ABSTRACT
We draw from Collins’s interaction ritual (IR) theory, with particular attention paid to power, social rigidity, and temporal orientation, to develop ideal types of involvement. In so doing, we provide a heuristic to guide empirical and theoretical research. We provide three dimensions that can be combined to explain different types of action. (1) Loss of status or power generates negative emotions; gains in power and status generate positive emotions. (2) An increase in formality and decrease in personal control indicate an increase in social rigidity; alternately, a decrease in formality and increase in personal control indicate a decrease in social rigidity. (3) A focus on the past or future activates habitual perceptions and actions, and a focus on the present activates affective resonance through mirror neurons. We also detail how each of these dimensions can manifest either actively or passively, a distinction that is crucially important for moving from one combination of these dimensions to another. Through our description of the three dimensions of social involvement and a review of passive and active manifestations, we extend and specify IR theory by detailing ideal-typical forms of involvement, and how and when involvement flows between the ideal types.
