Define parasocial relationship .

A parasocial relationship (PR) (Horton and Wohl, 1956) is a one-sided relationship in which one partner, generally the object of the other's affection or obsession, is unaware the relationship exists; it is usually focused on someone famous .

What are the three levels of parasocial relationships (Maltby et al., 2006)?

Using the Celebrity Attitude Scale (McCutcheon et al., 2002), Maltby et al. identified the entertainment-social , intense-personal and borderline pathological levels.

Define the entertainment-social level .

The entertainment-social level is the 'fun' level of PR, where a celebrity or TV programme provides diverting gossip and social bonding , e.g. colleagues chatting about a soap every coffee break.

Define the intense-personal level .

The intense-personal level involves a more serious, focused interest in a famous person, with frequent thoughts and daydreams about them, e.g. believing you would be best friends with David Bowie.

Define the borderline pathological level .

The borderline pathological level spills over into deviant and abnormal behaviour , involving extreme acts and delusional thoughts about the celebrity, e.g. believing their manager is keeping you apart.

True or False? The absorption-addiction model explains PRs as a way of escaping from reality.

True. The AAM (McCutcheon, 2002) explains PRs in terms of deficiencies in a person's life: a weak sense of self-identity , a lack of fulfilment and a desire to 'escape from reality' .

How does the AAM link to the three levels of parasocial relationships?

Someone with an entertainment-social orientation may be tipped into more intense involvement by a personal crisis or stressful life event .

What does the 'absorption' aspect of the AAM refer to?

Absorption is how an individual becomes consumed by their imagined relationship with the celebrity, thinking about them from waking until falling asleep.

What does the 'addiction' aspect of the AAM refer to?

Addiction works like a psychoactive substance : the individual needs a stronger and closer involvement with the celebrity to sustain their commitment, and the craving may lead to extreme behaviours and delusional thinking, e.g. living in a tent opposite the celebrity's home.

Which people are likely to take a PR to a borderline pathological level?

According to the AAM, such people tend to: lack a strong sense of self be prone to faulty, distorted thought processes lack fulfilment and achievement in other areas of life have difficulty forming or maintaining romantic or platonic relationships

Why are insecure-resistant types most likely to form parasocial relationships?

Attachment difficulties in early childhood (Ainsworth, 1979) lead to adult relationship difficulties, and for insecure-resistant types a PR meets their unfulfilled emotional needs with no threat of rejection, break-up or disappointment .

True or False? Insecure-avoidant types are the most likely to form parasocial relationships.

False. Insecure-avoidant types prefer to avoid the pain and rejection of relationships altogether, whether social or parasocial .

Why might dysfunctional attachment lead to a parasocial relationship?

A lack of care, nurture and positive attention in childhood may make close relationships seem fraught with difficulty or overwhelming , so the person seeks a PR with someone who cannot cause them pain or make demands .

One benefit of a PR is that it can be in the person's imagination and shaped to suit their changing needs, even 'ending' it when a new obsession comes along.

One benefit of a PR is that it can be controlled in the person's imagination and shaped to suit their changing needs, even 'ending' it when a new obsession comes along.

What did Greenwood and Long (2009) suggest about intense personal relationships?

An intense personal relationship with TV characters reflects a deep psychological need for companionship and a sense of belonging .

What did Greenwood and Long (2010) find about attachment and relationship status?

Single participants and those with an insecure attachment style showed greater imagined intimacy with opposite-sex celebrities than those in a relationship or with no attachment anxiety.

What did Schmid and Klimmt (2011) find about Harry Potter fans?

2,551 fans from Germany and Mexico reported similar levels of PR with the character, suggesting PRs may be a cross-cultural phenomenon .

What did McCutcheon et al. (2006) find about attachment and PRs?

Measuring attachment types and celebrity attitudes in 299 participants , they found those with insecure attachments were no more likely to form PRs than those with secure attachments.

What did Maltby et al. (2005) find about celebrity worship and body image?

Among 14 to 16 year olds, females with an intense-personal PR with a female celebrity whose body shape they admired tended to have poor body image , which may be a precursor to eating disorders.

What did Maltby et al. (2003) find about the three levels and personality?

The entertainment-social level was linked to extraverted traits, the intense-personal level to neurotic traits and the borderline-pathological level to psychotic traits, confirming the predicted link between level of worship and psychological functioning.

Why might research into PRs suffer from social desirability bias?

Much of the research into parasocial relationships uses self-report methods.

Why might investigating PRs compromise ethics?

Asking people about their PRs could be embarrassing , as it requires participants to disclose sensitive information .

Why can cause and effect not be established in PR research?

Most studies are correlational , e.g. between celebrity worship and body image, so intense-personal worship may cause poor body image, or poor body image may draw people to it; longitudinal research is lacking.

True or False? The attachment explanation of parasocial relationships is a nature-based view.

False. It supports a nurture -based view, with PRs developing from early attachment issues , though individual differences in personality (nature) may also play a role, suggesting an interactionist approach.

A LevelPsychologyAQAFlashcardsRelationships: Option Topic (Section B)Parasocial Relationships

Parasocial Relationships (AQA A Level Psychology): Flashcards

Exam code: 7182

1/24

0Still learning

Know0

FrontExplaining Parasocial Relationships
Define parasocial relationship.

