Parasocial relationships

• Parasocial relationships are those resembling normal relationships but they are one-sided, unreciprocated relationships where an individual develops a strong emotional attachment to a celebrity, fictional character, or public figure who is unaware of their existence.
• Maltby et al (2006) used the Celebrity Attitude Scale (developed by McCutcheon, 2002) to identify three levels of parasocial relationships:

  1. Entertainment-social
  2. Intense-personal
  3. Borderline-pathological
• Entertainment-social: The least intense level, where individuals follow and discuss celebrities for entertainment. Giles (2002) found that parasocial relationships were a fruitful source of gossip in offices.
• Intense-personal: An intermediate level which reflects a greater personal involvement in a parasocial relationship with a celebrity. Intense thoughts and feelings are felt about the celebrity, individuals share these thoughts with others who feel a similar way.
• Borderline-pathological: The most extreme level, where a person may engage in obsessive behaviours, such as spending excessive money on a celebrity-related topic or being willing to perform illegal acts at the celebrities' say so.
• Absorption-Addiction Model (McCutcheon, 2002) suggests that some individuals form parasocial relationships as an escape from reality or to compensate for deficiencies in their own lives (poor sense of identity, lack of fulfilment etc.).
• Absorption: Seeking fulfilment in celebrity motivates individual to become preoccupied and identify with them.
• Addiction: The individual needs a more intense involvement to sustain commitment to the relationship. Could lead to extreme behaviours like delusional thinking e.g. stalking.
• Attachment Theory Explanation (Hazan & Shaver, 1987)

  • People with insecure-resistant attachment styles are more likely to form parasocial relationships as they seek close emotional bonds and to fulfil unmet needs from childhood, but fear rejection in real-life relationships.
  • In contrast, those with secure attachments are less likely to develop parasocial attachments.
• Studies have shown that individuals with insecure-resistant attachment styles are more likely to develop parasocial relationships. For example, Cole and Leets (1999) found that insecure-resistant individuals formed stronger attachments to TV characters than those with secure or avoidant attachment styles. This supports the idea that parasocial relationships serve as a substitute for real-world attachments, increasing the validity of the attachment explanation.
• A strength of the Levels of parasocial relationships is that it has high cross-cultural validity. Research by Schmid and Klimmt (2011) found that parasocial relationships exist across both individualistic and collectivist cultures, with fans of Harry Potter displaying similar levels of parasocial attachment levels in Germany (individualistic) and Mexico (collectivist). This suggests that parasocial relationships may be a universal phenomenon rather than culturally specific.
• A limitation of attachment theory is that it cannot fully explain parasocial relationships. While insecure-resistant individuals are thought to be most prone, McCutcheon et al. (2006) found no link between attachment type and the likelihood of forming parasocial bonds. Additionally, research shows that securely attached people also develop these relationships, suggesting individua differences play a role. This challenges attachment theory as a complete explanation.
• A limitation of the absorption-addiction model is that it is descriptive rather than explanatory. While it identifies characteristics of parasocial relationships, it does not explain why some individuals are more susceptible than others. This reduces its usefulness in predicting who will develop intense celebrity attachments.
• Many studies on parasocial relationships rely on self-report measures, which can lead to social desirability bias. Participants may underreport the extent of their celebrity obsession, making it difficult to determine the true nature of parasocial attachments.