parasocial relationships

Question 1

Parasocial relationship, PSR

Answer 1

A one-sided relationship whereby an individual is attracted to another person, who is usually unaware of the existence of the individual who has created the relationship. The individual expends considerable emotional energy, interest and time.

Question 2

The Celebrity Attitude Scale, CAS

Answer 2

Using the CAS, Giles and Maltby (2006) identified three levels of celebrity worship.

Question 3

The three stages of the CAS

Answer 3

Entertainment-social
Intense-personal
Borderline-pathological

Question 4

Entertainment-social

Answer 4

The least intense level of celebrity worship, where celebrities are seen as a source of entertainment and as a topic for light-hearted gossip with friends.

Question 5

Intense-personal

Answer 5

A deeper level of involvement and reflects intensive and compulsive feelings about the celebrity.

Question 6

Borderline-pathological

Answer 6

The most intense level of parasocial relationships. It is characterised by overidentification with the celebrity and uncontrollable behaviours and fantasies about their lives.

Question 7

The Absorption Addiction Model

Answer 7

McCutcheon (2002). Suggests that people engage in celebrity worship to compensate for some deficiencies in their life, such as difficulty forming intimate relationships, poor psychological adjustment and lack of identity.

Question 8

The first stage of the Absorption-Addiction Model

Answer 8

Absorption. An effortless focusing of attention which leads fans to believe they have a special relationship with that celebrity thus achieving a sense of fulfilment motivates them to become even more intensely attached.

Question 9

The second stage of the Absorption-Addiction Model

Answer 9

The sense of fulfilment becomes addictive, leading them to engage in more risky behaviour, in order to get mentally, and sometimes physically, closer to the celebrity they worship.

Question 10

Bowlby’s attachment theory on parasocial relationships

Answer 10

Early difficulties in attachment may lead to difficulties in forming successful relationships in later life. Such difficulties may steer to a preference for parasocial relationships to replace those within one’s own social circle as they do not require the same social skills.

Question 11

An attachment theory explanation- Attachment style

Answer 11

Cole and Leets (1999) found that a person’s willingness to form a parasocial bond is related to their attachment beliefs.

Question 12

Findings of Cole and Leets (1999)- Attachment style IA

Answer 12

Insecure-avoidant: most likely to enter into PSRs.
Turn to TV characters as a means of satisfying their unrealistic and often unmet relational needs.

Question 13

Findings of Cole and Leets (1999)- Attachment style AA

Answer 13

Avoidant: Least likely to enter into PSRs.
Find it difficult to to develop intimate relationships and less likely to seek real-life relationships or PSRs.

Question 14

Evaluation points

Answer 14

Research support for factors involved in parasocial relationships.

The absorption addiction model: links to mental health

Cultural similarities in parasocial relationships

Question 15

Strength of the absorption addiction model: it links to mental health

Answer 15

Maltby et al (2003) linked:

Entertainment-social level with extrovert personality traits

Intense-personal category with neurotic traits

Borderline pathological level with psychotic personality traits.

Supports the model because they show a correlation between the level of celebrity worship and disordered psychological functioning.

Question 16

Weakness of the absorption addiction model

Answer 16

Provides a description more than an explanation: the model describes the characteristics of people at different levels of intensity but does not explain why the different forms develop. This does not help us to prevent the more dangerous forms of parasocial relationships. So the model is limited in its explanatory power and its application for supporting people whose celebrity worship has become problematic.

Portrays negative views on behaviour: suggesting one is psychopathological may be social sensitive and imply their behaviour is bad. It may be more appropriate to provide a more positive humanistic approach because it will be less socially sensitive by emphasising the individuals worth.