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Home→The Westburn Dictionary of Marketing→E→ego-involvement

ego-involvement

Definition:
Defined by Robertson et al. (T.S. Robertson, J. Zielinski and S. Ward, Consumer Behaviour, Glenview: Scott Foresman, 1984) as 'the proximity of a persuasive attempt (such as an ADVERTISEMENT) to attitudes which define a person's status or give him some relative role with respect to other individuals, groups or institutions'. As part of Sherif's theory of social judgement, reported by Robertson et al., it is suggested that there are three possible outcomes of a persuasive attempt. It may fall within the latitude of acceptance (usually when it advocates an opinion consistent with the individual's existing beliefs) resulting in assimilation, positive evaluation and consequently positive attitude change; it may fall within the latitude of rejection (ADVERTISING counter to the individual's beliefs in this case) being resisted, or evaluated as biased, producing attitude change opposite in the direction to the intentions of the ADVERTISER; or, it may fall within the latitude of non-commitment, when the advertising is not relevant to any existing beliefs, and involvement is low. Social judgement theory also states that an individual in a highly ego-involved purchase situation will have a narrow latitude of acceptance. Robertson et al. give the example of a person whose ego is involved in the purchase and ownership of a car will tend to reject competing ADVERTISEMENTS, whereas a less involved person will be likely to be less resistant.

Cross-References:
[advertisement, advert, ad] [advertiser] [advertising]

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© Westburn Publishers Ltd 2002, The Westburn Dictionary of Marketing edited by Michael J Baker, ISBN 978-0-946433-01-8. www.themarketingdictionary.com. Entry: [Graham K. Peaston and Michael J. Baker], [1998].