Parasocial relationships:

Question 1

what is a parasocial relationship?

Answer 1

one-sided relationships where one person is heavily invested and the other has limited to no awareness of their existence
e.g. celebrity and fans
brands and customers
characters and readers
teachers and students

Question 2

why do parasocial relationships develop?

Answer 2

McCutchen thought that these relationships make up for deficits in real life relationships, providing a sense of identity that they may be missing
it can feel addictive and causes the individual to develop through intense levels

Question 3

what is CAS?

Answer 3

McCutcheon and Maltby developed the Celebrity attitudes scale to classify the extent of attitudes and behaviours

Question 4

what is the first level of parasocial relationship?

Answer 4

entertainment social
celebs are discussed with friends for entertainment

Question 5

what is the second level of parasocial relationship?

Answer 5

intense personal
characterised by obsessive thoughts and emotions
feelings that the relationship is real in some way

Question 6

what is the third level of parasocial relationship?

Answer 6

borderline pathological
extreme uncontrollable behaviours for celebrity

Question 7

explanation for parasocial relationship development

Answer 7

McCutheon used the absorption-addiction model to explain that parasocial relationships are an attempt to escape the reality of their own lives and relationships

absorption –> intense involvement in findings information about the personal life and career of the celeb to feel closer to them

addiction –> behaviours escalate like a drug addiction and become more extreme - may result in them contacting or stalking the celeb

Question 8

alternative explanation for parasocial relationships developing

Answer 8

Bowlby’s attachment theory suggest that parasocial relationships form due to poor childhood relationships
as this may lead to an ineffective internal working model which negatively impacts the adult relationship

insecure resistant children are thought to be most at risk of this

Question 9

research study supporting parasocial relationships

Answer 9

Maltby surveyed students from Yorkshire using the CAS and a questionnaire that measured mental health

found that entertainment social individuals showed social dysfunction in real realationships
intense personal individuals correlated with high depression and anxiety scores

this suggests that there may be a relationship between a persons score on the CAS and overall mental health - perhaps obsessions with celebs cause depression or obsessions with celebs are as a result of depression

+: McCutcheon supports this - investigated if high scores on the CAS was linked to poor intimate relationships - found that troubled, anxious and poor quality relationships were positively correlated with a high score on the CAS indicating the negative effects of parasocial relationships on real world romantic relationships

Question 10

evaluations for parasocial relationships

Answer 10

• difficult to test objectively as it relies on correlation and self-report - cannot establish cause and effect
• evidence against attachment theory as an explanation as research by McCutheon showed no links between attachment type of likelihood of forming parasocial
  relationships
  + parasocial relationships are viewed as pathological and negative but can be seen as positive as it allows relationships to form between fans which may have a positive effect on people - Jenson and Jenkins provided evidence