Research on Parasocial Involvement: An Overview

Abstract

Parasocial involvement, an illusion of intimacy between media consumers and media professionals, is one of the most intriguing communication phenomena ever witnessed in media Hyphen saturated societies. First discussed by Horton and Wohl in 1956, this concept has since occupied a prominent place in communication studies. While enjoying longevity, its development, much like its many counterparts in social science, has followed an interesting, inverted U, pattern. Initially, it did not draw much attention from communication researchers. This might have been due to the fact that it was overshadowed by the then-dominant ”effects” paradigm. It's being published in a psychiatry journal, also, may have delayed its debut in the communication arena. Then, its popularity started growing around early 1970s, escalating throughout the decades. The zest on the topic, however, has arrived at a plateau in early to mid- 1990s and since then has been on the decline. The primary goal of this essay is to organize, review, and interpret parasocial research published since the seminal work of Ho rton and Wohl (1956). The first part of the essay summarizes the central notions of parasocical involvement as presented by Horton and Wohl. It then traces the evolution of subsequent research-its conceptual and methodological approaches, major findings, difficulties, and development of new lines of work. Towards the end is a series of suggestions that are logically derived from the preceding review. Overall, the essay is intended to re-vitalize the paradigm through a comprehensive and systematic understanding of related issues.