parasocial relationships Flashcards
(10 cards)
what is a parasocial relationship
this is a one sided unreciprocated relationship usually with a celebrity on which the fan expends a lot of emotional energy commitment and time
why do people form parasocial relationships
lack of real relationships in their own life, shyness and lonliness create a void that can be filled with PR, avoid the risk of rejection, less education,weak sense of identity
what are the levels of parasocial relationships
entertainment social- least intense level of celebrity worship. fans are attracted to a celebrity and keep up with gossip
intense personal- this involves and reflects intensive and compulsive feelings about the celebrity.
bordeline pathological- individuals identify with the celebritys success and failures, characteristed by over identification with the celebrity and uncontrollable behaviour and fanticising about their lives
what is the A03 FOR LEVELS OF PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
Supported by research- mccutherton et al used the CAS to measure levels of psr and assessed pps problems in their intimate relationships. intense personal and bordeline pathological expereinces high degree of anxiety in their intimate relationships. people in the entertainment social stage didnt. this model helps us predict actual PSR behaviours
what is the absorption in the absorption addicion model
seeking fulfilment in celebrity worship motivates an individual to focus their attention as far as possible on the celebrity, to become preoccupied with them and identify with them. fans believe they have a special relationship with the celebrity motivating them to learn more about them
what is addiction in the absorption addiction model
the individual needs to increase their dose to gain satisfaction. this leads to more extreme behaviours and delusional thinking. at the borderline pathological level the psr becomes more addictive because of the progressively stronger involvement that is required to remain connected with the celebrity
what is the A03 of the AAM
supporting evidence- maltby et sl assessed males and females aged 14-16. the researchers were particularly interested in females who reported an intense-personal PSR with a female celebrity whose body shape they admired. they found the female adolescents had a poor body image. they speculated this contributes to an eating disorder. this is a strength as it suppoorts the models prediction of an association between poor psychological functioning and the level of psr
correlational- cause and effect isnt established, perhaps the intense personal psr caused the poor body image
it provides a description rather than an explanation of the processes involved. e.g. the model can describe characteristics of people who are most absorbed but it doesnt explain how these characteristics develop- this weakens the usefulness of the theory
methodological issues, many of the studies uses self report techniques such as questionnaires, this leads to a lack of valid findings as people may give socially desirable responses as they wont want to admit theyre obsessed with a celebrity
what is the attachment theory explanation of parasocial relationships
proximity seekings-individuals attempt to reduce the distance between themselves and their attachment figure- people like to stay informed about their celebrity figure
secure base- the presence of the attachment figure provides a sense of security for the individual
protest at distruption-a clear marker of an attachment may be the presence of distress following seperation or loss of the attachment figure
how do poor attachment types lead to later problems in terms of PR
insecure resistant types want relationships but fear rejection so they will run to tv characters as a means of satisfying their own unmet relational needs.
insecure avoidants are less likely to enter PSRs as they find it difficult to develop intimate relationships
secure attachments have a happy and secure childhood and will be less interested in celebrities as they dont have a unfilled need for attachment
what is the A03 for the attachment theory
supporting evidence-cohen carried out a study to investigate whether viewers would show the same negative response to loss of psr as they would the loss of a real relationship. 381 pps were asked how they would react if their favourite tv characters were taken off air and questions about their attachment style. they found that viewers expecting to lose their favourite characters anticipated negative reactions. these reactions were related to the intensity of the psr with their favourite character. the study also supported the important influence of attachment style with insecure resistant pps anticipating the most negative responses.
contradictory research from mcutherton et al- he measured attachment and celebrity related attitudes, they found no correlation between insecure attachments and attractment to celebrities, this is a weakness as it suggests just because you have an insecure resistant attachment that doesnt mean youll have a parasocial relationship
