Parasocial Relationships Flashcards
What is a parasocial relationship?
A one-sided relationship, where one party extends emotional energy, interest & time, while the other party is unaware of the other’s existence.
What does ‘para’ mean?
Resemble.
Who are the likely parties of a parasocial relationship?
Celebrity and fan.
Why may a parasocial relationship be appealing?
-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).
What are the characteristics of a fan in a parasocial relationship?
-Female.
-Lonely.
-Shy.
Who devised the levels of parasocial relationships?
Maltby (2006).
What are the 3 levels of parasocial relationships?
-Entertainment - Social.
-Intense - Personal.
-Borderline - Pathological.
What are features of the ‘Entertainment - Social’ level?
-Celebrity is a source of gossip & entertainment.
(e.g. people having a chat about CM Punk).
What are features of the ‘Intense - Personal’ level?
-Intense, compulsive feelings towards celebrity.
-Common in teenagers.
(e.g. interest in CM Punk’s personal life).
What are features of the ‘Borderline - Pathological’ level?
-Uncontrollable behaviours/fantasies.
-Deviant & abnormal behaviours that lead into extreme acts.
(e.g. finding CM Punk’s house).
What is the absorption-addiction model?
‘Celebrity worshipers’ become absorbed in the personal lives of celebrities to compensate for personal/social deficiencies.
What does the absorption aspect of the model represent?
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’).
What does the addiction aspect of the model represent?
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’).
Parasocial relationships can make up for personal ________.
They also provide an escape from ________ lives.
Deficiencies, mundane.
What is the association between mental health & parasocial relationships?
Negative correlation.
People who are at the borderline - pathological level parasocial relationships have the following features:
-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.
What is the attachment theory for paraocial relationships?
The idea that people who have dysfunctional attachment styles are more likely to form PRs than securely attached adults.
How likely is a secure attachment type going to form paraocial relationships?
Not likely: they usually have satisfactory real-life relationships.
How likely is an insecure-resistant attachment type going to form paraocial relationships?
Most likely: concerned that others won’t reciprocate their need for intimacy, so they turn to ‘fictional’ characters.
How likely is an insecure-avoidant attachment type going to form paraocial relationships?
Least likely: they find it difficult to form relationships. Thus, they are unlikely to seek them.
How did Cole & Leets (1999) study attachment theory for parasocial relationships?
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.
How did McCutcheon (2006) study attachment theory for parasocial relationships?
Found that participants with insecure attachments were no more likely to form parasocial relationships with celebrities than those with secure attachment styles.
Evaluation points for parasocial relationships:
-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.