Parasocial Relationships Flashcards
What are the two theories for parasocial relationships
The attachment theory and the absorbtion addiction model
What three fundamental properties of attachment identified by Weiss are present in parasocial relationships
Proximity seeking, Secure Base and Protest at disruption
What is proximity seeking behaviour
Individuals attempt to reduce the distance between themselves and their attachment figure. Fans exhibit many proximity seeking behaviours as part of the PSR, such as sending them letters
What is Safe Base behaviour
The presence of the attachment figure provides a sense of safe base for the individual, a safe haven from which they can explore the world. With PSR there is little to no chance of rejection, so people can explore different relationships in a safe way
What is Protest at Disruption
Prolonged distress at seperation or loss of the attachment figure. The axing of Top Gear had many experiencing raw emotion, with fans saying the show had “given their lives purpose”
What may influence an individuals chances of developing a PSR.
Adult attachment style, with those having an anxious-ambivalent attachment style being more likely to enter a PSR with TV personalities. These are people who hold a more negative view of themselves, and turn to PSR to meet their relational needs
Who is least likely to enter into a PSR
Avoidant individuals, as they find it more difficult to develop intimate relationships and thus are less likely to seek out real relationships or PSR’s
What are some possible reasons to develop PSR
The relationship has few demands, there is no risk of rejection
Who are PSR’s most likely to form with
Those who the viewer finds attractive and are viewed as similar to the viewer
What are the stages of the Absorbtion addiction model
Entertainment-Social, Intense-personal and Borderline-pathological
Who identified the three levels of the absorbtion addiction model
Giles and Maltby
What is the entertainment-social level of the absorbtion addiction model
Fans are attracted to a faviourite celebrity and will watch, keep up with them, read and learn about them for entertainment and gossip
What is the intense-personal level of the absorbtion addiction model
Involves deeper level of involvement and reflects intensive and compulsive feelings about the celebrity, akin to obsessive tendencies of fans
What is the Borderline-pathological level of the absorbtion addiction model
Typified by both empathy with the celebrity, as people on this level identify with the celebrities successes and faliures, as well as overidentification with the celebrity and uncontrollable behaviours and fantasies about their lives, for example thinking that the celebrity would be happy to see them walk into their house
What can happen if the absorbtion level gets too high
The person may move on to higher levels of parasocial interaction, where motivational forces become addictive, leading the person to more extreme and delusional behaviours to sustain satisfactory parasocial levels. It becomes addictive as progressively stronger involvement is required to remain connected to the celebrity.
What is research support for the factors involved in a parasocial relationship (eval)
A meta analysis found support for the assumption that people with higher levels of PSRs also watched more television and that there was a significant relationship between the degree to which a person percieves television characters as being real. They also found evidence that attractiveness influenced the likelyhood to form a PSR
Are PSR’s linked to lonelyness (eval)
They were initially thought to be a replacement for “real” social relationships and therefore linked to lonelyness. However Eyal and Cohen found that PSR’s can also lead to loneliness following a parasocial ‘breakup’, as with fans of Friends, the level of PSR they had with their faviourite character was the strongest predictor of their feelings of loneliness after the last episode aired
Who found fans of friends were increasingly sad with their PSR level
Eyal and Cohen
What are some cultural similarities between parasocial relationships (eval)
schmid and Klimmt found that in German, where the culture emphasised individuality over loyalty to the group, and in Mexico, which is more collectevist, there were very similar patterns of PSR’s with Harry Potter and other characters in the franchise. This demonstrates the universal influence of media
Who studied the lack of cultural differences in PSR’s
Schmid and Klimmt
How does the absorbtion addiction model link to mental health (eval)
Maltby et al used a personality questionaire to assess the relationship between PSR level and personality. They found that whereas the entertainment social level was associated with extraversion, the intense-personal level was associated with neuroticism. This is related to anxiety and depression, explaining why higher levels are associated with poorer mental health
Who found that poor mental health went with higher PSR level
Maltby
