Relationships: Parasocial Relationships Flashcards

1
Q

What are parasocial relationships?

A

A one sided relationship, often with a celebrity,where one person extends emotional energy, interest and time in the relationship, whilst the other person is completely aware of the other persons existence.

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2
Q

What are the three levels of parasocial relationships?

A
  1. Entertainment Social — people at this level are essentially low-level fans/admirers. They view their favourite celebrity as a source of entertainment and fuel for social interaction. They are likely to learn and discuss their favourite celebrity with people in their social group.
  2. Intense-personal — at this level, people have a deeper involvement in their celebrities life. They may have intense feelings and obsessive thoughts about their celebrity.
  3. Borderline pathological — This is the most intense level of parasocial relationship. It is characterised by over identification with the celebrity, and uncontrollable fantasies and behaviours directed at the celebrity.
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3
Q

Explain the absorption-addiction model.

A
  • McCutcheon’s absorption-addiction model explains that people progress through the levels of parasocial relationships described above due to a lack of fulfilment in their real life. This lack of fulfilment is because they lack meaningful relationships or a strong sense of personal identity.
  • The root cause of lack of fulfilment is childhood traumas.
  • In the first stage, the unfulfilled person seeks fulfilment by becoming absorbed in a celebrity’s life. They identify with the celebrity and become preoccupied with their life.
  • The next stage refers to the degrees to which an individual becomes dependant on the parasocial relationship for emotional withdrawal symptoms when they’re not engaging with the media figure, or when they feel compelled to follow every aspect of their life and career.
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4
Q

Explain attachment theory.

A
  • According to Bowlbys monotropic theory, a persons early attachment will affect their later relationships. Attachment theorists would therefore explain pathological parasocial relationships as resulting from problems in a persons early attachment experiences.
  • Attachment theorists investigating parasocial relationships have then drawn on Ainsworths idea of attachment types to make the following predictions about how childhood attachment experiences affect the likelihood that a person will develop a parasocial relationship as an adult:
  • Individuals with insecure resistant attachment types as children are likely to find the demands of real relationships difficult due to their high levels of relationship anxiety. They seek close attachment but fear rejection, meaning parasocial relationships offer a non-threatening alternative to real relationships (as the celebrity wont leave them as they dont know they exist)
  • Insecure-avoidant are less likely to foster close emotional ties, meaning they avoid face-to-face and parasocial relationships.
  • Secure attachments are capable of developing loving two-way relationships, so do not need parasocial relationships.
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5
Q

What is a methodological issue of studies into parasocial relationships?

A

These methods may not reflect the true picture, as the responses of participants may be
tainted by social desirability bias. This means they may want to answer in a way that reflects
them in favorable light rather than responding truthfully. This is especially true for a topic like
parasocial relationships, as participants may feel embarrassed by their behaviour. This means that the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of those with parasocial relationships
may not match the findings of studies using self-report methods.

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6
Q

What research support is there for the absorption-addiction model as an explanation of parasocial relationships?

A

For example, Maltby (2005) found that women who reported an intense-personal parasocial
relationship to a female celebrity whose body shape they admired were more likely to also report
having poor body image themselves. This is consistent with the absorption-addiction model because, just as the model predicts,
individuals who experience a lack of fulfilment in their own lives (in this case their body image)
may address this by becoming absorbed in the life of somebody else (in this case with celebrities
whose bodies they admire). However, a problem with this research is it relies on evidence of
correlation, and correlation does not equal causation. One issue is the direction of causation is
unclear. It may be that the women’s lack of fulfillment with their own bodies caused them to
become absorbed and develop a parasocial relationships, but it’s equally possible the absorption
caused a lack of fulfillment in their own bodies. Therefore, this study doesn’t show that
fulfilment is necessarily the cause of the parasocial relationship, as the absorption-addiction
model suggests.

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7
Q

What research support is there into attachment theory’s explanation of parasocial relationships and the absorption-addiction model?

A

For example, Kienlen (1997) conducted research on stalkers and found that 63% of their
participants experienced a loss of a caregiver in early childhood while 50% experienced
emotional and physical abuse. These findings are consistent with attachment theory’s claim that disturbed attachment in
childhood may lead to the development of borderline-pathological level of parasocial
relationships. This therefore supports the central claim of attachment theory’s explanation for
parasocial relationships. However, this research might also support the absorption-addiction
model, as it’s possible these early negative childhood experiences caused lasting mental damage,
leading to these people to experience a lack of fulfillment in their lives, and therefore motivate
them to seek fulfilment through absorption and eventually addiction in their parasocial
relationship.

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