AO3: Parasocial

• Strength: Research support for parasocial levels

  What? Predictions supported by research

  Who? McCutcheon - celebrity attitude scale; those scored borderline-pathological/intense-personal experience high level of anxiety

  Why? Predictive validity
• Strength: Support for absorption addiction model

  What? Research shows link between celebrity worship and body image

  Who? Maltby - assessed boys and girls (14-16); girls with intense-personal had poor body image - develops eating disorder

  Why? Supports association between psychological functioning and level of parasocial relationship
• Strength: Universal tendency

  What? Attachment theory explains people all over the world

  Who? Dinkha - collectivist (Kuwait) VS individualist (US); insecure attachment most likely to form intense parasocial relationships in both cultures

  Why? Supports attachment as universal explanation
• Counterpoint: Universal tendency

  What? Contrasting evidence

  Who? McCutcheon - 299 Americans; insecure attachments no more likely than secure attachments

  Why? Parasocial relationships not necessarily compensation for attachment issues