Parasocial relationships Flashcards
(10 cards)
what is a parasocial relationship?
Similar to normal relationships but lack a key element, one- sided and unreciprocated, usually with a celebrity.
what are the three levels of parasocial relationships?
Entertainment- social
Intense- personal
Borderline- pathological
what is entertainment-social?
least intense level of celebrity worship, celebrities viewed as sources of entertainment and fuel for social interaction. Giles found that parasocial relationships were a source of gossip in the office.
what is intense-personal?
Intermediate level. reflects greater personal involvement in parasocial relationship with a celebrity, frequent obsessive thoughts and intense feelings about the celebrity
what is borderline-pathological?
This is the strongest level of celebrity worship, featuring uncontrollable fantasies and extreme behaviours. May include spending large some of money on a celebrity-related object or willingness to perform illegal act on the celebrity’s say-so
what is the absorption addiction model?
McCutcheon(2002)- Linked the levels of parasocial relationships to deficiencies people may have in their own lives. The parasocial relationship may provide an escape from reality. someone may be triggered into more intense involvement by personal crisis or stressful life event.
What are the two components of the absorption addiction model?
Absorption- seeking fulfilment in celebrity worship motivates an individual to focus their attention on the celebrity, they become preoccupied with the celebrity and identify with them
Addiction- just as with a physiological addiction to a psychoactive substance, they need to increase their dose to gain satisfaction. may lead to more extreme behaviours and delusional thinking. For example, stalking a celebrity as they believe the celebrity wants to reciprocate their feelings but someone is stopping the celebrity from getting involved.
What is the attachment theory of parasocial relationships?
Tendency to form parasocial relationships in adolescence and adulthood because of attachment difficulties in early childhood. Bowlby suggested such early difficulties may lead to emotional troubles later in life.
Ainsworth identified two attachment types associated with unhealthy emotional development: insecure-resistance and insecure-avoidant.
Insecure-resistance are most likely to form parasocial relationships because they seek to have unfulfilled needs met in a relationship without threat of heartbreak
Insecure-avoidant prefer to avoid the pain and rejection of relationships altogether whether they be social or parasocial
evaluation of parasocial relationships (brief)
strength - research support for levels, McCutcheon et al
strength - research for link between celeb worship and body image
strength - theory can explain universal tendency HOWEVER attachment type evidence not supportive
strengths of parasocial relationships
one strength is the levels of the model is that it has predictive validity. McCutcheon et al used CAS to measure level of parasocial relationships. Assessed p’s problems in intimate relationships. Those scoring as borderline-pathological or intense-personal experienced high anxiety in intimate relationships. This suggests that “celebrity worshippers” can usefully be classified into three categories and that these are predictive of actual behaviour.
another strength is that there is support for absorption addiction model. research shows a link between celebrity worship and body image. Maltby et al assessed boys and girls aged 14 to 16 years. They were interested in girls who reported an intense-personal parasocial relationship with an adult female celebrity whose body they admired. They found girls tended to have poor body image, contributing to the development of an eating disorder. This model supports prediction of an association between poor psychological functioning and the level of parasocial relationship.
a further strength of attachment theory is that it can explain why people all over the world have a desire to form parasocial relationships. Dinkha et al compared collectivist and individualist cultures. the researchers found that people with an insecure attachment type were most likely to form intense parasocial relationship with TV personalities and characters. This was true in both cultures. This supports the view that attachment type may be a universal explanation for the need to form parasocial relationships, However, McCutcheon et al measured attachment types and celebrity related attitudes in 299 American participants. They found that attachment security did not affect the likelihood of forming a parasocial relationship with a celebrity. This shows that parasocial relationships are tot necessarily a way of compensating for attachment issues
