Several consumer studies have combined measures of opinion leadership and opinion seeking to form a richer picture of the interpersonal communication process than is possible by examining opinion leadership alone. These studies have used the following four way categorization of interpersonal communication (Schiffman and Kanuk 1987).
1) The socially integrated; This refers to those who scores high on both opinion leadership and opinion seeking. The socially integrated consumer is one who is both an opinion leader and an information seeker. This consumer is the most socially active in encouraging word of mouth communication.
2) The socially independent; The socially independent consumer scores high on opinion leadership but low on I formation seeking. This consumer represents the traditional view of opinion leadership to the two step model; a consumer who transmits information and influence but does not solicit it.
3) The socially dependent; The socially dependent consumer scores low on opinion leadership but high on information seeking. The consumer represents the traditional view of a follower an individual who is socially active in soliciting word of mouth communication,but is not an influencer.
4) The socially isolated; The socially isolated consumer scores low on both opinion leadership and information seeking. The consumer is a passive individual who receives information but does not seek it. The group is not socially active and may avoid personal influence.
