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Parasocial Relationships

'''Initially developed by Horton and Wohl (1956) Parasocial relationships refer to the relationships that individuals develop that depend on little or no interaction with a distant entity, usually a media persona. In PSRs’ individuals extend time, energy, and emotions with a party’s persona. While the media persona is clueless of the person’s existence. These relationships assist in developing and fostering intimacy between personas and individuals. Examples of parasocial relationships can be found in fan clubs; for an example “Bey Hive” is an example of a parasocial relationship.'''

Background
'''The beginning of parasocial relationships started with a theory created by Horton and Wohl in 1956. In the beginning, parasocial relationships and parasocial interactions were used synonymously until the 1970s and 1980s. Horton and Wohl specifically focused on television. They studied how media has placed individuals in contact with people who were unknown before the multiple channels of media. As technology advanced, it changed the advent of television in people’s homes, providing them with the possibility of parasocial interaction. Horton and Wohl primarily centered their discussion around talk shows and the informal relaying of information to audience members from media personas. Worton and Hohl observed the presentation of talk shows and analyzed the set up of the show. Shows presented a semicircle seating outline to make viewers believe that they were “interacting” with the host, although they were unable to engage in the conversation physically. Through the study of their research Horton and Wohl develop the definition for parasocial interaction to describe this experience. As these PSIs continued, some individuals developed what scholars define as parasocial relationships. Through continued interaction, individuals began to form emotional attachments and familiarities with media personas well after their first interaction.'''

'''In the following years, scholars used the Parasocial Interaction Scale to draw a clearer definition and distinction between parasocial relationships and interactions. “Horton and Wohl (1956) also referred to parasocial relationships to characterize the more enduring, long-term, and usually positive, one-sided intimacy at a distance that users develop toward media performers, based on repeated encounters.”( Jayson L. Dibble, Tilo Hartmann, Sarah F. Rosaen). Klimmt, Hartmann, & Schramm theorized PSRs to a universal emotion and thinking process that occurs outside of the media situation. A recent study by Stever hypothesized that individuals could develop parasocial attachment as a means of security. Parasocial involvement also has been found to have media effects. In a study, Hoffner & Cohen, Ramussen & Ewoldsen found that individuals are more inclined to seek healthcare if celebrities seek treatment to reduce health sigma. According to Derrick, Gabriel & Tippin, parasocial engagement can also heighten an individual’s self-perception.'''

Explanation
'''One of the interesting points on parasocial relationships is the motives behind developing one. Studies have found that individuals may develop parasocial relationships out of loneliness (Ashe, D. D., & McCutcheon, L. E. (2001), but some studies have gone against this theory. An article by Blight, Ruppel, and Schoenbaur states that a potential motive for developing a PSR has to do with individuals finding a sense of community. In the study, the authors use the framework of the gratification theory to correlate individuals to their PSRs. Blight, Ruppel, and Schoenbaur used the Parasocial Interaction Scale to assess the linkage between connections with social media personas. The end result of the study found that individuals have differing reasons for developing parasocial relationships and that their medium of communication assists in developing and fostering their PSRs.'''

Differences of Interaction and Relationships
'''Horton and Wohl first developed the parasocial terminology interaction to describe the interaction between individuals and television personas in 1956 Horton and Wohl coined the term. As the theory progress, scholars explored parasocial relationships to provide a clear distinction between interaction and relationship. The initial term of parasocial interaction was defined as a “simulacrum of conversational give-and-take” that results in individuals experiencing an intimate interaction. Horton and Wohl theorized that users engage in these interactions with media personas, although the persona is not physically present.'''

'''On the other hand, parasocial relationships usually refer to the consistent engagement that individuals develop with media personas. The difference between parasocial interaction and parasocial relationships is located in their concepts. Parasocial relationships are understood to be social relationships that are developed with media personas only from a media source. Parasocial relationships can be expressed through many forms, such as worship, friendship, romance, and hate while Parasocial Interaction describes the illusion of interaction between audience members and media personas.'''

Parasocial Interaction Scale
'''Interpersonal Interaction involves the exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages between individuals. As it relates to parasocial relationships, Altman and Taylor (1973) created a hypothesis linking higher interaction to deeper levels of intimacy. “Therefore, viewers who have watched a persona consistently over time may perceive a sense of intimacy evolving from their expectations of increased intimacy in past interpersonal experiences.”( Alan M. Rubin, Elizabeth M. Perse, Robert A. Powell). Rubin, Pere first developed this Parasocial Interaction Scale and Powell (1985), which consists of a 20-item scale attempting to measure the extent of television viewers' development of PSRs with media personas. “The scale builds on the conception of PSI as user’s involvement with the persona that covers different processes such as “interaction, identification, and long-term identification”(Rubin et al., 1985, p.156).” (Schramm, Holger & Hartmann, Tilo. (2008).'''

Absorption Addiction
'''The absorption addiction model was proposed by McCutheon et al. (2002) to explain and expand the behavior of celebrity worship. This model hypothesizes that individuals attempt to establish self-fulfillment and identity through the means of their selected media personas. This dynamic that motivates the absorption can take on an addictive component leading to more extreme behaviors. These behaviors are an attempt for individuals to hearten their satisfaction in their PSR. The absorption addiction model was created to assist in measuring the phenomenon of parasocial relationships.'''

'''Using the Absorption Addition, Giles and Maltby (2006) explained the different levels of parasocial relationships. These three levels include the social, personal, and pathological extents of the relationship. In stage 1, Giles and Maltby imply that most individuals have had parasocial relationships at the entertainment level, and most relationships stay there. In this stage, individuals look at celebrities or their personas as forms of entertainment; this stage is very superficial in is usually used as a form of small talk. In stage 2 of Giles and Maltby use of the absorption addiction model is the intense phase. In this phase, more personal interaction occurs. Individuals tend to tie an interest in the persona’s personal life to their own life — things such as food types, activities, and similar interactions. Lastly, stage 3 of the model is borderline pathological. This is the most intense of the stages, and this is where individuals form obsessions and invest time, money, and energy and, in some instances, stalk celebrities. At this level individuals believe that there is a mutually set of feelings with themselves and their chosen persona and have the belief that their feelings would be reciprocated if physical interaction occurred.'''