Parasocial relationships

• Giles & Maltby - levels of parasocial relationships

  • entertainment-social
  • Intense-personal
  • borderline pathological
• McCutcheon et al (2007)

  • absorption addiction model
  • people engage in celebrity worship to compensate for deficiencies in their life e.g. low self esteem and lack of identity
• Aruguete et al (2024)

  investigated absorption addiction model

  • ppts completed an online questionnaire measuring attraction to their favourite celebrity
  • feelings of emptiness and extremism positively correlated with celebrity attraction

  supports the absorption addiction model
• Cole & Leets (1999)

  found that ppts with an insecure-resistant attachment style were more likely to develop parasocial relationships