Social and Evolutionary Expressions of Celebrity Attractions

350 Words2 Pages
Use your knowledge of social and evolutionary expressions of celebrity attractions to advise Katie’s parents on the potential benefits and risks of such attraction to celebrities. Plan Parasocial relationship, absorption addiction model, stages Not necessarily dysfunctional Eating disorder, anxiety, psychosis, Maltby et al 2003 Neophillia, innate Gossip, adaptive A parasocial relationship is when an individual is attracted to a celebrity. However, these relationships are only one way relationships and generally the celebrity is unaware of the existence of this person. These kinds of relationships are normal depending on how far they go. Parasocial relationships can be a good thing because there are no arguments, no one is ever disappointed and there is no risk of an end to the relationship. The parasocial relationship can be explained by the Absorption-addiction Model. This model includes 3 stages, entertainment social, intense-personal and borderline-pathological. Katie’s behaviour is nothing to be worries about because most people never go beyond admiring celebrities for their entertainment, which is level one. Parasocial relationships are not necessarily dysfunctional as they may actually offer a range of benefits. They provide models of social behaviour (intimacy) and an opportunity to learn cultural values. Perse and Rubin’s study of parasocial relationships with soap-opera characters found that, due to the fact people are exposed to the same characters over and over again, one benefit of parasocial relationships are a perceived reduction in uncertainty about social relationships. Being aware of the negatives of having parasocial relationships is also important. Research has found a link between parasocial relationships and eating disorders, Maltby et al (2005) found evidence of a relations hip between attitudes to celebrities and body image

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