Components of Involvement

What it measures

One of the earliest multidimensional conceptualisations of consumer involvement, the CP scale decomposes involvement into six theoretically distinct components. Lastovicka and Gardner (1979) drew on earlier work by Krugman (1965) and Rothschild (1979) to distinguish cognitive facets (importance, interest, risk probability), affective facets (pleasure), social-symbolic facets (sign value), and consequence-related facets (risk importance). The six-component model strongly influenced subsequent instrument development, most notably Laurent and Kapferer's (1985) CIP. Importance and Interest items most reliably differentiate high- from low-involvement product classes; Sign Value items differentiate publicly versus privately consumed products. Risk Importance and Risk Probability are theoretically orthogonal.

Response format

5-point Likert (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree); six subscales scored separately

Scale items

Importance — IMP (3 items): perceived personal relevance and significance of the product class. 5-point Likert.

• This product is important to me.
• I care a great deal about this product category.
• This product matters to me personally.

Pleasure — PL (2 items): hedonic enjoyment derived from buying in this product class. 5-point Likert.

• Buying this product is a pleasurable experience.
• I enjoy shopping for this type of product.

Interest — INT (2 items): general curiosity and ongoing interest in the product category. 5-point Likert.

• I have a strong interest in this product category.
• This product category is fascinating to me.

Sign Value — SV (3 items): degree to which product ownership communicates the consumer's identity or values. 5-point Likert.

• You can tell a lot about a person from the brands of this product they choose.
• Owning this product says something about the kind of person I am.
• The choice of this product is a reflection of who I am.

Risk Importance — RI (2 items): perceived severity of consequences of a wrong choice. 5-point Likert.

• If I made a wrong choice of this product, it would be a big mistake.
• It would bother me greatly if I chose the wrong brand of this product.

Risk Probability — RP (2 items): perceived likelihood of making a wrong choice. 5-point Likert.

• I am often uncertain which brand of this product to buy.
• I find it difficult to make the right choice in this product category.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Subscales should not be summed into a total score. The scale is product-category generic; replace 'this product' with the focal category. Risk Importance and Risk Probability are conceptually and empirically distinct. Laurent and Kapferer (1985) CIP is the preferred validated successor for most research applications.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Lastovicka, J.L., & Gardner, D.M. (1979). Components of involvement. In J.C. Maloney & B. Silverman (Eds.), Attitude Research Plays for High Stakes (pp. 53–73). American Marketing Association.

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