A01 Parasocial Relationships

• Levels of parasocial relationships


  McCutcheon et al developed the celebrity attitude scale which identified three levels describing the attitudes and behaviours linked to more extreme forms of celebrity worship.
• Entertainment-social subscale

  Least intense level of celebrity worship, celebrities viewed as sources of entertainment and fuel for social interaction. They are a frutiful source for gossip.
• Intense Personal subscale

  Intermediate level reflects greater personal involvement, e.g. obsessive thoughts and intense feelings.
• Borderline pathological subscale

  Strongest level, uncontrollable fantasies and extreme behaviours
• The absorption-addiction model


  Explains the tendency to form PRs in terms of problems people have in their own lives. E.g: they have a weak sense of self-identity. A PR allows them to escape from reality or a way finding of fulfiment. Someone who has initially the entertainment social orientation may drop severely due to a personal crisis.
• Absorption

  Seeking fulfilment in celebrity worship motivates the individual to focus their attention as far as possible on the celebrity, to become pre-occupied in their existance and identity with them.
• Addiction

  Individual needs to sustain their commitment to the relationship by feeling and stronger and closer involvement with the celebrity. May lead to more extreme behaviours and delusional thinking.
• The attachment theory explanation

  Various psychologists argue that there is a tendency to form parasocial relationship in adolescence and adulthood due to attachment difficulties in early childhood.
• Bowlby and Ainsworth attachment theory


  Bowlby's internal working model suggested such early difficulties may lead to emotional troubles later in life. Ainsworth identified two types of insecure attachment: insecure resistant and avoidant. Resistant type was most likely to form parasocial relationship as adults due to unfulfilled needs wanting to be met but also without risk of rejection, break-up or disappointment, avoidant prefer to avoid pain and rejection of relationships all together (social and parasocial)