The unprecedented interactivity of social media has empowered social media influencers to develop close relationships with their followers, and such relationships carry important marketing implications for social media influencers and brands. The present study examines the antecedents and outcomes of followers' parasocial relationships with social media influencers. Drawing upon the theoretical lens of parasocial interaction theory, influence framework, and attribution framework, the study proposes and empirically tests the effects of social media influencers' influence attempts on parasocial relationships, and the subsequent downstream outcomes of perceived endorser motives and consumer purchase intentions. Using a survey-based approach, the study collected 361 usable responses, and data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The study found that (1) influence attempts (i.e., attractiveness, prestige, and expertise) positively influence parasocial relationships, whereas (2) parasocial relationships negatively influence perceived endorser motive (self-serving), which in turn (3) reduces purchase intention, and (4) self-discrepancy moderates the relationships between influence attempts and parasocial relationships. Two post-hoc exploratory analyses uncovers the impacts of number of followers and gender in the proposed relationships. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
In this study, the authors examine the effects of two facets of employee emotions on customers’ assessments of service encounters. Drawing on emotional contagion and emotional labor theories, they investigate the influence of the extent of service employees’ display of positive emotions and the authenticity of their emotional labor display on customers’ emotional states and, subsequently, on customers’ assessments of the service interaction and their relationship with the service provider. To test the study hypotheses, 223 consumers participated in a simulated service encounter in which actors played the roles of service employees. In a 2 × 2 factorial design, the employees varied both the extent of their smiling behavior and their emotional labor display by engaging in surface or deep acting. The results show that the authenticity of employees’ emotional labor display directly affects customers’ emotional states. However, contrary to expectations, the extent of employee smiling does not influence customer emotions, providing no support for the existence of primitive emotional contagion in service interactions. Furthermore, employee emotions exert an influence on customer outcomes that are of interest to marketers.
Afforded by the unprecedented interactivity of social media, social media personae can build strong relationships with followers. Such relationships, which carry great marketing potential, appeal to corporates and brands. Based on the literature of source credibility and communication justice, this study investigated the determinants of the parasocial relationship between social media influencers and their followers, as well as its effect on followers’ interests in the products advertised by influencers. The results of an online survey (N = 355) showed that, followers’ perceived attractiveness of influencers, similarity to influencers, procedural fairness and interpersonal fairness of their interaction with influencers are positively related to the strength of their parasocial relationship with influencers, which further mediates the effect of the aforementioned factors on followers’ interests in influencer-promoted products. The findings of this study explicated the mechanism through which influencers foster relationships with followers and also provide practitioners with insights on orchestrating strategic influencer campaigns.
People spend considerable time on digital media, and are thus often exposed to expressions of emotion by other people. This exposure can lead their own emotion expressions becoming more similar to those of others, a process we refer to as 'digital emotion contagion'. This article reviews the growing literature on digital emotion contagion. After defining emotion contagion, we suggest that one unique feature of digital emotion contagion is that it is mediated by digital media platforms that are motivated to upregulate user emotions. We then turn to measurement, and consider the challenges of demonstrating that digital emotion contagion has occurred, and how these challenges have been addressed. Finally, we call for a greater focus on understanding when emotion contagion effects are likely to be strong versus weak or nonexistent.
The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of racial microaggressions in the workplace and coping strategies of Black women managers in corporate American positions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 Black women who had worked as senior-level corporate professionals, acknowledged that subtle racism exists in contemporary U.S. society, and had personal experiences of racism in the workplace. A phenomenological methodology was used to uncover the lived experiences of these women. Results yielded racial microaggression themes including environmental manifestations, stereotypes about Black women, assumed universality of the Black experience, invisibility and exclusion. Coping strategies included religion and spirituality, armoring, shifting, support networks, sponsorship and mentorship, and self-care. Directions for future research, clinical and theoretical implications of experiences of racial microaggressions, and coping strategies of professional Black women in corporate America are discussed.
This paper considers the phenomenon of parasocial interaction (PSI) used by media researchers to describe the relationship between media users and media figures (from celebrities to fictional characters). Although the concept has been used consistently across the past two decades in media research, it is argued here that it has not been sufficiently developed at a theoretical level to be taken up by psychologists. A number of key issues have not been addressed: firstly, how PSI might, as its originators put it, be "integrated into the matrix of usual social activity" (Horton & Wohl, 1956); secondly, how PSI might vary according to different types of media figure; and thirdly, what processes over time and media use bind user and figure into a "parasocial relationship." In this paper the existing literature on PSI is extensively reviewed, and an original model of PSI is developed for use in future social psychological research, which places PSI within the realm of ordinary social interaction and suggests ways in which different media use and different types of media figure interact to produce different styles of relationship. Finally, some applications of more detailed research into PSI are suggested.
