Parasocial Experiences


Book Description

This book covers key aspects of parasocial relationships (PSRs), or the relationships people have with media personalities, including fictional characters. The authors address social relationships vs. parasocial relationships as a continuum rather than a dichotomy. They also discuss prominent theories in psychology and how they should be applied to parasocial theory.




The Oxford Handbook of Parasocial Experiences


Book Description

"Many media users feel as if they are engaging in an interaction or have a personal relationship with people they see in the media. These psychological experiences, that are collectively referred to as parasocial experiences (PSEs). This Handbook offers a thorough synthesis of the fast-growing, international, and multi-disciplinary research of PSEs, celebrating the field's accomplishments to date but also outlining a blueprint for future growth. The book is organized in six sections covering: (1) theoretical, conceptual, and operational definitions of PSEs; (2) theoretical models and state-of-the-art review of research on PSEs across the lifespan; (3) the effects of PSEs on media users' self and their social life (e.g., intergroup relationships, marginalized sexual groups); (3) the effects of PSEs in various contexts such as health, politics, and marketing; and (4) identifying understudied areas of research that call for further investigation (comparative cross-cultural research, marginalized racial/ethnic identities, non-amicable PSRs). In addition to a thorough synthesis of the literature, the handbook identifies several critical theoretical questions that the PSEs research faces today. Across the thematic chapters, the authors debate several overarching critical theoretical issues in PSEs research, such as the boundaries between parasocial and social phenomena and the distinctions between PSEs and other forms of involvement with media. The book also includes a hands-on methodological chapter that provides detailed information about measurement and manipulation of PSEs"--




Internet and Emotions


Book Description

Nothing seems more far removed from the visceral, bodily experience of emotions than the cold, rational technology of the Internet. But as this collection shows, the internet and emotions intersect in interesting and surprising ways. Internet and Emotions is the fruit of an interdisciplinary collaboration of scholars from the sociology of emotions and communication and media studies. It features theoretical and empirical chapters from international researchers who investigate a wide range of issues concerning the sociology of emotions in the context of new media. The book fills a substantial gap in the social research of digital technology, and examines whether the internet invokes emotional states differently from other media and unmediated situations, how emotions are mobilized and internalized into online practices, and how the social definitions of emotions are changing with the emergence of the internet. It explores a wide range of behaviors and emotions from love to mourning, anger, resentment and sadness. What happens to our emotional life in a mediated, disembodied environment, without the bodily element of physical co-presence to set off emotional exchanges? Are there qualitatively new kinds of emotional exchanges taking place on the internet? These are only some of the questions explored in the chapters of this book, with quite surprising answers.




Parasocial Romantic Relationships


Book Description

This book discusses the prevalence of parasocial romantic relationships with media figures, using surveys, interviews, and historical examples to explore the far-reaching psychological consequences of this phenomenon.




Handbook of Research on Advancements in Organizational Data Collection and Measurements: Strategies for Addressing Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors


Book Description

Different organizational instruments have been developed and adapted with proven reliability and validity to measure organizational attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. These new data collection instruments can be used in organizational management and leadership, including human research development. This technology will enhance data collection, reliability, and accurately assess management and leadership for improved organizational outcomes. Now that this new style of data collection and measurement has entered the workplace, it is essential to understand both the benefits and challenges of these newly developed instruments as well as looking at how they are used, where they are implemented, and how the technology itself functions. The Handbook of Research on Advancements in Organizational Data Collection and Measurements: Strategies for Addressing Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors includes a collection of 15 newly developed organizational instruments with proven reliability and validity meant to measure organizational attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Additionally, chapters will address methodological issues related to scale development and use as well as specific technologies used, such as the use of machine learning in future performance assessment. This book is ideal for faculty, consultants, and managers, along with practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in advancing the theoretical understanding and the practical application of using newly developed instruments for addressing organizational attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.




Handbook of Media Psychology


Book Description







Entertainment Media and Communication


Book Description

Although not considered a formal area of study, scholarship on the uses, content, and effects of entertaining media has been central to communication studies and related fields for more than a century. The serious study of entertainment seems paradoxical, as we presume entertainment to be the “lighter side” of our daily lives. Yet as revealed in this volume, entertainment media serve as cultural artifacts that shape our understandings of various peoples and publics in ways that invite deeper, immersive, and increasingly interactive engagement. On this backdrop, Entertainment Media and Communication serves as a reference guide for canonical and foundational research into media entertainment and a collection of emerging and updated theories and models core to the study of media entertainment in the 21st century. Across more than forty chapters and with a diverse and inclusive list of authors, this volume provides a broad-yet-nuanced view into entertainment media and communication scholarship. The contributors explore its foundations, define and extend key concepts and theories through myriad lenses, discuss unique considerations of digital media, and divine future paths for scholarly inquiry.




Routledge Handbook of Risk, Crisis, and Disaster Communication


Book Description

This Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of core concepts, research, and practice in risk, crisis, and disaster communication. With contributions from leading academic experts and practitioners from diverse disciplinary backgrounds including communication, disaster, and health, this Handbook offers a valuable synthesis of current knowledge and future directions for the field. It is divided into four parts. Part One begins with an introduction to foundational theories and pedagogies for risk and crisis communication. Part Two elucidates knowledge and gaps in communicating about climate and weather, focusing on community and corporate positions and considering text and visual communication with examples from the US and Australia. Part Three provides insights on communicating ongoing and novel risks, crises, and disasters from US and European perspectives, which cover how to define new risks and translate theories and methodologies so that their study can support important ongoing research and practice. Part Four delves into communicating with diverse publics and audiences with authors examining community, first responder, and employee perspectives within developed and developing countries to enhance our understanding and inspire ongoing research that is contextual, nuanced, and impactful. Offering innovative insights into ongoing and new topics, this handbook explores how the field of risk, crisis, and disaster communications can benefit from theory, technology, and practice. It will be of interest to students, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of disaster, emergency management, communication, geography, public policy, sociology, and other related interdisciplinary fields.




Influencer Politics


Book Description