L12 - levels of parasocial relationships

Question 1

what - parasocial relationships?

Answer 1

Parasocial relationships are:
- one-sided relationships
- where one person expends considerable emotional energy, interest and time
- although the other person (usually a celebrity) is completely unaware of their existence

Question 2

who - parasocial relationships?

Answer 2

• typically develop with television celebrities
• but they can also occur between individuals and their favourite bloggers, social media usersand gamers

Question 3

how - parasocial relationships?

Answer 3

• The persuasiveness of mass media e.g. television + the internet gives the viewer the illusion of having a face-to-face relationship with a particular celebrity
• This associated is so strong that the celebrity becomes a meaningful figure

Question 4

when - parasocial relationships?

Answer 4

Feelings about such media personalities generally grow stronger with subsequent parasocial encounters

Question 5

3 levels of parasocial relationships

Answer 5

level 1: entertainment-social
level 2: intense-personal
level 3: borderline-pathological

Question 6

level 1

Answer 6

• entertainment-social
• celebrities are viewed as sources of entertainment + social interaction (convos)
• e.g. talking about actors + actresses in a popular show

Question 7

level 2

Answer 7

• intense-personal
• greater personal involvement in relationship w/ celebrity
• e.g. a fan of Idris Elba may have frequent thoughts + intense feelings about him
• maybe consider him to be a ‘soulmate’

Question 8

level 3

Answer 8

• borderline-pathological
• person has uncontrollable fantasies
• shows extreme behaviours
• e.g. stalking, spending large amounts of money on a celebrity-related object etc..

Question 9

ads of parasocial relationships

Answer 9

• tv characters
• celeb attractiveness
• school training

Question 10

disads of parasocial relationships

Answer 10

• education levels
• questionnaires

Question 11

tv characters - ads of parasocial relationships

Answer 11

• Supporting studies explored factors that were instrumental in the formation of parasocial relationships
• e.g. they found a positive correlation between the degree to which a person sees TV characters as being real and a tendency to form parasocial relationships

Question 12

celeb attractiveness - ads of parasocial relationships

Answer 12

• Research support for the claim that attractiveness increases the likelihood of a parasocial relationship forming
  = the attractiveness of a celebrity influences the development of the 3 levels from members of the public

Question 13

school training - ads of parasocial relationships

Answer 13

• It is recommended that training should occur in schools
  = highlight the dangers of idolising media personalities
• This is due to how parasocial relationships often result in an individual having unrealistic goals to be more similar to celebrities
  = eg. One may develop an eating disorder in order to obtain the slim body of a media star

Question 14

education levels - disads of parasocial relationships

Answer 14

• Education levels of individuals need to be taken into account
• Highly educated may perceive the majority of celebrities as less educated than themselves,
  = therefore are less likely to engage in a parasocial relationship

Question 15

questionnaires - disads of parasocial relationships

Answer 15

• Research into parasocial relationships was conducted via questionnaires
• These can be affected by socially desirable and idealised answers
  = therefore lacking validity

Question 16

similar attitudes - ads of research into parasocial relationships

Answer 16

• Turner (1993) found that parasocial relationships (friendships) tend to be formed with people online w/ similar attitudes
• supporting the idea that they are similar to real life relationships.

Question 17

younger people - disads of research into parasocial relationships

Answer 17

This research may only apply to younger people who may be more attracted to media personalities.
= This is because they have less involvement in face-to-face social networks, spend more time interacting with media than older people​