absorption-addiction model

• people pursue parasocial relationships due to deficits within their own lives, a parasocial relationship allows them to find fulfilment that they cannot achieve in actual relationships. There is a strong correlation between poorer psychological health and strength of parasocial relationships
• absorption?


  seeking fulfilment in celebrity worship motivates the individual to focus their attention on the celebrity and become pre-occupied with them and identify with the individual
• addiction ?


  the individual feels a need to sustain their commitment to the celebrity by feeling stronger and closer involvement which may link to borderline pathological relationships
• a03 supporting evidence ?

  • Maltby investigated the link between parasocial relationship and personality
  • found entertainment social level is linked to extraversion whereas the intense personal is involved with neuroticism and borderline pathological linked with psychoticism
  • these findings provide support that higher levels of parasocial relationships are correlated with poor psychological functioning
• a03 general?


  • most research uses self report measures to collect data
  • p's may be answering out of social desirability bias as PSRS and psychological functioning are sensitive topics
  • therefore research or both theories may lack validity
• a03 general?


  • most studies use correlational data which means cause and effect cannot be inferred
  • unsure which co variable influences the other and if there is an alternate other factor that is causing these associations
  • a way of overcoming this would be to carry out longitudinal research with before and after measures
• a03 general ?


  • research can be generalised cross-culturally,
  • research has shown tendencies for people to identify a PSr with harry potter but schmid and klimmt state this is not culturally specific, using a questionnaire they found similar levels of `PSR to harry potter in both individualistic and collectivist cultures
  • this suggests research has cross-cultural validity
• a03 reductionism?


  reduces PSR down to poor psychological functioning, does not consider other important factors such as attachment theory that argues insecure resistant attachment type would cause PSR. Therefore, the absorption addiction model oversimplifies PSR'S.