Communication Studies
Presenter(s): Grant Sewell, Natalie Hernandez-Barber, Alyssa Houstoun, Karen Sieu
Advisor(s): Dr. Riva Tukachinsky
A parasocial relationship is a one-sided relationship where one person is extremely invested in the other, who is often a media figure. A parasocial relationship with a celebrity is very common because of the celebrity’s high and constant exposure. When a tragedy hits, like a celebrity death, a person can experience a parasocial breakup. Kobe Bryant was a household name known by everyone. His death shocked the nation and was talked about worldwide. In this experiment, we examine the parasocial relationship with Kobe Bryant, the effects of exposure to inspirational vs. controversial media, and rape myth theory. Stimuli that is focused on a celebration of achievement would likely invoke a positive association between individuals, as compared to stimuli focused on controversial rape allegations. H1: Individuals will report greater distress about their parasocial breakup with Kobe Bryant after watching inspirational media clips compared to watching controversial media clips. Individuals that have limited context for a relationship will not have any preexisting relationship to base their judgment or reaction to negative stimuli. H2: Individuals who have little or no prior parasocial relationship with Kobe Bryant will report negative attitudes towards him after watching controversial media clips compared to those with a strong parasocial relationship. Individuals who have a stronger parasocial relationship with Kobe Bryant will experience cognitive dissonance after being exposed to controversial media clips regarding Kobe Bryant’s rape allegation. H3: Individuals with a strong parasocial relationship with Kobe Bryant who are exposed to controversial media clips regarding Kobe Bryant’s rape allegations will report believing in rape myths more than those who are exposed to inspirational media clips.
Parasocial Breakup with Kobe Bryant
Presenter(s): Hannah Selesnick, Don Bingham, Bradley Crislip, Ethan Barnas, Matthew Park
Advisor(s): Dr. Riva Tukachinsky
Celebrities are often idolized by their fans. There is a deep feeling of connection in some cases for them where they feel as though they know every aspect of a person’s life to the extent that there is a one-sided personal connection. When a celebrity dies, there can be a loss that is felt that can feel similar to the loss of a family member as in the case with Kobe Bryant’s death. Kobe was not only loved for his basketball skills, his larger than life personality, but also his philanthropy, and his devotion to his family. The loss of Kobe Bryant has created deep loss and parasocial breakup with his fans around the world. This research is intended to dig deeper into how individuals process grief and sadness, known as a parasocial break up, whether or not there are differences in levels of grief between those who possess commemorative media and those who do not have commemorative media, those who are considered to be in a basketball community or not in a basketball community and a fans level of understanding of the game of basketball. In addition, this study attempts to differentiate between the feelings of grief which are measured between those that are basketball fans and unaware of Kobe’s other qualities versus those who are aware of Kobe’s other qualities but were not basketball fans. Several hypotheses are explored in this study using different variables and we believe the findings will support each of our hypotheses.