Interaction Involvement Scale (IIS)

Cegala (1981) conceptualized interaction involvement (II) as a dimension of communicative competence reflecting "the extent to which an individual partakes in a social environment" (p. 112). The 18-item Interaction Involvement Scale (IIS) measures three facets of individual conversational involvement: attentiveness, perceptiveness, and responsiveness. Reliability of the IIS has been estimated by several means. Althoughthe attentiveness subscale seems most problematic (alphas have ranged from .35 to .88), most studies report reliability estimates in the .80s across the subscales and the overall scale. Researchers should be aware of, and test for, the sometimes lower reliability estimates of the subscales. Also, the scoring procedure of the scale has not been assessed. Despite its potential to measure individual cognitive and behavioral engagement when in conversations with others, few studies have employed the IIS. Researchers should exercise caution when shortening or modifying the scale.