Parasocial Relationships Flashcards
What does CAS stand for
Celebrity attitude scale
What does CAS do
Assess celebrity attraction
What is the CAS
Was used by Maltby and et al to identify three levels of parasocial relationships
What are the three levels of a parasocial relationship
- Entertainment-social
- Intense-personal
- Borderline pathological
What is the entertainment-social level
This is the least intense level where the celebrities are viewed as a source of entertainment and fuel for social interaction
What is the intense-personal level
And intermediate level where someone becomes more personally involved with the celebrity which may include obsessive thoughts
What is the borderline pathological level
The strongest level of celebrity worship where fantasies are uncontrollable and behaviour is more extreme
What does the absorption-addiction model do
Explains parasocial relationships in terms of people’s deficiencies
What did McCutcheon suggest
That parasocial relationships can make up for personal deficiencies and provide an escape from mundane lives
What may trigger people towards a higher level
Stressful life events such as bereavement
What are the two components of the model
Absorption and addiction
What is absorption
Seeking fulfilment in celebrity worship motivates an individual to focus their attention on the celebrity, to become absorbed in the celebrities existence and identify with them
What is addiction
Like physiological addiction, the individual needs to increase the dose of involvement to gain satisfaction which may lead to more extreme behaviours and delusional thinking
What does the attachment theory do
Links early attachment problems to parasocial relationships
What does Bowlby attachment theory suggest
That early difficulties in attachment may lead to difficulties in forming successful relationships later in life
What might Bowlby theory lead to
A preference for parasocial relationships to replace those within ones own social circle as parasocial relationships do not require the same social skills
What are linked to parasocial relationships
Insecure attachment types
What did Aimsworth do
Identified two attachment types associated with unhealthy emotional development
What were Ainsworth’s two attachment types
Insecure-resistant
Insecure-avoidant
What are insecure-resistant types most likely to do and why
For parasocial relationships because they want to have their unfulfilled needs met in their relationship where there is no real threat of rejection
What are insecure-resistant types most likely to do
Prefer to avoid the pain and rejection of any type of relationship, either social or parasocial
Name a strength of parasocial relationships
The absorption-addiction model - Maltby et al
What did Maltby et al study?
Female adolescents who reported an intense personal relationship with a female celebrity whose body shape they admired, these females tended to have poor body image
What did Maltby do
- Linked entertainment-social level with extrovert personality traits,
- Linked the intense-personal category with neurotic traits
- Linked borderline pathological with psychotic personality types
