Parasocial Relationships

Question 1

What are the two theories for parasocial relationships

Answer 1

The attachment theory and the absorbtion addiction model

Question 2

What three fundamental properties of attachment identified by Weiss are present in parasocial relationships

Answer 2

Proximity seeking, Secure Base and Protest at disruption

Question 3

What is proximity seeking behaviour

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What is Safe Base behaviour

Answer 4

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

Question 5

What is Protest at Disruption

Answer 5

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”

Question 6

What may influence an individuals chances of developing a PSR.

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Who is least likely to enter into a PSR

Answer 7

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

Question 8

What are some possible reasons to develop PSR

Answer 8

The relationship has few demands, there is no risk of rejection

Question 9

Who are PSR’s most likely to form with

Answer 9

Those who the viewer finds attractive and are viewed as similar to the viewer

Question 10

What are the stages of the Absorbtion addiction model

Answer 10

Entertainment-Social, Intense-personal and Borderline-pathological

Question 11

Who identified the three levels of the absorbtion addiction model

Answer 11

Giles and Maltby

Question 12

What is the entertainment-social level of the absorbtion addiction model

Answer 12

Fans are attracted to a faviourite celebrity and will watch, keep up with them, read and learn about them for entertainment and gossip

Question 13

What is the intense-personal level of the absorbtion addiction model

Answer 13

Involves deeper level of involvement and reflects intensive and compulsive feelings about the celebrity, akin to obsessive tendencies of fans

Question 14

What is the Borderline-pathological level of the absorbtion addiction model

Answer 14

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

Question 15

What can happen if the absorbtion level gets too high

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

What is research support for the factors involved in a parasocial relationship (eval)

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Are PSR’s linked to lonelyness (eval)

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Who found fans of friends were increasingly sad with their PSR level

Answer 18

Eyal and Cohen

Question 19

What are some cultural similarities between parasocial relationships (eval)

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Who studied the lack of cultural differences in PSR’s

Answer 20

Schmid and Klimmt

Question 21

How does the absorbtion addiction model link to mental health (eval)

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Who found that poor mental health went with higher PSR level

Answer 22

Maltby