But They are Back Again, Just Like a Long Lost Friend: Parasocial Relationship, Nostalgia of Favorite Childhood Media Character, and Emotions

A between-subjects design experiment (N = 159) was conducted to examine the relationships between parasocial relationship (PSR) with favorite media character in childhood, nostalgia of the character, and emotions. In contrast to those in the control condition, participants in the experimental condition who were instructed to engage in nostalgia of their favorite media characters in childhood exhibited significantly higher levels of positive emotions. There was no significant difference in negative emotions between the two conditions. More intimate PSRs with characters were associated with more positive nostalgia of the characters. Implications of findings as well as limitations and future directions were discussed.