Parasocial relationships

• Levels of Parasocial Relationships

  Entertainment-social = least intense level of celebrity worship, celebrities viewed as sources of entertainment and fuel for social interaction e.g. gossip

  Intense-personal = intermediate level reflects greater personal involvement, e.g. obsessive thoughts and intense feelings

  Borderline pathological = strongest level, uncontrollable fantasies and extreme behaviours
• Absorption-Addiction Model


  Tendency to form parasocial relationships can be explained by deficiencies people have in their own lives e.g. weak sense of self-identity and lack fulfilment in everyday relationships, allows them to escape reality or find fulfilment

  Someone in entertainment-social can be triggered into more intense involvement by some personal crisis
• Absorption


  Seeking fulfilment, motivates individual to focus attention to become pre-occupied in their existence and identify with them ('absorb' celebrities identity as own)
• Addiction


  Individual needs to sustain commitment to relationship by feeling stronger and closer involvement, may lead to extreme behaviours and delusional thinking (stalking)
• Attachment Theory Explanation


  Form parasocial relationship in adolescence and adulthood due to attachment difficulties in early childhood, Bowlby's internal working model, Ainsworth insecure resistant and avoidant, resistant most likely to form parasocial relationship as adults due to unfulfilled needs wanting to be met but also without risk of rejection, break-up or disappointment, avoidant prefer to avoid pain and rejection of relationships all together (social and parasocial)
• Strengths of Levels of Parasocial Relationships

  - Schmid and Klimmt found similar levels of parasocial attachment to Harry Potter in an individualist culture (Germany) and a collectivist culture (Mexico) > not culturally specific
• Strength of Absorption-Addiction Model

  - Maltby, link between celebrity worship and body image in males and females, 14-16 years old, females reporting intense-personal with celebrity whose body shape they admired, these tended to have poor body image and link may be precursor to development of eating disorders like anorexia nervosa
• Problem of Absorption-Addiction Model

  - Describes instead of explains how characteristics develop
• Strength of Attachment Theory Explanation


  - Cole and Leets, 63 female and 52 male students, measured parasocial relationships score and attachment type, found type C ppts most likely to form parasocial relationship, A least likely and B in the middle, also found Isaeli ppts with resistant type had strongest responses to end of parasocial relationship > accounts for individual differences
• Problem of Attachment Theory Explanation

  - McCutcheon measured attachment types and celeb-related attitudes in 299 ppts, found ppts with insecure attachment no more likely to form parasocial relationship than ppts with secure attachments