Parasocial relationships Flashcards
What is a parasocial relationship
unreciprocated relationship with celebrity where fan expends lots of emotional energy/time/commitment
What are the three levels of parasocial relationships on the celebrity attitude scale
(McCutheon)
Entertainment social
Intense personal
Borderline pathological
What is the entertainment social level on the celebrity attitude scale
-Least intense
-Celebs sources of entertainment/fuel for social interaction (e.g friends discuss eastenders)
What is the intense personal level on the celebrity attitude scale
-Intermediate
-Greater personal involvement e.g obsessive thoughts/intense feelings about celebrity
What is the borderline pathological level on the celebrity attitude scale
Uncontrollable fantasies/extreme behaviours because of celebrity
-e.g performing illegal act for them like stan
What causes the absorption addiction model
People with deficiencies in their own lives use celebrities to escape from reality
What is the absorption addiction model
Absorption: become preoccupied with celebrity and identify with them
Addiction: needs to get closer to celebrity to gain satisfaction
-More extreme behaviours/delusional thinking (e.g stalking celebrity)
Attachment theory explanation of parasocial relationships
Insecure-resistant attachment types most likely to form as want unfulfilled needs met without the possibilities of rejection/break-up
Strength of celebrity attitude scale model
Research support
-e.g McCutheon found borderline-patholical/intense personal pps had higher anxiety in their real life relationships than entertainment-social
Suggests celebrity-worshippers can usefully be classified into three categories and these are predictive of actual behaviour
Strength of absorption addiction model
Research showing link between celebrity worship and body image
-e.g Maltby found girls with poor body image had intense-personal parasocial relationship with celebrity whose body shape they admired
Supports models prediction of link between poor psychological functioning and level of parasocial relationship
Strength of attachment theory
Research support for view that driver of forming ps is independent of cultural influences
-e.g Dinkha found insecurely attached formed most intense PS in individual/collectivist cultures
Supports view that attachment type is universal explanation for parasocial relationships
Weakness of attachment theory
Other evidence not supportive
-e.g McCutcheon found with his American pps insecure attachments were no more likely to form than secure
