parasocial relationships

• mccutcheon?

  • created celebrity attitude scale (CAS)
  • measures levels of parasocial relationship
• what is a parasocial relationship?

  • relationships that people have with celebrities that are entirely one sided
• 3 levels of parasocial relationships?

  1. entertainment social level
  2. intense personal level
  3. borderline pathological level
• entertainment social level?

  • this level involves people talking with friends about celebrities/gossip
  • eg learning life story of my favourite celebrity is alot of fun
• intense personal level?

  • this level involves intensity of feelings for celebrities become an obesession
  • eg i consider my favourite celebrity as my soul mate
• borderline pathological level?

  • this level involves potentially harmful aspects of feelings for celebrities
  • can lead to uncontrollable behaviours - stalking
  • eg if i walked through the door of my favourite celebrities house he would be happy to see me
• 2 explanations of parasocial relationships?

  1. absorption addiction model
  2. attchment theory
• who proposed the absorption addiction model?

  • mccutcheon 2002
• explain absorption addiction model?

  • argues that people pursue parasocial relationships with celebrities & are attracted to celebrities when their own lives are deficient in some way
  • those with poorer psychological adjustment, weaker senses of identity or those who have experienced personal crises are seen as more prone to be attracted to celebrities
  • so they absorb themselves in celebrities life to gain stronger sense of identity
• maltby - research into absorption addiction model?

  • levels of ps rs & mental health issues
  • gave p CAS & mental health questionnaire
  • found those on level 1 were mentally healthy but experienced loneliness in real life
  • p on level 2 scored highly on anxiety & depression
  • p on level 3 of celeb worship couldnt be tested - their mental health problems were too serious & questionnaire didnt cover them
  • shows theres link between deficiencies in real life & ps rs
  • potentially suggests people overcome these deficiencies by creating ps rs with celebs in attempt to improve their sense of identity
• * evidence from derrick - aa model?

  • found that people with low self esteem when asked to write essay about their favourite celeb experienced boost in self esteem
  • did not gain same benefits with real life rs
  • shows that if you absorb yourself in your favourite celebrity then you do experience a higher sense of identity explaining why people form one sided rs with celebs
• 3 X of parasocial relationshipd?

  1. use of questionnaires
  2. correlational
  3. socially sensitive
• X use of questionnaires - aa model?

  • pro - efficient in measurement of levels of ps rs as its time & cost efficient way to gain large sample size - can gather alot of data to help find patterns & trends
  • con - suffer from social desirability bias & could lie about how obsessed they are with their favourite celebrity as they may feel embarrassed & play down their obsession
  • although we can collect lots of data using this methodology findings may be based on inaccurate info so conclusion that people with ps rs have deficiency in an area of life may not be accurate
• X correlational - aa model?

  • pro - allows us to look at variables we cant manipulate so its more ethical
  • eg cant force someone to form ps rs with somebody/experience life deficiency & see whether or not they become obsessed with celebrity but can look at rs between co variables that already coexist
  • con - cant establish c & e & dont know which variable is affecting which
  • does having life deficiencies/if there are other factors affecting ps rs
  • even though its more ethical to use correlational its difficult to draw accurate conclusions about c & e rs between life deficiencies & formation of ps rs
• X socially sensitive - aa model?

  • if someone completes CAS & is told they are level 3 they may then begin to feel ashamed/embarrassed disclosing info about how obsessed they are with celebrities
  • ? credible
  • its socially sensitive area & we may cause psychological harm to someone by asking them about their relationships & causing them to feel shame & embarrassment
• attachment theory?

  • we have different types of attachment in infancy
  • these attachments then affect our adult relationships
  • those with insecure resistant attachment types are more likely to form parasocial relationships - feel need to have close relationship without any risk of rejection
• 2 * of attachment theory?

  1. evidence from cole & leets 1999
  2. evidence from mccutcheon 2006
• 4 X of attachment theory?

  1. does not explain all types of parasocial relationships
  2. use of questionnaires
  3. correlational
  4. retrospective
• * evidence frome cole & leets 1999 - att theory?

  • found that adolescents with insecure resistant attachment were more likely to have ps rs with tv personalities than those with secure & insecure avoidant attachments
  • supports idea that insecure resistant attachments are linked to formation of ps rs
• * evidence from mccutcheon 2006 - att theory?

  • measured attraction to celebrities
  • those who had insecure attachments had more positive attitude to obsessive & stalking behaviour
  • shows those who had insecure resistant were more likely to engage in stalking behaviour of celebs
  • this research suggests that theory is accurate & people with insecure att are more likely to absorb themselves into celebs life & form ps rs
• X does not explain all types of parasocial rs - att theory?

  • research has shown that having insecure resistant attachment type only explains intense form of ps rs
  • research has not explained mild ps rs
  • cannot generalise it to ps rs so other explanations may be more accurate & applicable
  • some people may have alternative att style yet may still enter into ps rs
• X use of questionnaires - att theory?

  • pro - lots of info can be collected in short period of time so its an efficient method of gathering data
  • con - suffer from social desirability & may lie about their obsession with celebs/understate it due to embarrassment & fear of judgement
  • although it enables range of data to be collected efficiently may lead to theory being based on false info
  • means its difficult to draw conclusions about role of att type on formation of ps rs
• X correlational - att theory?

  • pro - variables can be measured that cant be manipulated in research such as att type so its more ethical rather than create conditions of ps rs/att type to test them
  • con - cause & effect cannot be established
  • not possible to state whether having insecure resistant att leads to ps rs/theres another factor affecting formation of ps rs
  • conclusions are unclear about c&e relationship between att type & ps rs
• X retrospective - att theory?

  • as it involves looking back at upbringing to find out what attachment person has in childhood could lead to inaccurate info/people may have forgotten details & schema may fill in blanks/lie to create more positive reflection of childhood
  • theory may be based on false/inaccurate info so we cannot be certain insecure resistant att in early childhood does lead to ps rs in later life