Ego, Alter and Object: explaining Personal Involvement with a Social Object Based on Perceived Collective Involvement and Group Identification

The present paper aims at testing a model to predict personal involvement with a social object which was inspired by the social psychological triangle proposed by Moscovici. The triangle bridges three essential aspects of social psychology: the individual, the Other and a social object. It was operationalized as an empirical model to explain personal involvement with a social topic from two predictors: perceived collective involvement of group members with the same topic and group identification. The sample was formed by 805 Brazilian undergraduates. The participants completed scales that measured their identification with university students, their perception of students' involvement with two social objects, university course or job, and their own personal involvement with those topics. Regression analyses supported the hypothesis that group identification, perceived collective involvement and their interaction maintained positive relations with personal involvement. Discussion focuses on the relativity of results to specific objects, the complexity of determinant factors of personal involvement and the pertinence of the triangular look to characterize social psychological research.