Parasocial relationships Flashcards
Outline
Parasocial relationships are one sided unreciprocated relationships an individual perceives themselves to be in with a famous personality
Whilst the individual spends a lot of time energy and emotion on the relationship the other person is unaware of their existence
the exposure of the celebrity through media gives the individual the illusion of having the same interactions as face to face meetings and therefore that they are in some form of relationship
parasocial relationships are more common among teens and less educated. Males typically interested in sports stars whilst females favour entertainment stars.
as feelings towards the other person increase an individual may maintain the relationship by repeatedly watching them in the media, try to contact them and buy products associated with them
such relationships can be friendships in that they offer the illusion of companionship
Giles and maltby
2006
Celebrity attitude scale to identify three levels of parasocial relationships. intensity of relationship increases with each level
Entertainment social
Individual feels a mild level of involvement with the celebrity, possibly some attraction but mostly they are viewed as a source of entertainment
an individual will watch the celebrity to keep up with them for the purposes of gossip
Intense personal
Individual feels an intermediate level of involvement where they experience intense and compulsive feelings about the celebrity
at this level there is no expectation to interact with the other person but they still have very strong feelings and may even regard them as a soul mate
Borderline pathological
Individual feels the strongest level of involvement with the celebrity whereby they have uncontrollable feelings about them
they believe themselves to be in a relationship which may cause extreme behaviour such as following them or entering their home
Absorption addiction model
Mccutcheon 2002
parasocial relationships form when an individual suffers from some deficiency in their own life, possibly due to low self esteem or lack of fulfilment
dissatisfied with their own life, an individual may find escape by focusing their attention on the celebrity
absorption: an individual over-identifies with the celebrity in such a way that they try to absorb them into their own lives through giving them all their attention
addiction: the relationship has become so addictive the individual seeks stronger and closer involvement with the celebrity . This may lead to extreme behaviour and delusional thinking affecting their daily lives
Attachment theory
Bowlby 1969 and Ainsworth 1979
bowlby argued attachment difficulties from childhood experiences may lead to emotional difficulties in adulthood, whilst Ainsworth suggested an insecurely attached child may go on to form insecure romantic relationships
adults with unresolved attachment issues may be more likely to form unhealthy parasocial relationships due to their unfulfilled needs e.g. parasocial relationship offers an individual who was insecure resistant a relationship which allows them to get close to someone without any chance of rejection or break up
alternatively, an individual who was insecure avoidant finds trust and intimacy difficult and therefore is likely to avoid a real or parasocial relationship
Strength of parasocial relationships
Supporting evidence
mcCutcheon and houran 2003
found in a study of 600 ppts were given a personality test and interviewed about their interest of celebrities, 1/3 showed a fascination of celebrities that could become addictive
of this group, 20% followed media personalities for entertainment-social reasons. 10% had intense personal, often believing they had a special bond with a celebrity and 1% were classed as borderline pathological, displaying impulsive, antisocial behaviour
this shows that parasocial relationships are characterised by their own observable behaviours
Strength absorption addiction model
Supportive evidence from Gabriel 2008
found in a study where ppts had to write an essay about their favourite celebrity inbetween completing the same questionnaire measuring self-esteem, those who initially scored low scored much higher when they repeated the questionnaire
this suggests that by thinking about the celebrity whilst writing the essay, their sense if self was boosted because it allowed for them to engage with the figure of their para-social relationship in a similar way that an addict feels more confident once they engage in their addiction
Absorption strength 2
Supportive evidence from
Meloy 2009
found stalkers with parasocial relationships have failed romantic relationships and describe themselves as lonely and isolated
this shows that the deficiency a person may have by having failed romantic relationships may cause them to overidentify with a celebrity leading to ever increasing extreme behaviour
Attachment theory strength
Supportive evidence
Cohen 2004
found that anticipated feelings of loss towards a favourite TV character, should they be taken off air, correlated with a person’s attachment type with those identified as insecure resistant expressing the most loss
this shows there may be a link between attachment type and likelihood of developing a parasocial relationship with insecure resistant attachments most likely to develop due to their ability to “get close” to a person without any fear of direct rejection
Attachment strength 2
Supportive evidence
kienlen 1997 found
63% of stalkers experienced a loss of a PCG during childhood & 50% reported physical, emotional or sexual abuse by their PCG
this shows that emotional difficulties experienced during childhood, leading to an insecure attachment, may cause extreme behaviour shown in a parasocial relationship
