University of the Philippines Diliman Department of Psychology 2nd Semester AY 2013 - 2014
Celebrity Worship: Is it a Negative Thing?
A iterat!re "evie# s!$mitted in Partial %!lfillment of the "e&!irements for Psychology 1'0( Social Psychology
)y Potian* +ri,a her P. 2010-2022/
o Prof. +ric !lian analastas
April 2* 2014 ith the advent of the nternet and more st!dies on pop c!lt!re* cele$rity #orship $ecame a topic of interest in different fields of ,no#ledge* s!ch as Psychology. According to Research into ‘Intense Fandom’, Including Celebrity Worship and Celebrity Stalking 520126* cele$rity #orship is a preocc!pation #ith a cele$rity that affects the #orshipper7s life and co!ld $e descri$ed as obsessional . 8iven this definition* it is int!itive for cele$rity #orship to $e deemed as something negative. ele$rity #orshippers have their o#n share of acc!sations of $eing too attached* too o$sessed* o$sessed* and too invested get thro#n thro#n aro!nd readily readily* and all too often s!ch affect is critici9e critici9ed d for $eing too girly or li,e a teen 5)!sse* 20136. Previo!s st!dies have s!ggested and pop!lar opinion is that mem$ers of fan comm!nities display fanatical or pathological #orship of their cele$rity cele$rity or $rand hero 5alt$y 5alt$y** :o!ran* :o!ran* Ashe* ; c!tcheon* c!tcheon* 20016. Also* aside from the advocacy of capitalism* ignorance of social iss!es and propagation of democracy diminishing 5Altman* 200<6* it is often perceived that people #ho engage in cele$rity #orship commit stal,ing. After all* according to a st!dy $y Sheridan* =orth* alt$y* ; 8illett 5200/6* addiction
and criminality are significantly associated #ith cele$rity #orship. ore importantly* there e>ists a term called ele$rity orship Syndrome?altho!gh it still has not made its #ay to the DS-<. :o#ever* it is important to note that cele$rity #orship has $een concept!ali9ed as having pathological and non-pathological forms 5c!tcheon* ange* ; :o!ran* 20026. "esearch sho#ed that only the pathological forms are generally harmf!l 58iles ; alt$y* 200@6. his is $ased on the frame#or, developed #ith the ele$rity orship Scale 5S6 $y alt$y and colleag!es 520026 #hich #as revised $y c!tcheon* ange* and :o!ran7s 520026 to $ecome the 23-item ele$rity Attit!de Scale 5AS6. his scale is said to have triggered a modest amo!nt of research aimed at determining the attit!des* traits and $ehaviors of those #ho #orshipped at least one cele$rity 5alt$y* c!tcheon ; o#inger* 20116. his literat!re revie# aims to ans#er the &!estion of #hether cele$rity #orship is negative or not $y loo,ing at st!dies p!$lished a$o!t the topic d!ring the past decade !p to present. According to 8rohol 5200'6* the pict!re #e have on #hether cele$rity #orship is good or $ad is not $lac, and #hite?it is instead* mi>ed. ith the ass!mption that cele$rity #orship is pathological* it can $e said that there are &!ite a lot of findings that s!pport the vie# that the phenomenon has many negative effects. :o#ever* it m!st $e ta,en into acco!nt that research in this field is not yet very e>tensive* and many st!dies are done $y the same people. =evertheless* one of the negative effects that #ere fo!nd correlated #ith cele$rity #orship is a lo#er cognitive a$ility. n 2003, a st!dy $y c!tcheon and colleag!es 5as cited in 8iles ; alt$y* 200@6 e>amined the relationship $et#een cele$rity #orship and si> cognitive meas!res comprising creativity 5ver$al6* crystalli9ed intelligence* critical thin,ing* spatial a$ility* and need for cognition. :igh scores on cele$rity #orship 5!sing the AS6 consistently sho#ed negative correlations #ith these meas!res of cognitive a$ility. he only e>ception to this trend #as a small $!t significant contri$!tion of scores on creativity in predicting scores on the $orderline pathological s!$scale n addition* t#o other st!dies have loo,ed at cele$rity #orship and cognitive fle>i$ility* #hich refers to a person7s a#areness that in any given sit!ation there are options and alternatives availa$le* #illingness to $e fle>i$le and adapt to the sit!ation* and self-efficacy in $eing fle>i$le. artin* ayan!s* c!tcheon* ; alt$y 520036 and alt$y* Day* c!tcheon* artin* ; ayan!s 520046 e>amined the relationship $et#een cele$rity #orship and cognitive fle>i$ility among USA and
UB samples* respectively. )oth st!dies fo!nd negative associations $et#een intense-personal cele$rity #orship and cognitive fle>i$ility* s!ggesting individ!als #ho engage in cele$rity #orship for intenseCpersonal reasons are !na$le to consider options or to implement alternatives to pro$lems 58iles ; alt$y* 200@6.
