Parasocial Relationships- Attachment Theory Explanation Flashcards
What are the 3 attachment types?
- Secure attachment
- Insecure avoidant attachment
- Insecure resistant attachment
What is a secure attachment?
- As a child, they played contently with their mother present, no matter whether a stranger was there or not
- During reunions, they sought comfort from her and continued to play
- Mother and stranger were treated differently with moderate separation distress and stranger anxiety
- As an adult they’re empathetic, able to create meaningful relationships and have high self esteem
What is an insecure avoidant attachment?
- As a child, they ignored their mothers and her presence/absence didn’t affect their play
- Displayed little stress when she left and ignored her when she returned
- Reacted to stranger and mother in a similar way, with little stranger anxiety shown
- As adults they have problems with intimacy, little investment in emotional relationships and are unwilling to share their feelings
What is insecure resistant attachment?
- As a child, they explored less and stayed by their mother
- Showed huge stranger distress and separation anxiety
- Distressed by mother leaving and sought contact on her return but would also show anger and fight her contact
- As adults they avoid closeness, worry their partner doesn’t love them and are distraught when relationships end
Which attachment type is more likely to form parasocial relationships?
Insecure resistant
What are the attachment behaviours?
- Proximity seeking
- Secure base
- Protest at disruption
- Attachment style and parasocial relationships
What is proximity seeking?
- Staying informed about a favourite celebrity
- Collecting trivia about favourite celebrity
- Rearranging schedules to see them on TV
- Attempting to contact them through letters/ in person
What is secure base?
- Presence of an attachment figure provides a sense of security for the individual
- Little or no chance of rejection from the attachment figure, so individual is capable of creating a secure base and can explore other relationships in a safe way
What is protest at disruption?
Best marker of an attachment may be the presence of prolonged distress following separation or loss of attachment figure
What is the link between insecure resistant attachment and parasocial relationships?
- Individuals hold more negative views about themselves
- Turn to TV characters as a means of satisfying their often unmet relational needs
- Reflects their desire for intimacy, even if it is with a TV personality
What is the link between insecure avoidant attachment types and parasocial relationships?
- Least likely to enter a parasocial relationship with TV personalities
- Find it difficult to develop intimate relationships and therefore are less likely to seek real life relationships or parasocial relationships
- Avoid relational intimacy but imagine intimacy as well
What is the link between secure attachment types and parasocial relationships?
- Engaged in a moderate level of parasocial relationships
- Particularly likely to turn to parasocial interaction when they find it hard to trust their relational partner
If the point is:
A strength of the attachment theory of parasocial relationships is that there is evidence that illustrates the link between attachment types and parasocial relationships.
What is the evidence and link?
Evidence- Kienlen found that 63% of stalkers experienced an early loss of a primary caregiver, usually due to parental separation whilst more than 50% reported physical, mental or sexual abuse as a child.
Link- Therefore, this supports the idea that disruptive attachments can foster parasocial relationships down the line.
If the point is:
A weakness of the attachment theory of parasocial relationships is that there is evidence that questions the link between attachment types and parasocial relationships.
What is the evidence and link?
Evidence- McCutcheon measured attachment types and celebrity rated attitudes in 299 American participants. He found that attachment security didn’t affect the likelihood of forming a parasocial relationship with a celebrity. Participants with insecure attachments were no more likely to form such relationships than participants with secure attachments.
Link- This shows that parasocial relationships are not necessarily a way of compensating for attachment issues.
If the point is:
A weakness of the attachment theory of parasocial relationships is that it fails to take into account that these relationships can be functional.
What is the evidence and link?
Evidence- For example, in some cases where people have lost an attachment figure, such as parental death or divorce, people can seek comfort in parasocial relationships. If done in a harmless way, this can provide much needed relief.
Link- This suggests that the attachment theory may encounter issues when applied to some real life cases.
