Parasocial Relationships Flashcards

• What are Parasocial Relationships?

  - 'para' means 'resembling'

  - so parasocial relationships are those that are similar to normal relationships but lack a key element

  - they are one sided and unreciprocated

  - usually with a celebrity

  fans expend a lot of emotional energy, commitment and time on the celeb
• Parasocial Relationships: Topics


  1. levels of parasocial relationships and how they're measured

  2. the absorption-addiction model

  3. attachment theory explanation
• How can Parasocial Relationships be Measured?

  - McCutcheon et al. (2002) created a questionnaire called the Celebrity Attitude Scale ​

  - all questions consist of a statement with a 5 point scale of agreement ​

  - this was used in a large scale study by Maltby et al (2006) ​

  - they identified three levels of Parasocial relationship​ from this

  - each level describes the attitude and behaviours of the person ​

  - the levels increase in severity and people can move up the stages​
• Levels of Parasocial Relationship: Entertainment-Social

  - this is the least intense level of celebrity worship

  - celebrities are viewed as sources of entertainment and a fuel for social interaction ​

  - e.g., a group of friends who watch Eastenders discussing stories in a magazine about the actors.​
• Levels of Parasocial Relationship: Intense-Personal


  - this is the intermediate level ​

  - reflects a greater personal involvement in a parasocial relationship with a celebrity

  - e.g., a fan of Kim Kardashian may have frequent obsessive thoughts and intense feelings about her ​
• Levels of Parasocial Relationship: Borderline Pathological


  - this is the strongest level of celebrity worship ​

  - it features uncontrollable fantasies and extreme behaviours

  - e.g. spending a large sum of money on a celebrity-related object or being willing to perform an illegal act on the celebrity's say so ​

  - at this stage celebrity worship can be seen as having got out of hand and become a much more serious case of stalking
• Theories of Parasocial Relationships: The Absorption-Addiction Model - McCutcheon et al. (2002)


  - people pursue parasocial relationships due to deficits within their own life ​

  - for example they may have a weak sense of self-identity ​

  - a lack of fulfilment in their everyday relationships ​

  - or poor psychological adjustment

  - parasocial relationship allows them to 'escape from reality' or find fulfilment that they can't achieve in their actual relationships ​

  - those with a poorer sense of psychological adjustment and weak personal identity absorb themselves into the celebrities life to gain a stronger sense of identity ​

  - this may be triggered by a personal crisis or a stressful life event ​

  - this model therefore predicts an association between poorer psychological health and strength/level of parasocial relationships
• Two Components of the Model

  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 (linked to level 2)​

  ​

  ADDICTION

  - just as with addiction to a psychoactive substance, the individual needs to sustain their commitment to the celebrity by feeling stronger and having closer involvement ​

  - this may lead to more extreme behaviour and delusional thinking (linked to level 3)​

  - for example, stalking a celebrity because you believe that they really want to reciprocate your feelings, but their manager is stopping them ​
• AO3 Strength - Supporting Evidence for the Model

  - Maltby et al (2003) investigated the link between parasocial relationship and personality by giving participants the Eysenck personality questionnaire (and the CAS) ​

  - they found that the Entertainment-social level is linked to Extraversion ​

  - whereas the Intense-personal level is associated with neuroticism (tense, emotional, moody)

  - neuroticism is related to anxiety and depression ​

  - the borderline pathological level was linked to a psychotic personality type (impulsive, anti-social, criminal behaviour) ​

  ​

  - these findings provide support that the higher levels of a parasocial relationship are correlated with poor psychological functioning, which the model predicts
• Theories of Parasocial Relationships: Attachment Theory

  - the tendency to form parasocial relationships originates in early childhood relationships between children and their primary caregivers ​

  - Bowlby's attachment theory suggests that early difficulties may lead to emotional troubles later in life ​

  - this is because the child forms a template, called the internal working model, for how to interact with others based on their early interactions with parents

  - the continuity hypothesis argues that these early relationships continue to influence us later in life

  - the theory argues that those with Insecure-resistant attachment types as adults are more likely to become strongly attached to celebrities than those with secure attachment types ​
• Mary Ainsworth identified what?


  two attachment types associated with unhealthy emotional development: ​

  > insecure-resistant

  - most likely to form parasocial relationships as adults ​

  - this is because they need to have unfulfilled needs met

  - but in a relationship that is not accompanied by the threat of rejection, break-up and disappointment that real-life relationships bring

  > insecure-avoidant

  - not likely to form parasocial relationships, they prefer to avoid the pain and rejection of relationships altogether, whether they are social or parasocial ​​
• AO3 Criticism - Methodological Issues (lack validity)

  - most research uses self-report measures to collect data, for example online questionnaires

  - questions about parasocial relationships & psychological functioning are sensitive topics so participants answers may be influenced by social desirability bias ​

  - e.g. committing crime for a celebrity in the CAS, mental health questionnaires ​

  - therefore research for both theories may lack validity
• AO3 Criticism - Methodological Issues (cause and effect)

  - most studies use correlational data, this means that cause and effect cannot be inferred ​

  - it could be that psychological functioning/attachment type cause parasocial relationships to form ​- or that having a parasocial relationship effects your psychological functioning/attachment type ​

  - alternatively another factor could be causing these associations

  - a way of overcoming this would be to carry out some longitudinal research with before and after measures​
• AO3 Strength - Cross-Cultural Validity

  - research can be generalised cross-culturally ​

  - research studies have identified a tendency for some people to form a parasocial relationship with Harry Potter, an entirely fictional character

  - Schmid and Klimmt (2011) report that this tendency is not culturally specific ​

  - using an online questionnaire they found similar levels of parasocial attachment to Harry Potter in an individualist culture (Germany) and a collectivist culture (Mexico)

  - this suggests that research does have cross-cultural validity​
• AO3 Criticisms - Reductionism


  - the absorption-addiction model reduces PSR down to being caused by poor psychological functioning ​

  - it does not consider other factors such as attachment theory which argues that having an insecure resistant attachment type would cause PSR​

  - therefore the absorption-addiction model oversimplifies PSRs​

  ​

  - the attachment theory reduces PSR down to being caused by having an insecure resistant attachment type ​

  - it does not consider other factors such as the absorption-addiction model which argues that PSRs are due to poor psychological functioning ​

  - therefore the attachment theory oversimplifies PSRs ​