Parasocial Relationships

Question 1

What is a parasocial relationship?

Answer 1

A one-sided relationship, where one party extends emotional energy, interest & time, while the other party is unaware of the other’s existence.

Question 2

What does ‘para’ mean?

Answer 2

Resemble.

Question 3

Who are the likely parties of a parasocial relationship?

Answer 3

Celebrity and fan.

Question 4

Why may a parasocial relationship be appealing?

Answer 4

-The other party (celebrity) technically makes less demands.
-The fan doesn’t run the risk of rejection (as might be the case in a real relationship).

Question 5

What are the characteristics of a fan in a parasocial relationship?

Answer 5

-Female.
-Lonely.
-Shy.

Question 6

Who devised the levels of parasocial relationships?

Answer 6

Maltby (2006).

Question 7

What are the 3 levels of parasocial relationships?

Answer 7

-Entertainment - Social.
-Intense - Personal.
-Borderline - Pathological.

Question 8

What are features of the ‘Entertainment - Social’ level?

Answer 8

-Celebrity is a source of gossip & entertainment.
(e.g. people having a chat about CM Punk).

Question 9

What are features of the ‘Intense - Personal’ level?

Answer 9

-Intense, compulsive feelings towards celebrity.
-Common in teenagers.
(e.g. interest in CM Punk’s personal life).

Question 10

What are features of the ‘Borderline - Pathological’ level?

Answer 10

-Uncontrollable behaviours/fantasies.
-Deviant & abnormal behaviours that lead into extreme acts.
(e.g. finding CM Punk’s house).

Question 11

What is the absorption-addiction model?

Answer 11

‘Celebrity worshipers’ become absorbed in the personal lives of celebrities to compensate for personal/social deficiencies.

Question 12

What does the absorption aspect of the model represent?

Answer 12

Refers to the ways in which an individual becomes consumed by their (imagined) relationship with the celebrity.
(e.g. ‘I wake up thinking about CM Punk and he is the last thing I think about before I go to sleep at night’).

Question 13

What does the addiction aspect of the model represent?

Answer 13

Refers to the increasing dependence that the person has for the celebrity; the craving they experience for the celebrity, possibly leading to the addicted person taking extreme measures to fuel their addiction.
(e.g. Jake lives in a tent across the road from CM Punk’s garden; he spends all day noting down his movements, and he has a tattoo on her arm which says ‘I would die 4 U, Punk’).

Question 14

Parasocial relationships can make up for personal ________.

They also provide an escape from ________ lives.

Answer 14

Deficiencies, mundane.

Question 15

What is the association between mental health & parasocial relationships?

Answer 15

Negative correlation.

Question 16

People who are at the borderline - pathological level parasocial relationships have the following features:

Answer 16

-Lack a strong sense of self.
-Be prone to faulty, distorted thought processes.
-Lack a sense of fulfilment and achievement in other areas of their lives.
-Have difficulty forming or maintaining romantic and/or platonic relationships.

Question 17

What is the attachment theory for paraocial relationships?

Answer 17

The idea that people who have dysfunctional attachment styles are more likely to form PRs than securely attached adults.

Question 18

How likely is a secure attachment type going to form paraocial relationships?

Answer 18

Not likely: they usually have satisfactory real-life relationships.

Question 19

How likely is an insecure-resistant attachment type going to form paraocial relationships?

Answer 19

Most likely: concerned that others won’t reciprocate their need for intimacy, so they turn to ‘fictional’ characters.

Question 20

How likely is an insecure-avoidant attachment type going to form paraocial relationships?

Answer 20

Least likely: they find it difficult to form relationships. Thus, they are unlikely to seek them.

Question 21

How did Cole & Leets (1999) study attachment theory for parasocial relationships?

Answer 21

Found that within 150 American college students, attachment types tended to be a reliable predictor for willingness to form bonds with parasocial figures.

Those with an insecure resistant attachment style turn to T.V. characters as a means of satisfying their ‘unrealistic and often unmet’ relational demands.

Question 22

How did McCutcheon (2006) study attachment theory for parasocial relationships?

Answer 22

Found that participants with insecure attachments were no more likely to form parasocial relationships with celebrities than those with secure attachment styles.

Question 23

Evaluation points for parasocial relationships:

Answer 23

-Much of the research into PRs uses self-reporting methods which means that it may suffer from social desirability bias.
-Asking people about their PRs could potentially be embarrassing as it requires participants to disclose sensitive information, meaning that ethics may be compromised as a result of investigating this topic.