Parasocial Experiences
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Regular price
€72.99
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This book covers key aspects of parasocial relationships (PSRs), or the relationships people have with media personalities, including fictional characters. The principal feature of a PSR is that it is not individually reciprocated although when the parasocial object is a real person, usually a celebrity, that celebrity often has a reciprocal relationship with their audience as a group.
The authors begin by addressing the many instances where relationships exist in a gray area that is neither fully social and reciprocated nor parasocial and non-reciprocated. In describing parasocial experience, the authors address social relationships vs. parasocial relationships as a continuum rather than a dichotomy. They also discuss prominent theories in psychology and how they should be applied to parasocial theory, as well as psychoanalytic theory and the role of the unconscious in parasocial relationships. This is followed by chapters on applications of evolutionary psychology, attachment theory, and the effects of social media on PSRs, particularly a very new social media service, Cameo.
Through a meaningful exploration of social theories as they influence parasocial experiences, this book unveils areas for future study and opens up pathways for new, more sophisticated research.
David C. Giles is Reader in Psychology at the University of Winchester. His work explores the parasocial relationships between audiences (users of media) and the full diversity of people and characters they encounter in media (media figures). His 2002 paper on parasocial interaction published in Media Psychology has been cited more than 1,500 times, and he has authored and coauthored several books on psychology and the media.
Gayle S. Stever is Professor of Psychology at Empire State University of New York. She has worked in the field of media psychology since 1988, with a focus on the study of celebrities and their fans in parasocial relationships. Her publications include The Psychology of Celebrity (2018) and Understanding Media Psychology (2021), as well as articles and book chapters in the areas of parasocial theory and fan studies. She is an associate editor of the journal Psychology of Popular Media.