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16 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
What is a parasocial relationship?
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- One-sided relationships - 1 person expends considerable energy, interest and time although the other person is unaware of their existence. - Mass media (tv...) give the viewer the illusion of having a FtF relationship w/ a particular person.
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Why do people get involved according to the Absorption-Addiction Model?
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- McCutheon explains tendency to form parasocial relationships in terms of deficiencies people have in their own lives. - They may have a weak sense of identity & lack of fulfilment in their own lives. - Could be poorly adjusted psychologically. - Parasocial relationship makes up for deficits & enable a sense of identity. - Lange et al suggest a lack of meaningful relationships may lead an individual becoming increasingly 'absorbed' by lives of their parasocial friends.
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Outline the Absorption part of the Absorption-Addiction Model.
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- Individual seeks fulfilment in celebrity worship. - Involves 'effortless focusing attention' leading fans to believe they have a special relationship w/ that celebrity. - Motivates them to focus as much attention as possible on celebrity to become preoccupied in their existence & identify w/ them. - If level of absorption is strong enough they move to a higher level of parasocial interaction until it becomes addictive.
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Outline the Addiction part of the Absorption-Addiction Model.
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- Parasocial relationship escalates through a series of stages. - Leads to more extreme behaviours & delusional thinking in order to sustain satisfaction w/ parasocial relationship ( like drug addict needing more & more drugs to satisfied). - @ borderline-pathological level involvement becomes progressively stronger & is required to remain connected w/ celebrity. - Extreme cases = celebrity stalking & obsessive-addictive disorder where they may develop an illusion that they genuinely are in an intimate relationship. - Initial interest & development of parasocial relationship is via absorption however interest is maintained by psychological addiction.
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What scale is used to measure levels of a parasocial relationships and name the levels?
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- Celebrity Attitude Scale - Maltby et al identified 3 levels that lead to addiction if individual has a weaker sense of identity: 1. Entertainment Social 2. Intense-Personal 3. Borderline Pathological
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Outline the Entertainment Social Level.
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- Least intense level - Celebrities are viewed as a source of entertainment & fuel for social interaction. - Fans watch, read & learn about celebrity for entertainment purposes. - Fruitful source of gossip in the office .
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Outline the Intense-Personal Level
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- Intermediate Level - Reflects a greater personal involvement - Includes intense & compulsive feelings about celeb. - E.G referring to celeb as 'soulmate' |
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Outline the Borderline Pathological Level
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- Strongest level - Features uncontrollable fantasies & extreme behaviours - Includes spending or planning to spend a large some of money on celeb-related objects (paraphernalia). - Individuals empathise w/ celeb & identify w/ their success & failures.
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Outline the importance of the attachment theory on formation of parasocial relationships.
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- Tendency to for parasocial relationships in adolescence & adulthood b/c attachment difficulties in early childhood. - Bowlby's Attachment Theory suggests such early difficulties might lead to emotional troubles later in life. - Ainsworth identified 2 attachment types associated w/ unhealthy emotional development: insecure-resistant & insecure-avoidant. |
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Outline the likelihood of forming a parasocial relationship for insecure-resistent & insecure-avoidant.
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- insecure-resistant most likely to form a parasocial relationship as an adult. - They need to have unfulfilled needs met but in a relationship that is not accompanied w/ rejection, break up, disappointment & inconsistency that real life relationships bring. - Insecure-avoidants prefer to avoid the pain & rejection of any relationship altogether. |
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Outline the 3 fundamental properties of adult attachment in parasocial relationships (Weiss).
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1. Proximity Seeking - Attempt to reduce the distance between themselves & their attachment figure. -Like to stay informed & rearrange schedules to see them. - May even attempt to contact them. 2. Secure Base - Sense of security & a safe haven. - Allows them to explore the world & other relationships in a safe way b/c little or chance of rejection from attachment figure. 3. Protest @ Disruption - Best marker of attachment - Presence of prolonged distress following separation or loss of attachment figure, e.g. dismissal of tv show. - Creates emotions that are typical of the loss of an attachment figure. |
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Strength for absorption-addiction model: Research Support |
- Claims individuals may enter parasocial relationships due to poor psychological adjustment. - Maltby investigated link between celebrity worship & body image in females aged 14-16. - Found female adolescents who had poor body image reported intense-personal parasocial relationship w/ female celebrity w/ a body image they admired. - Supports correlation between level of celebrity worship & poor psychological functioning. - |
- What does the model claim parasocial relationships are due to? - What link did Maltby investigate and what was his participant sample? - What link did he find w/ female adolescents? |
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Limitation of Absorption-Addiction model: limited validity
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- Model criticised for being a better description of parasocial relationships than it is an explanation. - Model described characteristics of people most absorbed & addicted to a celeb. - Unlike attachment theory it doesn't suggest how characteristics develop. - Questionable validity b/c not fully explaining its claims of how parasocial relationships are developed. |
- What is the model being criticised for? - What does the model describe? - What doesn't this model do that the attachment theory? -Why is the validity questionable? |
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Limitation of the Absorption-Addiction Model: Negative Views towards Parasocial Relationships
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- Suggests parasocial relationships are psychopathological as it claims individual maintained relationship by means of psychological addiction. - Model pathologises relatively normal behaviour such as gossiping about celebs. - Due to ease of access the media this is a part of everyday life. - Negative view raises concerns for model as not all parasocial relationships lead to mental illnesses. |
- What does the model suggest about parasocial relationships? - Example of when the model pathologises relatively normal behaviour & why is this behaviour normal? - Why do these negative views raise concerns? |
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Limitation of Attachment theory: Contradictory Evidence
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- McCutheon et al measured attachment types & celebrity related attitudes in 229 pp's. - Found pp's w/ insecure attachment were no more likely to form parasocial relationships w/ celebs than those w/ secure attachments. - Findings fail to support the central prediction of the theory which raises issues w/ validity. |
- What did McCutheon measure & in how many pp's? - What did he find? - Why are there issues w/ the validity of the theory? |
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Strength of explanations of parasocial relationships: Cultural Similarities.
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- Schmid & Klimmt used online questionnaires to investigate the differences in these relationships formed w/ Harry Potter. - Despite cultural differences between Germany (individualistic) & Mexico (collectivist) fans from both displayed similar patterns of parasocial relationships. - Online surveys revealed that fans from both cultures admired Harry Potter & found commonalities between their own lives & relationships. - Demonstrates universal influence of mainstream media characters & culture similarities in formation on parasocial relationships. |
- What did Schmid & Klimmt use online questionnaires for? - What 2 countries were studied & what was found? - What did the online surveys reveal? - What does this show the universal influence of? |