Parasocial Relationships

• Parasocial Relationship


  One sided relationship where one person may expend considerable emotional energy and time towards the other. Typically develop with celebrities.
• What are the 3 levels of parasocial relationships?

  1. Entertainment social
  2. Intense personal
  3. Borderline pathological
• Entertainment Social

  • Least intense level of celebrity worship
  • Celebrities are viewed as sources of entertainment and gossip
  • Fuel for social interaction
• Intense personal

  • Intermediate level which reflects a greater personal involvement in a parasocial relationship with the celebrity
  • Might have frequent obsessive thoughts and intense feelings about them
• Borderline pathological

  • Strongest level of celebrity worship
  • Feeling uncontrollable fantasies and extreme behaviours
  • May include spending large sums of money on a celebrity related object
• What are the 2 theories of parasocial relationships?

  1. Attachment Theory of parasocial relationships
  2. Absorption Addiction Model
• Absorption Addiction Model

  • Deficiences people have in their own lives for example someone may have a low self esteem
  • Someone who has an entertainment social may have more intense involvements due to a stressful event
  • Allows them to escape reality
  • Has 2 components: Absorption and Addiction
• Absorption

  • Seeking fulfilment in celebrity worship motivates an individual to focus their attention a lot on the celebrity and become preoccupied and identify with them
• Addiction


  Individual needs to increase their 'dose' in order to get satisfaction. Leads to more extreme behaviours and delusional thinking
• AO3 Absorption Addiction: Research Support

  • Research support for the absorption addiction model investigates the link between celebrity worship and body image in males and females aged 14-16 years old
  • Females that reported an intense- personal parasocial relationship with female celebrities whose bodies they admired also reported to have a poor body image about themselves
  • Researchers believed this could be a precursor for the development of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa
• AO3 Parasocial Relationships: Methodological Issues

  • Research has methodological issues with most studies relying on questionnaires to collect data which are subject to biases which can affect findings
  • PPs may respond to personal questions dishonestly (social desirability bias)
  • Most studies are correlational and any strong correlations found between celebrity worship and body image cannot be said to be caused by one or the other
  • Cannot establish cause or effect
  • Raises questions about the validity of the absorption addiction model
• AO3 Parasocial Relationships: Real World Application

  • Research into parasocial relationships presents us with practical applications for the real world
  • It can help better understand stalking behaviour and develop effective therapies to address this such as CBT or psychotherapies
  • This can help reduce obsessive tendencies allowing them to lead more productive lives as well as increase safety for potential victims
• Attachment Theory of parasocial relationships

  • Insecure resistant attachment are seen as most likely to form parasocial relationships as they have a need for close emotional relationships without risk of rejection
  • Through parasocial relationships a person can feel a close intimate bond with a celebrity without fear of rejection as the celebrity is unaware of this relationship
  • People with secure attachments have no need for this
  • Those who are insecure avoidant have issues of trust and therefore less likely to engage in behaviours that create intimacy to avoid pain and rejection entirely
• 3 properties of adult attachment in parasocial relationships

  1. Proximity- are updated with the latest news of the celebrity
  2. Secure base- the celebrity is their 'safe haven' where they can be themselves
  3. Protest at disruption- Experience distress at loss of attachment figure
• AO3 Attachment Theory: Research Support

  • Sample of 381 adults completed questionnaires about their attachment style and how they'd react if their favourite TV characters were taken off air
  • Research found that those expecting their characters to be removed anticipated negative emotions such as sadness and reactions were related to the intensity of their parasocial relationship with their favourite TV character and attachment style
  • Individuals look for attachment figures as a safe base and this can be seen as feature of many parasocial relationships with celebrities
• AO3 Parasocial Relationships: Gender Differences

  • There are gender differences in parasocial relationships which are not fully understood
  • Male pop groups and celebrities (Justin Bieber) the majority of fans tend to be young females however males tend to have an interest in male figures such as sports stars
  • The absorption addiction model may better explain male interests in parasocial relationships as they seek to “absorb” status from male figures
  • The attachment theory explanation may be better suited for females who find emotional comfort
• AO3 Attachment Theory: Universal tendency

  • The attachment theory can explain why people all around the world may form parasocial relationships
  • People with insecure attachment types are more likely to form intense parasocial relationships with TV personalities which is true in both types of cultures
  • Attachment type may be a universal explanation