Parasocial Relationships

• Absorption Addiction Model:

  :) RTS Maltby

  > studied adolescents aged 14-16 with poor body image to see if this predisposed them to forming parasocial relationships - female adolescents with poor body image formed intense-personal parasocial relationships with a female celebrity whose body shape they admired

  > supports that poor mental health can predict the level of parasocial relationships
• Absorption Addiction Model:

  :( correlational research

  > cause and effect cannot be established between poor psychological health and level of parasocial relationships - it could be that borderline-pathological parasocial involvement causes poor psychological health, rather than they other way around

  > lowers internal validity
• Attachment Theory:

  :) universal explanation

  > Dinka compared a collectivist (Kuwait) and individualistic (USA) culture in terms of forming parasocial relationships - individuals with insecure attachment types were more likely to form parasocial relationships with TV characters

  > supports that insecure attachment type may be a universal explanation for parasocial relationships
• Attachment Theory:

  :( RTC McCutcheon

  > measured attachment types and celebrity related attitudes in 299 American students - participants with insecure attachment types were no more likely to form parasocial relationships than those with secure attachment types

  > relationship between poor quality attachment and parasocial relationships may be more complex