The Collaborative International Dictionary
Vested interest \Vest"ed interest\
a special personal interest, usually financial, in an existing system, law, or institution, which hinders a person from making objective decisions regarding that system, law, or institution. A vested interest may be one which benefits a relative, or, in an extended sense, one which defends a person's own reputation or previously expressed views.
a right given to an employee by a pension plan, which cannot be taken away.
pl. the persons, corporations, or other groups which benefit most (usually financially) from the existing system of institutions, laws, and customs.
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context legal English) a right or title that can be conveyed 2 a fixed right granted to an employee, especially under a pension plan 3 a stake, often financial, in a particular outcome 4 a group of people or organizations with such a stake 5 an exceptionally strong interest in protecting or promoting something to one's own advantage
WordNet
n. (law) an interest in which there is a fixed right to present or future enjoyment and that can be conveyed to another
groups that seek to control a social system or activity from which they derive private benefit
Wikipedia
Vested interest is the special interest in an existing system, arrangement, or institution for particular personal reasons, is a communication theory that seeks to explain how influences affect behavior. As defined by William Crano, vested interest refers to the amount that an attitude object is deemed hedonically relevant by the attitude holder. In Crano's theory of vested interest, he states that "an attitude object that has important perceived personal consequences for the individual will be perceived as highly vested. Highly vested attitudes will be functionally related to behavior". Simply put, when people have more at stake with the result of an object (like a law or policy) that will greatly affect them, they will behave in a way that will directly support or defy the object for the sake of their own self-interest.
For example, a 30-year-old learns that the legal driving age in his state is being raised from 16 to 17. While he may not agree with this proposed change, he is not affected as much as a 15-year-old would be and is unlikely to protest the change. A 15-year-old, however, has much to lose (waiting another year to get a driver license) and is more likely to vehemently oppose the new proposed law. To gather support for his position, a course of action the 15-year-old might take would be to tell other soon-to-be drivers about the new law, so that they collectively have a vested interest in perhaps changing the law. This example illustrates the point that highly vested attitudes concerning issues depend on situational point of view.
Vested interest or Vested interests may refer to:
- Vested interest (communication theory), a communication theory that seeks to explain how influences affect behavior
- Vesting, a term used in law and finance to describe a right to possess an asset, in the present or at some point in the future
Usage examples of "vested interest".
A major problem in the contemporary (political) Third World is that the educated classes tend to be the children of the wealthy, with a vested interest in the status quo, and are unaccustomed either to working with their hands or to challenging conventional wisdom.
Unfortunately for those with a vested interest in other people's misery, Blackstone was himself quite wealthy, and not in the least averse to putting his money where his mouth was.
There are any number of people, or toys, with a vested interest in seeing we don't get that far.
The viewscreen was a standard model of the type issued by the POPPA propaganda machine, with its vested interest in reaching the masses.
So they have a vested interest to see me sell as many tons as possible.
If someone spoke of Baltimores vested interest in the Eastern Shore, Daniel Webster had the figures supporting this claim, and he became a more clever advocate than the Baltimorean.
The UN subscribing bodies, both governmental and quasi-governmental, have a vested interest in this for obvious reasons.