Parasocial Relationships (PSR's)

• Parasocial Relationship


  a one-sided relationship where one person spends considerable emotional energy, interest and time, although the other person (usually a celebrity) is completely unaware of their existence.
• Nature of PSR's


  varied as reasons for forming FtF relationships IRL.

  for example, people may form PSR's as a lock of real relationships in own life.

  Shyness and loneliness create a void in a person's life can be filled by a PSR.

  because a fan doesn't have a 'real' relationship with celebrity, they don't run the risk of criticism or rejection, as the case in a real relationship
• Level of Parasocial relationships

  Entertainment - social

  least intense level of celebrity worship

  celebrities are viewed as source of entertainment and fuel for social interaction. E.g. friends with an interest in soaps may enjoy discussing stories in OK magazine about actors on Eastenders.

  Intense - personal

  intermediate level which reflects a greater personal involvement in a PSR with a celebrity. E.g. a fan a Kim K might have frequent obsessive thoughts and intense feelings about her, even considering her as a 'soulmate'

  Borderline pathological

  strongest level of celebrity worship, featuring uncontrollable fantasies and extreme behaviours e.g. stalking. E.g. spending a large amount of money on a celebrity-related object.
• Absorption-addiction model


  Individuals can become psychologically absorbed with a celebrity to establish a sense of fulfilment.

  The motivational forces driving this absorption might then take on an addictive component, leading to more extreme behaviours in order to sustain the parasocial relationship.
• Absorption-addiction model components


  Absorption

  seeking fulfilment in celebrity motivates the individual to focus their attention as far as possible on celebrity, to become pre-occupied in their existence and identify with them.

  Addiction

  similar to a psychoactive drug, individual needs to sustain their commitment to relationship by feeling a stronger and closer involvement with celebrity.

  This may lead to more extreme behaviours and delusional thinking.

  E.g. stalking a celeb as you believe they really want to reciprocate your feelings, but someone is stopping them.
• Attachment Theory


  Insecure resistant types are more likely to form PS's as adults. This is because they need to have unfulfilled needs met, but in a relationship that isn't accompanied by treat of rejection, breakup and disappointment real-life relationships bring.

  Insecure avoidant types prefer to avoid the pain and rejection of relationships altogether, whether social or parasocial.
• Strength - research support for Absorption Addiction model

  Maltby et al investigated relationship between celebrity worship and body image in males and females aged 14-16.

  females reporting an intense personal PSR with a celebrity body shape they admired.

  found female adolescents tended to have a poor body image and this relationship may be a precursor to an eating disorder.

  Other research by Maltby et al links entertainment-social with extraverted personality traits, intense-personal with neurotic traits and borderline pathological with psychotic personality type.

  Strength - research can be used to improve professionals' understanding of psychological disorders and help people struggling with psychological disorders.
• Weakness - methodological issues concerning parasocial relationships

  most studies on PSR's use self-report methods. these may not reflect the true picture as ppts may want to answer in a way that reflects them in better light and not respond truthfully to the questions.

  most research into celebrity worship and PSR's is correlational. E.g. a strong correlation was found between poor body image and intensive celebrity worship in adolescent girls.

  this doesn't mean that celeb worship causes poor body image. it may as well be girls wo already have a poor body image tend to engage in a more intensive level of parasocial relationships to enhance their self-esteem.

  cause and effect can't be clearly established.

  Weakness - problem of social desirability bias. means the reasons for developing parasocial relationships may be different from one uncovered by research, lowering the validity of these explanations, so less applicable IRL.
• Strength - research into celebrity worship has proven it's a universal phenomenon

  Schmid and Klimmt recognised a tendency for some people to form a PSR with Harry Potter. using an online questionnaire, thy found similar level of parasocial attachment to Harry Potter in an individualistic culture and a collectivist culture.

  Strength - demonstrates the universal influence of mainstream media characters and commonalities between individuals' own lives and relationships and those portrayed in films and books.
• Weakness - problems associated with the Absorption Addiction model


  is better suited to describing level of celebrity worship that explain how people develop these attitudes. this model attempts to establish universal principles of behaviour (nomothetic approach) so misses out on deep insight into reasons for behaviour.

  Weakness - type of approach is limited in it's explanation for why people form PSR's. an idiographic approach, may be better suited to the reasons for why people develop them.