parasocial relationships

• what are the characteristics of para social relationships?

  • one sided
  • unreciprocated
  • lots of time and energy invested
• what are the explanations of para social relationships?

  • absorption-addiction model
  • attachment theory
• what are the 3 reasons for why people form para social relationships?

  • poor real life relationships
  • less well-adjusted psychologically
  • desire to escape real life
• describe the absorption-addiction model

  • absorption component of the model -

  1. focusing on a celebrity and becoming preoccupied with their lives, so the para social relationship takes up their life

  • addiction component of the model -

  1. this sense of fulfillment then becomes addictive for the person, leading them to engage in increasingly risky behaviour e.g stalking to gain satisfaction
  2. addictive nature means that para social relationships escalate as individuals need a higher 'dose' to be satisfied
  3. leading them to engage in increasingly risky behaviour e.g stalking to gain more satisfaction
• what are the 3 levels of para social relationships?

  • entertainment-social
  • intense-personal
  • borderline-pathological
• describe the entertainment-social level

  the least intense level, where celebrities are merely sources of entertainment and gossip
• describe intense-personal level

  a feeling of greater personal involvement with the celebrity
• describe the borderline pathological level

  an intense level of feeling, including fantasising and engaging in extreme behaviours
• give a strength of the absorption-addiction model

  • research support
  • maltby (2005) found that teen girls who reported an intense para social relationship with a female celebrity, who obsessed about the celebrity's body shape, were more likely to have a poor personal body image
  • therefore, this supports the suggestion that para social relationships are formed by those who are psychologically less well-adjusted
• give a weakness of the absorption-addiction model

  • limited explanation
  • describes the characteristics of people who form para social relationships, but doesn't explain why or how these characteristics develop
  • therefore, it doesn't help us prevent more extreme versions of para social relationships and so it is a limited explanation which is isn't that useful
• describe the attachment theory

  • insecure-resistant attachment individuals would fall in love easily but get hurt
  • insecure-avoidant attachment individuals do not believe in true love and so avoid romantic relationships
  • individuals with insecure-resistant attachment are more likely to form para social relationships, because para social relationships do not carry the risk of rejection, meaning the need for an attachment can be met without this accompanying fear
• give a strength of the attachment theory

  • research support
  • kienlen et al. (1997) supported the idea that disturbed attachment in childhood may lead to the development of borderline-pathological level of para social relationships
  • they investigated the experiences of stalkers and found that 63% of their participants experienced a loss of a care-giver in early childhood, while 50% experienced emotional and physical abuse
  • therefore, this increases the credibility of this theory
• give a weakness of attachment theory

  • contradictory research
  • however, mccutcheon et al. (2006) examined the correlation between attachment type and celebrity worship levels using 229 participants and found no link between insecure-resistant attachment and more intense levels of para social relationships
  • therefore, this weakens the attachment theory as an explanation of para social relationships