Human Communication Research· 2015Q1
Parasocial Interaction and Parasocial Relationship: Conceptual Clarification and a Critical Assessment of Measures
- 668citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2015year
Short summary
The Experience of Parasocial Interaction Scale (EPSI-Scale) better measures parasocial interaction (within-viewing mutual awareness) than the Parasocial Interaction Scale (PSI-Scale), which may capture liking instead.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Parasocial interaction and relationship are distinct but often conflated concepts.
- The Experience of Parasocial Interaction Scale (EPSI-Scale) better captures PI as a within-viewing experience of mutual awareness.
- The Parasocial Interaction Scale (PSI-Scale) may measure liking or other factors, not PI itself.
- Researchers need to select measures carefully to avoid conceptual and empirical confusion.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Parasocial interaction and parasocial relationship are often conflated conceptually and methodologically, leaving researchers unclear as to which concept is being tapped. This research clarifies these concepts and experimentally compares the most common measure of parasocial interaction, the Parasocial Interaction Scale (PSI-Scale), with a newer measure, the Experience of Parasocial Interaction Scale (EPSI-Scale). Participants (N = 383) viewed a brief videorecording of a woman who either bodily addressed the viewer or not, then completed a questionnaire. The EPSI-Scale was a better measure of parasocial interaction, understood as a within-viewing experience of mutual awareness, whereas the PSI-Scale may measure short- or long-term liking, or something else. To avoid conceptual and empirical confusion, researchers must choose measures with greater care.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Human Communication Research, 2015 · DOI ↗
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Field: Literature and Literary Theory
Literature and Literary TheoryArts and Humanities