Parasocial relationships

• Maltby (2006) used the Celebrity Attitude Scale (developed by McCutcheon in 2002) to establish three different stages of parasocial relationships, each increasing with emotional intensity and commitment towards the celebrity.
• Celebrity altitude scale:

  1. Entertainment-social - Giles suggested celebrity news is used as a source of gossip and so can strengthen real-life relationships with friends due to having more common interests.
  2. Intense-personal - Obsessive thoughts about the celebrity and an advanced emotional connection with them.
  3. Borderline pathological - Pathological behaviours such as stalking and/or resentment against anyone who may prevent the individual from carrying out these behaviours.
• An individual is more likely to develop abnormal, pathological parasocial relationships if they are unfulfilled in their current relationship, have low self-esteem or have experienced traumatic, life changing event. This is in line with the absorption-addiction model, where absorption indicates the individual’s initial interest and developing obsession with the celebrity, whilst the addiction model indicates the individual’s need to increase the intensity and commitment of their parasocial relationship, through increasingly pathological behaviours.
• In line with Bowlby’s theories of maternal deprivation and monotropic attachment, an individual with an insecure-resistant attachment type is more likely to be involved in a parasocial relationship (due to lowering the risk of rejection and pain, alongside unfulfillment associated with real-life relationships), as well as those with an insecure-avoidant attachment type (but with an emphasis on avoiding the feelings above, rather than being exposed to them in the first instance).
• Strengths of parasocial relationships:

  • Research supporting the psychological stages within the celebrity altitude scale - Maltby suggested the final borderline-psychotic stage is associated with psychotic traits, whilst the second stage is associated with neuroticism. Previous evidence from him also found a positive correlation between increasing body dissatisfaction and an increasing likelihood of developing a parasocial relationship, supports the idea that abnormal psychological functioning is heavily involved in the formation of such relationships.
• Strengths of parasocial relationships:

  • Support for the absorption addiction model - Maltby studied teenagers who had an intense-personal relationship with a female celebrity whose body shape they admired. They found that the female adolescents had a poor body image and suggested absorption. The addiction may contribute to development of an eating disorder. These finding shows that there is a correlation between level of parasocial relationship and poor psychological functioning.
• Limitations of parasocial relationships:

  • Bowlby’s attachment theory may be a better explanation for the development of pathological traits compared to the absorption-addiction model. This is because the latter model accurately describes the acquirement and maintenance of such relationships (in terms of the initial absorption and then consequent addiction to fulfil the original desires), whereas Bowlby’s attachment theory can explain why some people are more likely to start the relationships than others. So Bowlby’s attachment theory has a greater practical explanatory value.
• Limitations of parasocial relationships:

  • Flawed methodology - Correlational research can only demonstrate a link between two variables and so cannot establish a ‘cause and effect’ relationship between, for example, personality type and the likelihood of forming a parasocial relationship. They also do not take into account the ‘third variable problem’, where a third, unstudied variable may be affecting both outcomes.
• Limitations of parasocial relationships:

  • Flawed methodology - The second problem is the reliance on self-report measures, which depend on the accuracy of memory and honesty. Such data is particularly susceptible to acquiscience bias and social desirability bias (both types of demand characteristics), reducing the reliability.