The psychological experience of parasocial friendships

Parasocial relationships are one-sided bonds that individuals form with media figures (Horton & Wohl, 1956). While parasocial relationships contain different forms, including romances and friendships (Tukachinsky, 2010), there is limited psychological research focusing on parasocial friendships, specifically. The current dissertation examines parasocial friendships as a distinct relational form and investigates how they uniquely relate to psychological experiences across trait-level profiles, momentary processes, and experimental manipulations. In Study 1, participants (N = 93) who reported stronger parasocial friendships reported worse psychological and social well-being. At the state level, however, participants (n = 76) who had recently engaged with their parasocial friend reported greater meaning in life and better mood, suggesting potential short-term psychological benefits of these interactions. Study 2 examined these trait-level associations in a larger sample (N = 249) and found contrasting results; stronger parasocial friendships were associated with better psychological and social well-being. Study 3 experimentally tested the causal psychological functions of parasocial friendships. Participants (N = 195) were randomly assigned to view an image of a parasocial friend (vs. a real-life friend or a distant public figure) before experiencing social exclusion to test whether parasocial friendships can buffer the negative psychological effects of social exclusion. Contrary to my hypothesis, there were no significant differences between conditions. Overall, these findings suggest that parasocial friendships may be linked to better psychological and social well-being in everyday life. More broadly, this study discusses the importance of distinguishing among different types of parasocial relationships when examining their psychological antecedents and implications.