Parasocial relationships are social bonds audiences develop with media personae.
Parasocial relationships may be particularly meaningful for those who experience obstacles�…

In recent years, the viewing of reality television has become increasingly prevalent among
television audiences. However, little is known about the psychological processes at work�…

The present study extends prior research investigating psychological predictors of media
preferences by examining various indicators of psychosocial functioning (self esteem, social�…

Despite considerable research and theorizing regarding the process of social comparison,
limited attention has been given to the role of discrete emotions in this context, particularly�…

Since its inception in 2005, YouTube has allowed users to publish video content. Many have
capitalized on the platform by amassing large followings and becoming bonafide YouTube�…

Researchers have proposed a social distance corollary to the third-person perception to
explain the common finding that as comparison groups become more different from the self�…

Children's media have historically been rooted in characters—from the early days of Captain
Kangaroo and Howdy Doody to the contemporary era of Dora the Explorer and Elmo. Unlike�…

This research explores people's disclosures of emphatic interaction–the behavioral effects
resulting from parasocial relationships–with National Basketball Association (NBA) team�…

A conceptual model was developed predicting parasocial interaction from both a social
interaction need due to loneliness and instrumental television news use. Questionnaires�…

With a sample of White participants, the present study examined the influence of
stereotypical TV portrayals, attitudes toward Blacks, and interracial contact on appraisals of�…