My friend Harry’s a wizard: Predicting parasocial interaction with characters from fiction.

Ingram, Joanne; Luckett, Zoe

doi:10.1037/ppm0000169

Cited by 6 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Much of the initial research on PSRs focused on one-sided relationships with real, as opposed to fictional, personalities, for example, news readers (Levy, 1979). Latterly researchers have also examined PSRs with characters such as those from soap operas (Perse & Rubin, 1989) and popular books and movies (Ingram & Luckett, 2019). Differing types of PSRs have been highlighted by Giles (2002), who noted that PSRs with personalities who directly address the audience are “first-order,” whereas those with fictional characters are “second-order.” It may be expected that PSRs are stronger for personalities whom an individual can actually meet.…”

Section: Parasocial Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Differing types of PSRs have been highlighted by Giles (2002), who noted that PSRs with personalities who directly address the audience are “first-order,” whereas those with fictional characters are “second-order.” It may be expected that PSRs are stronger for personalities whom an individual can actually meet. However, it has been suggested that PSRs, as a predictor of enjoyment, were stronger for fictional programming (Nabi, Stitt, Halford, & Finnerty, 2006), and that, for individuals with specific engagement motives, PSRs can be manifested in a desire to meet a fictional character (Ingram & Luckett, 2019). Although, critically, when PSRs are based on live action TV or movies, it may be difficult for viewers to discern the character from the actor.…”

Section: Parasocial Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These findings could be seen to suggest that PSRs may have the potential to act as an alternative for those lacking in face-to-face interpersonal interaction due to the similarities between PSRs and the close social relationships encountered in real life (Armstrong & Rubin, 1989; Cohen, 2004). However, studies have also suggested that PSRs may be used to supplement or develop real-life interpersonal relationships, with fans of specific media engaging in certain aspects of PSRs to increase sociability (Ingram & Luckett, 2019). Such contrasts highlight the necessity of treating PSRs as a multidimensional construct as opposed to as a singular composite factor.…”

Section: Parasocial Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The comic book medium presents a unique opportunity to understand how people interact with an enduring character in both literary form and often in a subsequent live action movie format. Popular novel series, often considered for their parasocial potential, such as JK Rowling’s Harry Potter (Ingram & Luckett, 2019) and Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games (Liebers & Schramm, 2017) expose readers to characters within a limited timeframe. Although fans can reengage with the novels as and when desired, once the series is complete, they no longer have access to new aspects of that character’s life.…”

Section: Psrs and Comic Booksmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The dark triad of personality and hero/villain status as predictors of parasocial relationships with comic book characters.

Brodie¹,

Ingram²

2021

Psychology of Popular Media

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Although a breadth of literature exists on the formation of parasocial relationships (PSRs) with celebrity figures and fictional characters across an array of mediums, there remains a distinct gap in understanding of PSR engagement with comic book characters. As comic books present unique and enduring opportunities for PSR development, this study will address this gap through exploration of dark triad personality traits and hero/villain character choice as predictors of PSR dimensions in 277 adults. In the context of comic books, survey results indicate that those who identified with a heroic character displayed higher levels of narcissism and were more likely to turn to their favorite character for guidance, to express desire for face-to-face contact with them, and to believe they hold a level of intimacy with the character. Character choice also predicted the guidance and desire for face-to-face contact dimensions of PSRs, with these dimensions being higher for heroic characters. Narcissism was the only dark triad trait to consistently predict increased guidance seeking, desire to engage in face-to-face contact, and elevated feelings of intimacy and familiarity with one’s favorite character. Character choice was found to moderate the effect of narcissism in predicting desire for face-to-face contact. For those whose favorite character was a villain, desire substantially increased with levels of narcissism. This suggests that comic book based PSR formation may reflect a self-centered interpersonal process, where readers with a more grandiose sense of self perceive a unique and meaningful bond between the self and comic book characters.

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Section: Parasocial Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Parasocial Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Parasocial Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Psrs and Comic Booksmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The dark triad of personality and hero/villain status as predictors of parasocial relationships with comic book characters.

Brodie¹,

Ingram²

2021

Psychology of Popular Media

Self Cite

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“…Furthermore, the depth of these relationships may be measured on a dimension of intimacy, as indicated when the reader agrees with scale items such as "I have an intimate connection with my favorite character," or "I see my favorite character as a close friend." Ingram and Luckett (2019) studied parasocial relationships arising from the Harry Potter series of books and movies and found that certain personality characteristics were likely to be associated with higher scores on these dimensions for avid readers of the series; specifically, the personality trait of agreeableness predicted intimacy and familiarity among readers: Participants high in agreeableness, as measured with a Big Five inventory, were more likely to seek intimacy with their favorite character from the Harry Potter books and to report having a high degree of familiarity with him or her (or it). The relatively strong association of the personality trait of agreeableness and empathy has been well established (Graziano et al, 2007;John & Srivastava, 1999;Penner et al, 1995).…”

Section: Social Cognitive Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

To Teach and Delight: The Varieties of Learning From Fiction

Best

2020

Review of General Psychology

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It is well known that people who read fiction have many reasons for doing so. But perhaps one of the most understudied reasons people have for reading fiction is their belief that reading will result in their acquisition of certain forms of knowledge or skill. Such expectations have long been fostered by literary theorists, critics, authors, and readers who have asserted that reading may indeed be among the best ways to learn particular forms of knowledge. Modern psychological research has borne out many of these claims. For example, readers of fiction learn cognitive skills such as mentalizing or theory of mind. Reading fiction is also associated with greater empathic skills, especially among avid or lifelong readers. For readers who are emotionally transported into the fictional world they are reading about, powerful emotional truths are often discovered that may subsequently help readers build, or change, their identities. Fiction readers acquire factual information about places or people they may not have any other access to. But reading fiction also presents opportunities to acquire inaccurate factual information that may diminish access to previously learned accurate information. If readers are provided with inaccurate information that is encoded, they have opportunities to make faulty inferences, whose invalidity the reader is often incapable of detecting. Readers of fiction use schematic world knowledge to navigate fictional texts. But if the border between fiction and reality becomes blurred, as might be the case of avid readers of fiction, there is a risk that they may export schematic knowledge from the world of fiction to the everyday world, where it may not be applicable. These and other findings suggest that the varieties of learning from fiction form a complex, nuanced pattern deserving of greater attention by researchers.

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