Relationships booklet 5: Parasocial relationships

Question 1

What is the AO1 of parasocial relationships split into?

Answer 1

-Levels of parasocial relationships
-Absorption addiction model
-Research
-Attachment theory explanation

Question 2

What are the levels of parasocial relationships?

Answer 2

Created by McCutcheon, this is the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS) which measures the levels of a parasocial relationship

Question 3

What are the 3 levels of parasocial relationships?

Answer 3

1. Entertainment-social sub scale
2. Intense-Personal sub scale
3. Borderline-Pathological sub scale

Question 4

What are the qualities of entertainment social sub scale?

Answer 4

This level of parasocial relationships involves people talking with friends about that celebrity “Learning the life of my favourite celeb is a lot of fun”

Question 5

What are the qualities of Intense-personal sub scale?

Answer 5

This level of parasocial relationship involves the intensity of feelings for celebrities become an obsession

Question 6

What are the qualities of Borderline-Pathological sub scale?

Answer 6

This level of parasocial relationships involves potentially harmful aspects of feelings for celebrities. It can lead to uncontrollable behaviours (stalking etc.)

Question 7

What is the absorption addiction model?

Answer 7

Proposed by McCutcheon, argyes that people pursue parasocial relationships with celebrities and are attracted to celebrities when their own lives are deficient in some way

Question 8

What kind of people does McCutcheon argue form parasocial relationships?

Answer 8

Those with poorer psychological adjustment, or weaker senses of identity, absorb themselves in celebrity lives to gain stronger sense of identity

Question 9

What is the research into parasocial relationships?

Answer 9

Matby

Question 10

What was the method in Matby’s study?

Answer 10

Gave participants the CAS and a mental health questionnaire

Question 11

What were the results of Matby’s study?

Answer 11

Found those on level 1 were mentally healthy but lonely
Found those on level 2 scored highly on anxiety and depression
Those on level 3 of celebrity worship could not be tested as mental health problems too serious

Question 12

What are the evaluations of parasocial relationships?

Answer 12

😀Evidence to support (Derrick)
😢/😀Uses questionnaires (Social desirability/effective scientific)
😀/😢Correlations
😢Socially sensitive area

Question 13

What is the attachment theory?

Answer 13

An alternative explanation to the absorption addiction model, says we have different types of attachments in infancy
These then affect adult relationships

Question 14

What type of attachment do psychologists suggest are more likely to form parasocial relationships?

Answer 14

Insecure resistant, because they feel the need to have close relationships without risk of rejection

Question 15

What are evaluations of attachment theory explanation?

Answer 15

😀Evidence to support (Cole and Leets)
😀Evidence to support (McCutcheon)
😢Not explain all parasocial relationships
😀/😢Self-report
😢/😀Correlational
😢Retrospective data

Question 16

What happened in the study Derrick?

Answer 16

Found that people with low self-esteem when asked to write an essay about their favourite celeb, experienced a boost in their self-esteem

Question 17

What happened in Cole and Leets?

Answer 17

Found adolescents with an insecure resistant attachment more likely to have parasocial relationship with tv personalities than those secure/insecure avoidant

Question 18

What happened in McCutcheon?

Answer 18

Measured attraction to celebrities, those who had insecure attachment types had a more positive attitude to obsessive behaviour and stalking, insecure attachment = more likely to engage in stalking behaviour