Was this flashcard helpful?

Cards in this collection (24)

Define parasocial relationship.
A parasocial relationship (PR) (Horton and Wohl, 1956) is a one-sided relationship in which one partner, generally the object of the other's affection or obsession, is unaware the relationship exists; it is usually focused on someone famous.
What are the three levels of parasocial relationships (Maltby et al., 2006)?
Using the Celebrity Attitude Scale (McCutcheon et al., 2002), Maltby et al. identified the entertainment-social, intense-personal and borderline pathological levels.
Define the entertainment-social level.
The entertainment-social level is the 'fun' level of PR, where a celebrity or TV programme provides diverting gossip and social bonding, e.g. colleagues chatting about a soap every coffee break.
Define the intense-personal level.
The intense-personal level involves a more serious, focused interest in a famous person, with frequent thoughts and daydreams about them, e.g. believing you would be best friends with David Bowie.
Define the borderline pathological level.
The borderline pathological level spills over into deviant and abnormal behaviour, involving extreme acts and delusional thoughts about the celebrity, e.g. believing their manager is keeping you apart.
True or False?
The absorption-addiction model explains PRs as a way of escaping from reality.
True.
The AAM (McCutcheon, 2002) explains PRs in terms of deficiencies in a person's life: a weak sense of self-identity, a lack of fulfilment and a desire to 'escape from reality'.
How does the AAM link to the three levels of parasocial relationships?
Someone with an entertainment-social orientation may be tipped into more intense involvement by a personal crisis or stressful life event.
What does the 'absorption' aspect of the AAM refer to?
Absorption is how an individual becomes consumed by their imagined relationship with the celebrity, thinking about them from waking until falling asleep.
What does the 'addiction' aspect of the AAM refer to?
Addiction works like a psychoactive substance: the individual needs a stronger and closer involvement with the celebrity to sustain their commitment, and the craving may lead to extreme behaviours and delusional thinking, e.g. living in a tent opposite the celebrity's home.
Which people are likely to take a PR to a borderline pathological level?
According to the AAM, such people tend to:
- lack a strong sense of self
- be prone to faulty, distorted thought processes
- lack fulfilment and achievement in other areas of life
- have difficulty forming or maintaining romantic or platonic relationships
Why are insecure-resistant types most likely to form parasocial relationships?
Attachment difficulties in early childhood (Ainsworth, 1979) lead to adult relationship difficulties, and for insecure-resistant types a PR meets their unfulfilled emotional needs with no threat of rejection, break-up or disappointment.
True or False?
Insecure-avoidant types are the most likely to form parasocial relationships.
False.
Insecure-avoidant types prefer to avoid the pain and rejection of relationships altogether, whether social or parasocial.
Why might dysfunctional attachment lead to a parasocial relationship?
A lack of care, nurture and positive attention in childhood may make close relationships seem fraught with difficulty or overwhelming, so the person seeks a PR with someone who cannot cause them pain or make demands.
One benefit of a PR is that it can be in the person's imagination and shaped to suit their changing needs, even 'ending' it when a new obsession comes along.
One benefit of a PR is that it can be controlled in the person's imagination and shaped to suit their changing needs, even 'ending' it when a new obsession comes along.
What did Greenwood and Long (2009) suggest about intense personal relationships?
An intense personal relationship with TV characters reflects a deep psychological need for companionship and a sense of belonging.
What did Greenwood and Long (2010) find about attachment and relationship status?
Single participants and those with an insecure attachment style showed greater imagined intimacy with opposite-sex celebrities than those in a relationship or with no attachment anxiety.
What did Schmid and Klimmt (2011) find about Harry Potter fans?
2,551 fans from Germany and Mexico reported similar levels of PR with the character, suggesting PRs may be a cross-cultural phenomenon.
What did McCutcheon et al. (2006) find about attachment and PRs?
Measuring attachment types and celebrity attitudes in 299 participants, they found those with insecure attachments were no more likely to form PRs than those with secure attachments.
What did Maltby et al. (2005) find about celebrity worship and body image?
Among 14 to 16 year olds, females with an intense-personal PR with a female celebrity whose body shape they admired tended to have poor body image, which may be a precursor to eating disorders.
What did Maltby et al. (2003) find about the three levels and personality?
The entertainment-social level was linked to extraverted traits, the intense-personal level to neurotic traits and the borderline-pathological level to psychotic traits, confirming the predicted link between level of worship and psychological functioning.
Why might research into PRs suffer from social desirability bias?
Much of the research into parasocial relationships uses self-report methods.
Why might investigating PRs compromise ethics?
Asking people about their PRs could be embarrassing, as it requires participants to disclose sensitive information.
Why can cause and effect not be established in PR research?
Most studies are correlational, e.g. between celebrity worship and body image, so intense-personal worship may cause poor body image, or poor body image may draw people to it; longitudinal research is lacking.
True or False?
The attachment explanation of parasocial relationships is a nature-based view.
False.
It supports a nurture-based view, with PRs developing from early attachment issues, though individual differences in personality (nature) may also play a role, suggesting an interactionist approach.

Sign up to unlock flashcards

By signing up you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy

Previous:Online RelationshipsNext:The Role of Chromosomes & Hormones