaluations, and Voting Behavior |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |date=1988 |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=196–198 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.55.2.196 |pmid=3171904 |s2cid=11032330 }}</ref> who defined this concept by stating that “central, ego-involved, and salient attitudes” often include attitudes significantly important to individual interests.  In politics, for example, voters have a vested interest in candidates whose values (policy) align with their own to include attitudes toward these values.  Due to the nature of politics, voters come to conclusions about one candidate over another based on perceived attitude importance (object) on these policies rather than vocal support alone placing a high value on this concept as it pertains to vested interest.<ref name="Krosnick" />

Attitude object continuously makes an issue salient which correlates to outcome relevant involvement.  Two differences exist between vested interest and outcome relevant involvement where attitude objects remain highly important.<ref name="Lehman & Crano">{{cite journal |last1=Lehman |first1=B.J. |last2=Crano |first2=W. |title=The Pervasive Effect of Vested Interest on Attitude Consistency in Political Judgement |journal=Journal of Experimental Social Psychology |date=2002 |volume=38 |issue=2 |doi=10.1006/jesp.2001.1489 |issn=0022-1031}}</ref>  Initially,  outcome relevant objects retain a high degree of vested interest while not appearing to be.  Secondly,  outcome relevant involvement suggest interest ends once the goal is achieved whereas vested interest suggests a self-perpetuated interest.<ref name="Lehman & Crano"/>