Virtual and Parasocial

• Reduced Cues Theory 

  There are two main theories of how self-disclosure operates within computer-mediated communication (CMC): reduced cues theory and the hyperpersonal model.
• Reduced cues theory 

  • Reduced cues theory (Sproull and Kiesler, 1986) implies that CMC relationships are less effective than face-to-face (FtF) relationships because they lack many of the cues we normally depend on in face-to-face interactions.
• Deindividuation

  • These factors include non-verbal cues, such as physical appearance and emotional state, and include facial expressions and tone of voice. 
  • The lack of these cues results in deindividuation because of the reduction in our sense of identity.
• Self-disclosure 

  • Virtual relationship often involves blunt or aggressive communication.
  • This also leads to a reluctance to self-disclose because you are less likely to want to initiate a relationship with someone who appears impersonal.
• The Hyperpersonal Model 

  Walther's (1996, 2011) hyperpersonal model argues that online relationships can be more personable and involve greater self-disclosure than face-to-face ones.
• Theory explained

  • This is because CMC relationships can develop very quickly as self-disclosure happens earlier, and once established they are more intense and intimate.
• Cooper and Sportolari (1997)

  • But CMC relationships can also end more quickly, because the high excitement level of the interaction isn’t matched by the level of trust between the relationship partners.
  • Cooper and Sportolari (1997) called this the boom and bust phenomenon of online relationships.
• Selective self presentation 

  • According to the hyperpersonal model, a key feature of self-disclosure in virtual relationships is that the sender of the message has more time to manipulate their online image than they would in a face-to-face situation.
  • Walther calls this selective self presentation.
• Walther

  • People online have more control over what to disclose and the cues they send. 
  • This makes it much easier to manipulate self disclosure to promote intimacy in CMC relationships, by self-presenting in a positive and idealised way.
• Anonymity

  • Anonymity is another aspect of CMC that can make relationships more hyperpersonal. 
  • Bargh et al. (2002) suggest that when you’re aware that other people do not know your identity, you feel less accountable for your behaviour.
  • This can lead to someone disclosing more about themselves to a stranger than even their most intimate partner.
• The Hyperpersonal Model: Gating

  Walther's (1996, 2011) hyperpersonal model argues that online relationships can be more personable and involve greater self-disclosure than face-to-face ones.
• Absence of gating

  • An element of online relationships is the absence of gating.
  • A gate is any obstacle that can interfere with the early development of a relationship.
  • In face-to-face (FtF) interactions there are many gates, such as physical unattractiveness, stammer, and social anxiety.
• McKenna and Bargh (1999)

  • McKenna and Bargh (1999) argue that a huge advantage of computer-mediated communication (CMC) is the absence of gating, meaning that a relationship can develop to the point where self-disclosure becomes more frequent and deeper.
• Gating

  • This absence of gating allows an online relationship to form in a way that is less likely to happen in face-to-face situation.
  • Absence of gating works by re-focusing attention on self-disclosure and away from what may be considered superficial or distracting features.
• Creation of online identities

  • In other words, when online, people are more interested in what other people tell them, and less interested in what they look like.
  • An absence of gating also means that people are free to create online identities that they could never manage face-to-face.
  • People can change their sex or gender or an introvert can portray themselves as an extrovert.
• Criticisms of Reduced Cues Theory

  There is a lack of research support for reduced cues theory. Many studies challenge it. 

  CMC non-verbal cues

  • Reduced cues theory is incorrect in its suggestion that non-verbal cues are entirely missing from computer-mediated communication (CMC). 
  • They are different rather than absent. 
  • Walther and Tidwell (1995) say that people in online interactions use other cues, such as style and timing of their messages.
• Walther and Tidwell (1995)

  • For example, taking a bit more time to reply to a social media status update or message is often interpreted as more intimate than an immediate response because it implies more thought has gone into it. 
  • But if too much time is left, it could be perceived as a snub.
• CMC emotional cues

  • CMC also use other methods to convey emotion and replace facial expressions, such as acronyms (e.g. LOL), emoticons and emojis.
  • Reduced cues theory struggles to explain the success of such online communication where CMC interactions can be just as personal as those conducted face-to-face and have proved that it’s possible to express emotional states in virtual relationships.
• Support for the Hyperpersonal Model

  There is a great deal of research support for the hyperpersonal model.

  Whitty and Joinson (2009)

  • Whitty and Joinson (2009) summarise a wealth of evidence supporting the basic premise of the hyperpersonal model. 
  • For example, questions asked in online discussions tend to be very direct, probing and intimate and responses are likewise direct and to the point.
• Traits

  • This is different from face-to-face conversations which often involve a lot of small talk. 
  • These findings support the central assertion of the model - that self-disclosure in computer-mediated communication (CMC) relationships is designed to present ourselves in a more positive light. 
  • This helps relationship formation.
• Different types of CMC

  • There are many different types of CMC. People will use these in different ways, including the depth of self-disclosure.
  • For example, people self disclose more in their Facebook status updates than they are willing to in an online e-commerce web form, when they are quite reluctant to disclose information they consider to be private (Paine et al. 2006).
• Online and offline relationships

  • Walther (2011) argues that any theory seeking to explain CMC, including the role of self-disclosure, needs to accommodate the fact that our relationships are generally conducted both online and offline through many different media. 
  • In the case of social networking sites, people who interact with each other generally have relationships in the offline world.
• Anticipation of future meetings

  • Similarly, self-disclosure in online dating is reduced because both communicators anticipate future meetings face-to-face (FtF) in the offline world.
  • This is a consideration that generally doesn’t exist in chat rooms and on gaming sites, which proves the existence of different types of CMC.
• Support for absence of gating

  • There is support for absence of gating in CMC.
  • McKenna and Bargh (2000) investigated CMC use by lonely and socially anxious people. 
  • They found that such people were able to express their true selves more than in face-to-face situations. 
  • Of the romantic relationships that initially formed online, 70% survived more than two years. This is a higher proportion than relationships formed in the offline world.
• Parasocial Relationships

  A parasocial relationships is a one-sided, unreciprocated relationship, usually with a celebrity, on which the fan expends a great deal of energy, commitment and time.

