parasocial relationships

• parasocial relationships 


  may be described as those which are one-sided

  Horton and Wohl (1956) defined them as relationships where the ‘fan’ is extremely invested in the relationships but the celebrity is unaware of their existence

  •  Parasocial relationships may occur with any dynamic which elevates someone above the population in a community, making it difficult for genuine interaction; this could be anyone from fictitious characters to teachers.
• McCutcheon (2002)

  • suggests that these relationships make up for deficits in real life relationships and provide a sense of identity that may be missing. They can feel addictive, causing the individual’s feelings to develop through more and more intense stages.
• levels of parasocial relationships: celebrity attitudes scale

  • developed by McCutcheon and Maltby to classify the extent of attitudes and behaviours in these parasocial relationships.
  • entertainment social (celebrities discussed with friends for entertainment, very common)
  •  Intense personal (characterised by obsessive thoughts and emotions and feelings that the relationship is in some way real, less common)
  •  Borderline Pathological (Extreme uncontrollable behaviours towards the celebrity such as stalking, very rare)
• absorption-addiction model


  McCutcheon (2002) proposed that parasocial relationships form due to deficiencies in people’s lives. They look to the relationship to escape from reality, perhaps due to traumatic events or to fill the gap left by a real-life attachment ending
• absorption 


  intense involvement in finding information about the personal life and career of the celebrity, this is an attempt to feel closer to them
• addiction


  behaviours escalate similar to a drug addiction, becoming more extreme

  may result in an attempt to contact the celebrity or stalk them
• Bowlby's attachment theory


  suggests that those who don't have a secure attachment earlier in life will have emotional difficulties and attachment disorders when they grow up (the continuity hypothesis)

  •  Parasocial relationships are associated with young people who have had less genuine relationships so are unable to build an internal working model which allows them to recognise parasocial relationships as abnormal.
  • For example it may be that those with insecure resistant attachment types are drawn to parasocial relationships because they do not offer the threat of rejection or abandonment.
• (limitation) correlational research

  the methodology of research studies which have formed the basis of theories of parasocial relationships may be flawed

  correlational research can only demonstrate a link/ not cause and effect

  doesn't take into account 'third variable problem'
• Maltby (2006)


  investigated the correlation between poor mental health and CAS. Maltby used students from Yorkshire (126 male, 181 female) to complete two surveys, the CAS, and a questionnaire measuring aspects of mental health such as depression and anxiety. It was found that entertainment social individuals showed social dysfunction in their real relationships, and intense personal individuals correlated with high depression and anxiety scores. This suggests a relationship between parasocial relationships and mental health.
• (limitation) self-report 


  many studies into parasocial relationships, such as Maltby’s 2006 survey, rely on self-report technique. This can often lack validity, whether this is due to accidental inaccuracies, due to a warped perception of the parasocial relationship by the participant, or genuine memory lapses, or to more deliberate actions.
• Jenson and Jenkins (1992)


  generally parasocial relationships are viewed as psychopathological, and therefore negative, but Jenson and Jenkins see these relationships as serving the functions of such as helping form social networks between the fans, reducing loneliness