C. Reader

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