  Celebrity attitude scale

  • McCutcheon et al. (2002) developed the celebrity attitude scale.
  • This was used in a large-scale survey by Maltby et al. (2006), who identified three levels of parasocial relationship.
  • Each level described the attitudes and behaviours linked to ever more extreme forms of celebrity worship.
• Entertainment-social level

  • The first level of parasocial relationships is the entertainment-social level, the least intense level of celebrity worship.
  • At this level, celebrities are viewed as sources of entertainment and fuel for social interaction.
  • For example, friends with more than a passing interest in soap operas might enjoy discussing stories in magazines about actors on Eastenders or Coronation Street. 
  • Giles (2002) found that parasocial relationships were a fruitful source of gossip in offices.
• Intense personal level

  • The second level is intense personal. This is an intermediate level which reflects a greater personal involvement in a parasocial relationship with a celebrity.
  • These might include frequent obsessive thoughts and intense feelings, perhaps even considering the celebrity to be a ‘soul mate’.
• Borderline pathological 

  • Borderline pathological is the strongest level of celebrity worship, featuring uncontrollable fantasies and extreme behaviours.
  • These include spending, or planning to spend, a large sum of money on a celebrity related object, or being willing to perform some illegal act on the celebrity’s say-so.
• Parasocial Relationships and the Absorption-Addiction Model

  Parasocial relationships have been explained using the absorption-addiction model and attachment theory.

  McCutcheon (2002)

  • One theory of parasocial relationships is the absorption-addiction model (McCutcheon, 2002). 
  • According to McCutcheon (2002), the tendency to form parasocial relationships arises from deficiencies people have in their own lives.
  • For example, a weak sense of self-identity and a lack of fulfilment in their everyday relationships. They might also be poorly psychologically adjusted.
• McCutcheon (2002) cont.

  • Parasocial relationships allow people to escape from reality or to find fulfilment that they can’t achieve in their actual relationships.
  • Someone who initially had an entertainment social orientation to a certain celebrity may be triggered into more intense involvement by some personal crisis or stressful life event.
• Absorption

  • The absorption-addiction model has two components (absorption and addiction).
  • Absorption suggests that the seeking of fulfilment in celebrity worship motivates the individual to focus their attention as far as possible on the celebrity, to become preoccupied in their existence and identify with them.
• Addiction

  • Addiction, in this context, operates in just the same way as addiction to psychoactive substances.
  • The individual needs to sustain their commitments to the relationship by feeling a stronger and closer involvement with the celebrity.
  • This can lead to increasingly extreme behaviours and delusional thinking, such as stalking a celebrity because of a belief that they want to reciprocate your feelings, but someone (usually their management) is stopping them.
• Parasocial Relationships and Attachment Theory

  Parasocial relationships can also be explained in terms of attachment theory.

  Bowlby

  • It has been argued that the development of parasocial relationships in adolescence and adulthood is because of attachment difficulties in early childhood.
  • Bowlby’s attachment theory suggested that these early difficulties may lead to emotional troubles later in life.
• Insecure resistant 

  • Ainsworth (1979) identified two attachment styles associated with unhealthy emotional development: insecure resistant and insecure avoidance.
  • People displaying an insecure resistant attachment type are most likely to form parasocial relationships as adults.
  • This is because of their need to have unfulfilled needs met. But in a relationship, that is not accompanied by the threat of rejection, breakup and disappointment which real life relationships bring.
• Insecure avoidant

  • Insecure avoidant types prefer to avoid the pain and rejection of relationships altogether, whether they be social or parasocial.
• Roberts (2007) - Study on 200 Students

  This study investigated relationship attachment style and fans' behaviour towards celebrities, in particular self-reports of attempts to approach celebrities.

  Research method

  • Two hundred undergraduate students (100 male, 100 female) completed a questionnaire consisting of the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised questionnaire (Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000) and a scale measuring frequency of self-reported attempts to contact or approach a favourite celebrity.
• Results 1

  • Individuals with an insecure-resistant style of attachment were much more likely to report attempts to contact or approach celebrities and insecure-avoidant, and were much less likely to report such attempts.
• Results 2

  • Cole & Letts (1991) found individuals with an insecure-resistant attachment style were more likely to enter into parasocial relationships because they have a need for emotional closeness, but fear rejection.
  • Parasocial relationships allow an individual the appearance of intimacy and as the celebrity is probably unaware of the relationship, there is no risk of rejection.
• Results 3

  • Secure individuals can develop intimacy in two-way face-to-face relationships, so have less of a need for parasocial relationships
  • Insecure-avoidant types have difficulties trusting others and developing intimacy and so have a lower desire for both face-to-face and parasocial relationships.
• Conclusion 

  • These findings have implications for profiling individuals more likely to be involved in the stalking and harassment of celebrities.