Reactions to romantic relationship announcements in parasocial love and unrequited love.

Abstract

The present study examined people’s expected reactions to their beloved ones’ romantic relationship announcements in parasocial love (PSL) and unrequited love (UL). In a between-subjects design study, 330 college students in China were asked to name a media figure with whom they had PSL or someone they knew in person who had been their UL object. Then they reported their expected negative emotional reactions, closeness reduction, and coping strategies if the media figure or the love object announces romantic relationship involvement. PSL was found to be lower than UL in strength. People with stronger PSL and UL are expected to have more negative emotional reactions. People in PSL reported less negative emotional reactions and less closeness reduction in contrast to their counterparts in UL. The likeliness to adopt different coping strategies varied by the type of relationship and gender.

Whose bed have your boots been under? People's expected responses toward celebrities’ romantic relationship infidelity.

“…These gender difference findings align with the gender differences reported in the above-mentioned PSR deterioration research (e.g., E. L. Cohen, 2010; Hu et al, 2021; Hu & Kong, 2022). Considering the accumulative evidence showing the differences between men and women, gender seems to be a factor that researchers must consider in future PSR deterioration research.…”

“…Hu et al (2021) found that female fans expected greater closeness reduction and more negative reactions in response to their favorite media figures’ romantic relationship announcements. Hu and Kong (2022) discovered that, in both PSL and unrequited love, man and woman would-be lovers adopted different strategies to cope with romantic relationship announcements of their love objects.…”

“…Third, celebrities’ own romantic relationship involvement (e.g., dating, engagement, etc.) can cause negative emotions and jealousy in those audiences who view them as lovers (Hu & Kong, 2022; Tukachinsky Forster, 2022).…”

“…In parasocial deterioration research, the results are mixed. Some studies have disclosed gender differences in audiences' reactions to PSR deterioration incidents (E. L. Cohen, 2010;Hu et al, 2021;Hu & Kong, 2022) while some other studies have not shown such differences (Hu, 2016;Hu et al, 2018Hu et al, , 2019.…”

Repercussions of Social Media Addiction on Relationship Closeness and Relationship Satisfaction Amongst Chinese Undergraduates

“…Additionally, this burgeoning addiction seeds a maelstrom of psychological turmoil and instabilities, posing an ominously detrimental threat to individual mental health as well as well-being (Fatah & Anindita, 2022;Duradoni et al, 2020). Furthermore, it engenders detrimental impacts on love relationships, contributing to the dissolution of love relationship closeness and satisfaction, thus tarnishing the joy and contentment of life (Hu & Kong, 2023;Roh, 2021;Steers et al, 2016;Veit et al, 2016).…”