relationships- parasocial relationships

Question 1

what is the CAS and how was it used?

Answer 1

celebrity attitude scale, used by Maltby et al. (2006) to identify three levels of parasocial relationships

Question 2

what are the three levels of parasocial relationships?

Answer 2

-entertainment-social
-intense-personal
-borderline-pathological

Question 3

entertainment-social level

Answer 3

-least intense
-celebrities viewed as source of entertainment and fuel for social interaction

Question 4

intense-personal level

Answer 4

-intermediate level
-someone becomes more personally involved w celebrity and this may include obsessive thoughts

Question 5

borderline-pathological

Answer 5

-strongest level of celebrity worship
-fantasies uncontrollable and behaviour more extreme

Question 6

what are the two explanations of parasocial relationships?

Answer 6

-absorption addiction model McCutcheon (2002)
-attachment theory Bowlby/Ainsworth (1979)

Question 7

addiction absorption model for PSR

Answer 7

-McCutcheon (2002)
-PSR escape from life’s deficiencies
* poor sense of identity
* poor psychological adjustments (stress)
* lack of fulfilment
PSRs allow ‘escape from reality’ to seek fulfilment

Question 8

two components of the addiction absorption model for PSR

Answer 8

-addiction
-absorption

Question 9

addiction component for addiction absorption model for PSR

Answer 9

seeking fulfilment in celeb worship motivates individual to focus their attention on the celeb, to become absorbed in the celebrity existence and identify with them

Question 10

absorption component for addiction absorption model for PSR

Answer 10

-like a physiological addiction, an individual needs to increase their ‘dose’ of involvement to gain satisfaction
-may lead to more extreme behaviours and delusional thinking

Question 11

attachment theory- Bowlby for PSR

Answer 11

-early difficulties in attachment may lead to difficulties forming successful relationships later in life
-may lead to a preference for PSR to replace those within one’s own social circle as don’t require same social skills

Question 12

attachment theory- Ainsworth for PSR

Answer 12

identified two attachment types associated with unhealthy emotional development
-insecure-resistant
-insecure-avoidant

Question 13

Ainsworth insecure-resistant for PSR

Answer 13

-insecure-resistant types most likely to form PSRs bc want to have their unfulfilled needs met in a relationship where there’s no real threat of rejection

Question 14

Ainsworth insecure-avoidant for PSR

Answer 14

prefer to avoid the pain and rejection of any type of relationship, either social or parasocial

Question 15

ao3 of PSR: research support of levels approach

Answer 15

McCutcheon et al. (2016) found people in borderline-pathological and intense-personal categories had a high degree of anxiety in intimate relationships
-people at the entertainment-social level generally did not (although even this level was associated w other relationship problems)
-suggests ‘celebrity-worshippers’ can usefully be classified into three categories and that these are predictive of actual behaviour

Question 16

ao3 of PSR: support for absorption addiction model

Answer 16

-Maltby et al. (2005) studied teenagers who had an intense-personal relationship w a female celebrity whose body shape they admired
-found female adolescents had a poor body image and suggested absorption-addiction may contribute to development of an eating disorder
-finding shows there’s a correlation between level of parasocial relationship and poor psychological functioning

Question 17

ao3 of PSR: strength of attachment theory is it applies universally

Answer 17

-Dinkha et al. (2015) compared attachment and PSRs in contrasting cultures- collectivist (Kuwait) and individualist (USA)
-both cultures people w insecure attachments were the most likely to form intense PSR with TV characters
-supports the view that attachment type may be universal explanation for the need to form PSR