Positive bias, charisma and break-ups
Why we think we know people intimately
This week is a pick from The Oxford word of the year, mixed with soap operas, influencers, and positive bias. The shortlisted word I want to explore with you is the adjective ‘Parasocial’ which describes one-sided relationships people can experience with celebrities.
Parasocial 'Designating a relationship characterised by the one-sided, unreciprocated sense of intimacy, felt by a viewer, fan, or follower for a well-known or prominent figure (typically a media celebrity), in which the follower or fan comes to feel (falsely) that they know the celebrity as a friend.
It's slightly ironic that parasocial was pipped to the post by the word Rizz because style, charm and attractiveness are certainly things that come into play with the parasocial phenomenon.
Photo by PJ Gal-Szabo on Unsplash
Psychologically speaking, parasocial isn't a new word or phenomenon, it has been around since the 1950s, in fact, one early reference in 1972 looked at this from a TV audience perspective. Finding that soap opera audiences experience aspects of the phenomena, how do we know this? The cobbles of Coronation Street! viewers described how they felt connection with characters who were acting out relatable storylines, in fact members of the Coronation Street audience felt like they knew the actors.
It's curious to consider how this unfolds within the soap opera space, firstly viewers get to know the characters in-depth, the amount of narrative over time, compared to a short series of Film, enables this to happen, and secondly there is the effect of 'to be continued', where we are invited to wonder what will happen next for that character, and the use of high-suspense cliff-hangers, and thirdly, perhaps some unfinished business that helps us keep that character and the storyline front and centre in our minds .
For modern day soap opera fans, social media provides additional ways to connect with the storyline and actors, social media is an extension of our real-life, so when we've finished watching or streaming our favourite soap, social media enables the relationship to continue, in a way it might not have done in the 1970's.
And isn't this very similar to how we get to know people we follow on social media?
We enjoy story arcs, social media accounts that give a window into someone else’s life can be especially attractive. This phenomenon is not just reserved for soap celebrities though, there's a famous video that went viral in 2007 where a fan called on everyone to 'Leave Britney (Spears) alone' through an emotional YouTube video. Psychology studies show that high levels of empathy are correlated with parasocial relationships, Britney’s fan felt compelled to speak out on behalf of their parasocial friend. Psychology studies are starting to ask how our attachment styles relate to parasocial behaviour, it's suggested that anxious people form stronger parasocial relationships, perhaps feeding into a need for belonginess.
If this phenomenon leads people to stick up for their online friends, do they fall out with them too? Yes, parasocial break ups are definitely a thing.
I'm going bring unconscious and positive bias into the mix with our parasocial cocktail. The behavioural scientist Pragya Agarwal in her book Sway, describes the way in which we attribute positive as well as negative biases to people or communities we have stereotyped. I'd argue that a one-sided relationship would lead to a certain amount of stereotyping and positive bias, perhaps in the way that this person could do no wrong, just like the Britney fan. Intriguingly, there's a psychological theory called affective disposition, and this states that we are biased to want positive story lines and happy endings for our favourite characters, yet we'd want soap opera grisly ending for a villainous character, effectively we place the characters we have high empathy for on a parasocial pedestal.
It's this positioning, says Agarwal, that sets people we have stereotyped up for failure. If we go back to the parasocial relationship, either the character could be given narrative that jars with our positive stereotype, or as we often see, the real-life actor does or says something that does not sit with our positive view of them, positive bias can lead to devastating consequences and cancel culture.
A character, celebrity or influencer doesn't have to fall from grace for us to experience a parasocial break up, a sudden exit from Instagram or a social space, or reaching the end of Netflix bingeable series lead to an involuntary break up. The context of the parasocial relationship makes a difference too.
Next time you are engrossed in a new series, follow someone whose posts really speak to you, or have a strong reaction to your favourite singer you’ll know why.
Next week I thought I'd look at the psychology of tradition, or the psychology of breaking with traditions. Do let me know in the comments on substack or by reply email what interests you.
p.s My podcast trailer is now available to stream on all the usual platforms. Please download, favourite, and follow to be notified of the first episodes in 2024.
This weeks references if you enjoy a deeper dive into the literature.
Brodie, Z. P., & Ingram, J. (2021). The dark triad of personality and hero/villain status as predictors of parasocial relationships with comic book characters. Psychology of Popular Media, 10(2), 230–242. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000323
Bonus, J. A., Matthews, N. L., & Wulf, T. (2021). The Impact of Moral Expectancy Violations on Audiences’ Parasocial Relationships With Movie Heroes and Villains. Communication Research, 48(4), 550–572. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650219886516
David C. Giles (2002) Parasocial Interaction: A Review of the Literature and a Model for Future Research, Media Psychology, 4:3, 279-305, DOI: 10.1207/S1532785XMEP0403_04
Gesang, E. (2022). How do you see your role as a follower? A quantitative exploration of followers’ role orientation. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 952925–952925. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.952925
Hailey Scherer, Salena Diaz, Nicole Iannone, Megan McCarty, Sara Branch & Janice Kelly (2022) “Leave Britney alone!”: parasocial relationships and empathy, The Journal of Social Psychology, 162:1, 128-142, DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2021.1997889
Hu, M. (2016). The Influence of a Scandal on Parasocial Relationship, Parasocial Interaction, and Parasocial Breakup. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 5(3), 217–231. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000068
Holladay, H. W., & Edgar, A. N. (2019). “I’m never gonna stop watching it”: The paradox of parasocial break-ups in a post-object era. Journal of Fandom Studies, 7(3), 213–227. https://doi.org/10.1386/jfs_00001_1
Kretz, V. E. (2020). McDreamy is McDead: Fan responses to a parasocial break-up. Journal of Fandom Studies, 8(2), 147–163. https://doi.org/10.1386/jfs_00014_1
MacNeill, A. L., & DiTommaso, E. (2023). Belongingness needs mediate the link between attachment anxiety and parasocial relationship strength. Psychology of Popular Media, 12(2), 242–247. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000399
Matthews, N. L., & Bonus, J. A. (2023). How Moral Expectancy Violations Influence Audiences’ Affective Dispositions Toward Characters. Communication Research, 50(3), 263–286. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502211039959