Parasocial relationships

Question 1

What are parasocial relationships
see how that led on
see what i did there

Answer 1

One sided, unreciprocated relationships, usually with a celebrity, on which the ‘fan’ expends a lot of emotional energy, commitment and time but the celebrity doesn’t know the fan exists

Question 1

What does para mean

Answer 1

Close to/besides
starting w some latin lessons

Question 2

What increases the likelihood of parasocial relationships

Answer 2

Object of affection is perceived as attractive
Perceived as similar to us
We perceive them as real
Viewer is female
Viewer is lonely and shy
Lower demand than a regular relationship

Question 3

What are the levels of parasocial relationships from calmest to most obsessive
Giles and Maltby 2006

Answer 3

Entertainment social
Intense-personal
Borderline pathological

Question 4

Entertainment social

Answer 4

Celebrity is a source of gossip/interaction

Question 5

Intense-personal

Answer 5

Intensive
Compulsive feelings towards celebrity

Question 6

Borderline-pathological

Answer 6

Uncontrollable behaviours/fantasies

Question 7

What did McCuthceon 2003 find with the triangle of obsession

Answer 7

Of 600 participants
20% of fell into the first category of ‘entertainment social’
10% second ‘intense-personal’
1% the third ‘borderline-pathological’

Question 8

What is the absorption addiction model

Answer 8

Explains how parasocial relationships become abnormal

Question 9

What is absorption in the model

Answer 9

An attempt to establish personal identity
Has addictive qualities so individuals go to further and further lengths to maintain a sense of fulfilment via the parasocial relationship

Question 10

What does the absorption addiction model predict

Answer 10

This model therefore predicts that there will be an association between poorer mental health and the strength of parasocial relationships
Someone who initially has an entertainment-social orientation may be triggered into a more intense involvement by a stressful life event

Question 11

What is addiction in the model

Answer 11

Individual needs to sustain their commitment to the relationship by feeling a stronger and closer involvement with the celebrity
Leads to extreme behaviours and delusional thoughts

Question 13

What does PSRs need to have

Answer 13

Needs to have unfulfilled needs met but in a relationship that is not accompanied by threat of rejection, break up and disappointment
Type of attachment is known as insecure-resistant (anxious ambivalent)
Most likely to form PSRs, then anxious avoidant, then secure least likely)

Question 14

What does Roberts 2007 suggest about the correlation between attachment and PSRs

Answer 14

200 students (100 F, 100 M) answered questions similar to the CAS and found a +ve correlation between insecurely attached individuals and frequently contacting celebrities
McCutcheon et al. 2006 = 250 uni students completed questionnaires examining personality types and their views on celebrities
They did not find a relationship between having an insecure attachment and parasocial relationships

Question 15

How does PSRs have real world application as a +ve evaluation

Answer 15

Understanding eating disorders
Malty 2005 looked in particularly at females aged 14-16 who had a parasocial relationship with a female whose body shape they admired
They found these females had a poor body image
They speculated this could be a precursor to the development of anorexia

Question 16

What cud understanding the development of anorexia lead to

Answer 16

Education on PSRs in school, i.e. preventive measures implemented to prevent anorexia

Question 17

How is the research for understanding anorexia unreliable

Answer 17

Correlational research has issues w determining cause and effect, cud just be speculative

Question 18

How does PSRs link to mental health
+ve evaluation

Answer 18

Malty et al 2003 used the Eyseneck personality questionnaire to assess the relationships between PSR level and personality

Question 19

Entertainment social personality traits

Answer 19

Extraversion
Sociable, lively

Question 20

Intense personal personality traits

Answer 20

Neuroticism
Tense, emotional, moody
Also linked to depression and anxiety

Question 21

Borderline pathological personality traits

Answer 21

Psychocitism
Anti social, egocentric

Question 22

How are problems with the attachment theory noted by McCutcheon et al 2006 a -ve evaluation of PSRs

Answer 22

Adults w insecure attachment are more likely to become attached to celebrities than those with a secure attachment type
Insecure adults are more likely to agree with/condone stalking and obsessive behaviour towards celebrities
There is a correlation between stalking and pathological tendencies towards attachment to celebrities

Question 23

What research supports the -ve evaluation of the attachment theory

Answer 23

Sample = 299 students (age 16-42)
Procedure = used Celebrity Attitude Scale and a Stalking Scale
Measured adult attachment using a relationship questionnaire
Measured childhood attachment type through the use of a parental bonding scale based on their recall of the relationship with their parents before the age of 16

Question 24

What is a -ve evaluation regarding methodological issues

Answer 24

Self report measures can cause bias as people can give socially desirable answers
Correlational analysis - PSRs cause women to have poor body image
Cud it b the other way around?
Cud be addressed w longitudinal research

Question 25

What is a -ve evaluation of PSRs regarding absorption-addiction model

Answer 25

A better description than explanation
Describes the characteristics of people who are most absorbed by and addicted to celebrities but does not explain how the characteristics develop

Question 26

How is cultural influences a +ve influence

Answer 26

Schmid and Klimmt 2001
Found that the tendency to form a PSR with a Harry Potter is not culturally specific
Individualist cultures and collectivist cultures showed similar levels of parasocial attachment