The present study examines determinants of suspense on viewers observing sports on television. As an explanatory framework, an integrated model is proposed, linking the concept of (positive and negative) parasocial relationships (PSR) to the concept of affective dispositions as used in the affective disposition theory of drama. In the context of the popular sport of "Formula 1" racing, the hypothesized causal structure of the formation of suspense was tested in an empirical survey study. A structural equation model was calculated. Results show a significant influence of positive forms of PSR toward a favorite driver, either mediated by viewers' hopes for a positive outcome or influenced directly by the experienced level of suspense. While negative forms of PSR toward a disliked driver affect viewers' hopes for a negative outcome, they do not add to the level of suspense.
This study examined social and parasocial interaction from interpersonal attribution perspectives. Parasocial interaction is a perceived interpersonal relationship on the part of a television viewer with a mass media persona. We proposed that attributional confidence associated with parasocial interaction would mirror that resulting from social interaction and that personal construct theory and uncertainty reduction theory might add to knowledge about the nature of attributional confidence. Soap-opera-viewing college students (N = 105) completed questionnaires. Analysis revealed that, similar to social relationships, parasocial relationships with favorite soap opera characters were based, to some extent, on reduction of uncertainty and the ability to predict accurately the feelings and attitudes of the persona. The discussion focuses on implications of these findings for uncertainty reduction theory and personal construct theory.
At a time of increased social usage of net and collaborative applications, a robust and detailed theory of social presence could contribute to our understanding of social behavior in mediated environments, allow researchers to predict and measure differences among media interfaces, and guide the design of new social environments and interfaces. A broader theory of social presence can guide more valid and reliable measures. The article reviews, classifies, and critiques existing theories and measures of social presence. A set of criteria and scope conditions is proposed to help remedy limitations in past theories and measures and to provide a contribution to a more robust theory and measure of social presence.
In-depth interviews are a versatile form of qualitative data collection used by researchers across the social sciences. They allow individuals to explain, in their own words, how they understand and interpret the world around them. Interviews represent a deceptively familiar social encounter where people interact, asking and answering questions. They are, however, a very particular type of conversation, guided by the researcher and used for specific ends. This dynamic introduces a range of methodological, analytical and ethical challenges, for novice researchers in particular. In this primer, we focus on the stages and challenges of designing and conducting an interview project and analysing data from it, as well as strategies to overcome these challenges.
Market research has established that podcast advertising earns high approval ratings from listeners, resulting in positive consumer behaviors; however, limited academic research on this topic exists. This article examines listeners’ attitudes toward podcast advertising and investigates the effect of host-read advertisements. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, the study builds a layered understanding of host-read ads’ impact on listeners. The mechanism of a host-read ad is integral because it accesses the listeners’ relationships with both the host and the podcast team, shaping their estimation of credibility and providing narrative transport.
Podcasts have been on the rise recently with both audience numbers and advertising revenue increasing. Scholars have been scrutinizing the medium for quite some time. However, empirical research into the effects of podcast in general and their hosts in particular have been rare. Against the backdrop of the parasocial relations (PSR) approach, we therefore conducted an exploratory online survey of German podcast listeners (n = 804) asking which characteristics of a podcast host promote ties with listeners and whether these have persuasive effects. The study showed that audio media are capable of fostering PSR that can have an impact on listeners’ attitudes and behaviors.
Grounded theory and theoretical coding Grounded theory (GT) is a research approach in which data collection and analysis take place simultaneously. Each part informs the other, in order to construct theories of the phenomenon under study. GT provides rigorous yet flexible guidelines that begin with openly exploring and analysing inductive data and leads to developing a theory grounded in data. Induction starts with ‘study of a range of individual cases and extrapolates patterns from them to form a conceptual category’ (Charmaz, 2006: 188). Nevertheless, instead of pure induction, the underlying logic of GT actually moves between induction and abduction. Abduction means selecting or constructing a hypothesis that explains a particular empirical case or set of data better than any other candidate hypotheses, as a provisional hypothesis and a worthy candidate for further investigation. GT was originally developed by sociologists Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss (1967), and has since then been ...
The parasocial interaction relationship development process was explored by applying principles of uncertainty reduction theory. Results suggested that parasocial relationship development follows a path from (a) social and task attraction to (b) parasocial interaction to (c) a sense of relationship importance. Length of exposure to the television character was not related to parasocial interaction in the path model. The study affirmed the contribution of interpersonal communication theories to understanding relationships people have with television personalities. Implications for future research were explored.
Previous evidence suggests that eye-contact serves a number of different functions in two-person encounters, of which one of the most important is gathering feed-back on the other person's reactions. It is further postulated that eye-contact is linked to affiliate motivation, and that approach and avoidance forces produce an equilibrium level of physical proximity, eye contact and other aspects of intimacy. If one of these is disturbed, compensatory changes may occur along the other dimensions. Experiments are reported which suggest that people move towards an equilibrium distance, and adopt a particular level of eye-contact. As predicted, there was less eye contact and glances were shorter, the closer two subjects were placed together (where one member of each pair was a confederate who gazed continuously at the other). The effect was greatest for opposite-sex pairs. In another experiment it was found that subjects would stand closer to a second person when his eyes were shut, as predicted by the theory.
Enhancing the Quality and Relevance of Higher Education Through Effective Teaching Practices and Instructors
Jan 2014
B M Alemu
The Development of Parasocial Interaction Relationships on YouTube