The Psychology of Parasocial Relationships

A parasocial relationship is a one-sided relationship formed when one party extends energy, interest, and time and the other person doesn't know they exist. So wait, why do we make them? How do we make them? Do we make them with podcasters too even though we don't see them?

All of these questions will be answered today, as we dive into the world of Parasocial Relationships.

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Today's Bibliography:

Blind trust? The importance and interplay of parasocial relationships and a... (n.d.).

Derrick, J. L., Gabriel, S., & Tippin, B. (2008). Parasocial relationships and self-discrepancies: Faux relationships have benefits for low self-esteem individuals. Personal Relationships, 15(2), 261–280. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2008.00197.x

Eren, O. (2021). Parasocial Friendship and Parasocial Love in K-pop Fandom. https://dspace.ewha.ac.kr/handle/2015.oak/257862

Espinal, V. (2021, February 21). Parasocial Relationships in K-pop: Emotional Support Capitalism. EnVi Media. https://www.envimedia.co/parasocial-relationships-k-pop/

Greenwood, D. N., & Long, C. R. (2009). Mood specific media use and emotion regulation: Patterns and individual differences. Personality and Individual Differences, 46(5), 616–621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.01.002

Hendricks, J. A. (n.d.). Radio’s Second Century.

Kowert, R., & Daniel, E. (2021). The one-and-a-half sided parasocial relationship: The curious case of live streaming. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 4, 100150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2021.100150

Macke, M., & Hackathorn, J. (2022). Don’t You Know That They’re Toxic: Parasocial Attachments and Fictional Relationships. Posters-at-the-Capitol. https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/postersatthecapitol/2022/Murray/4

Reinikainen, H., Munnukka, J., Maity, D., & Luoma-aho, V. (2020). ‘You really are a great big sister’ – parasocial relationships, credibility, and the moderating role of audience comments in influencer marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 36(3–4), 279–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2019.1708781

Tan, A. (2023, April 4). In defence of the parasocial relationship in K-pop fan culture. Vogue Singapore. https://vogue.sg/parasocial-relationship-kpop-fans/

The Development and Influence of Parasocial Relationships With Television Characters: A Longitudinal Experimental Test of Prejudice Reduction Through Parasocial Contact. (n.d.). https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650219900632

What Are Parasocial Relationships? (2022, February 15). Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/health/parasocial-relationships