Interaction involvement is defined as the extent to which an individual participates in a social environment. This entails the individual’s being aware of his or her own thoughts/feelings about messages from others, as well as attending to the likely meanings other people intend for their messages. It also means responding to those messages in an effective, appropriate manner. As such, interaction involvement is a fundamental element of competent interpersonal communication. This entry describes the components of interaction involvement and how these relate to interpersonal communication

The concept of interaction involvement is grounded in the early work of Erving Goffman. Among other important ideas, Goffman observed that interpersonal society is governed by the meanings and interpretations people attribute to social acts, the pattern of verbal and nonverbal behavior that expresses one’s view of the situation and evaluation of the participants, including self. Such a view of communication underscores the realities of interpersonal society as extremely fragile, whereby the slightest untoward act can potentially tear a delicately woven social fabric and significantly affect how one sees the relationships among participants and the reality of what is going on at a particular moment. Thus, the collective sense of social reality based on interaction is sustained by each person’s assumed responsibility for regulating the flow of communicative events

Source : Littlejohn, Stephen W and Karen A.Floss. (2009). Encyclopedia of Communication Theory.USA:SAGE. 595

Penanggungjawab naskah :

Gayes Mahestu
Edwina Ayu Kustiawan