parasocial relationships✅ Flashcards
what is it?
when a fan knows all about a celeb but they dont even know they exist
what are the 3 levels of the celebrity attitude scale introduced by maltby?
1️⃣ entertainment - social … least intense form of celeb worship, they’re seen as source of entertainment and social interaction
2️⃣ intense personal …. intermediate level which reflects a greater personal involvement in a parasocial rship with a celebrity. A fan might have frequent obsessive thoughts and intense feelings about them. They may consider them as a ‘soul mate’.
3️⃣ borderline pathological ….. strongest level of worship, featuring uncontrollable fantasies and extreme behaviours. Might include spend a lot of money on a celebrity-related object or performing some illegal act on the celebrity.
the absorption - addiction model:
what is it , when came up with it
what are there 2 components of the model?
what is absorption?
what is addiction?
- parasocial ships allow an escape from reality or. way of finding fulfilment … McCutcheon
- absorption and addiction
- absorption = seeking fulfilment in celeb worship bc It motivates them ti ficus all their attention on them and identity with them
- addiction = individual need ti sustain their commitment to the ship by feeling a closer and stronger involvement with the celeb, leading to delusion thinking and extreme behav.
attachment theory explanation:
what dud bowlbys theory suggest?
what are there 2 types of attachment Ainsworth associate with unhealthy emotional development?
- early difficulties many lead to emotional troubles later on in life
- insecure resistant = unfulfilment lead them to be more likely to form parasocial rships
- insecure avoidant = avoid pain and rejection, parasocially or socially
ao3
✅ 2 strengths
❌ 2 weaknesses
✅ support for the model. Maltby and his colleagues (2005) investigated the link between celebrity worship and body image in males and females aged 14 to 16 years. Of particular interest were females reporting an intense-personal parasocial relationship with a female celebrity who body shape they admired. The researchers found that these female adolescents tended to have a poor body image and speculated that this link may be a precursor to the development of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa. validity of the model is increased.
✅ cultural influences (issues and debates) Research studies have identified a tendency for some people to form a parasocial relationship with Harry Potter, an entirely fictional character. Developing this, Schmid and Klimmt (2011) report that this tendency is not culturally specific.
Using an online questionnaire, they found similar levels of parasocial attachment to Harry Potter in an individualist culture (Germany) and a collectivist culture (Mexico). the research isn’t culturally bound
❌ rely heavily on self-report methods, such as interviews and questionnaires. These methods may not reflect the true picture, as participants may want to answer in a way that reflects them in better light (social desirability bias) and may not respond truthfully to the questions. This means that the reasons for developing parasocial relationships may be different from the ones uncovered by research, which lowers the validity of these explanations, making them less applicable to real life.
❌ problems with attachment theory, McCeutchen et al measured attachment types and celebrity related attitude in 299 ppts. found that the ppts insecurely attached were no. ore likely to form parasocial ships then those securely attach. This finding fails to support a central prediction of the attachment theory, raising serious doubts about its validity.