Aside from cognitive a$ility* c!tcheon et al. 520026 spec!lated that an introverted nat!re and lac, of meaningf!l relationships e>ist among cele$rity #orshippers. hey f!rther stated that this lead to a heightened sense of reality* #hich in t!rn is said to feed erroneo!s $eliefs that the cele$rity #orshipper and the foc!s of his or her attention have a special connection. h!s* the #orshipper may then engage in more and more e>treme $ehaviors in order to increase his or her ,no#ledge of and feelings of pro>imity to the favored cele$rity* #hich is e>emplified $y stal,ing. he most e>treme form of cele$rity #orship* as proposed $y c!tcheon and colleag!es encompasses o$sessive-comp!lsive and even del!sional aspects. his form* called the )orderline-Pathological 5as opposed to lighter forms +ntertainment-Social and ntense-Personal derived from the AS6 res!lted to a compromised identity str!ct!re and a greater identification #ith a cele$rity in an attempt to esta$lish a self image. t is s!pported $y he!ng ; Y!e7s 520036 findings that teenagers #ho #orship idols from demonstrate the lo#est levels of identity achievement. oreover* $oth males and females #ho scored high on the AS ntense-personal s!$scale 5P6 also tended to#ard =e!roticism* as meas!red $y the =+E P-" 5alt$y ; Day* 20116. Adolescents are more li,ely to copy actions of cele$rities li,e getting tattooed* smo,ing* !sing dr!gs and alcohol* or committing disordered eating 5:arrison* n.d* as cited in Atman* 200<6. %!rthermore* findings s!ggest that in female adolescents* there is an interaction $et#een ntense-personal cele$rity #orship and $ody image $et#een the ages of 14 and 1@ years* and some tentative evidence has $een fo!nd to s!ggest that this relationship disappears at the onset o f ad!lthood* 1/ to 20 years 5alt$y* 8iles* )ar$er ; c!tcheon* 200<6. oreover* alt$y et al. 5200<6 stated that parasocial relationships #ith cele$rities perceived as having a good $ody shape may lead to a poor $ody image in female adolescents alt$y and Day7s 520116 st!dy a$o!t the relationship of cele$rity #orship and elective cosmetic s!rgery si> years later also s!pported these findings.
ith all these* #hy does cele$rity #orship persistF hy do people stic, their noses in the $!siness of cele$rities #ho #ill pro$a$ly never ,no# them in real lifeF Altman 5200<6 stated that large segments of society have al#ays lived vicario!sly thro!gh cele$rities. he $asis of the cele$rity #orship concept is the notion of parasocial relationships* #hich #as first identified $y :orton and ohl 51G<@6 in relationship to television a!diences perceived one-#ay relationships #ith television presenters 5De )ac,er* 20126. he relation $et#een stars and their a!diences is typically characteri9ed $y a lac, of feed$ac, in interactions 5De )ac,er* 20126. )eca!se of the one-#ay nat!re of information and emotion in these interactions* they are termed parasocial . t is $ased on this !nreciprocated relationship researchers developed the a$sorption-addiction model of cele$rity #orship 5c!tcheon et al.* 20026. According to this model* the more a$sor$ed an individ!al $ecame #ith their parasocial relationship #ith a cele$rity* the more addictive the relationship $ecame* #ith the associated pathology and $ehaviorrs related to addiction. onsistent #ith this model* 8iles and alt$y7s 5200@6 st!dy on $rand comm!nity provides a conte>t to enact cele$rity #orship and also the social reinforcement to s!pport the addictive components of cele$rity #orship.
alt$y et al. 520016 arg!ed that the positive relationship $et#een cele$rity #orship and poorer psychological #ell-$eing res!lts from failed attempts to escape* cope* or enhance oneHs daily life. :o#ever* De )ac,er7s 520126 more recent research s!ggests that parasocial relationships sho!ld $e seen as an e>tension of cons!mers7 social lives* rather than compensation for a lac, thereof. St!dies investigating ho# parasocial relationships f!nction have sho#n that the first case 5e>tension6 is more li,ely 5ohen* 20046. Also* altho!gh they do not replace real interactions* parasocial relationships do help to $oost self-esteem among cons!mers #ith lo# self-esteem 5Derric,* 8a$riel* ; rippin* 200'6. A f!rther st!dy $y Derric,* 8a$riel* ; :!gen$erg 5200G6 sho#ed that favorite programs decrease feelings of loneliness and lo# mood among average individ!als 5as cited in De )ac,er* 20126. n addition* according to 8reen#ood ; ong 520116* the level of intimacy esta$lished #ith same-se> friends in real life correlates #ith the level of intimacy e>perienced #ith parasocial friends* #hich means that the closer a person7s real-life relationships are* the closer their parasocial relationships #ill $e 5as cited in De)ac,er* 20126.
)y no#* it is esta$lished that there are psychological $enefits gained from #orshipping cele$rities. ele$rity #orship gives social s!pport* and researchers have noted that one form of social s!pport is the reali9ation that yo! are needed and matter to others 5)aym* 20126. Among the $enefits of receiving social s!pport are $etter psychological adI!stment* higher perceptions of self-efficacy* $etter coping* improved tas, performance* $etter disease resistance and recovery* and lo#ered ris, of mortality 5)!rleson ; acgeorge* 2002* as cited in )aym* 20126. According to alt$y et al. 520016* sharing information and e>periences #ith friends might promote social relationships and serve as a $!ffer against everyday stressors. "esearchers also fo!nd o!t that gossiping children had a stronger net#or, of close friends than their peers #ho #ere less interested in cele$rities 5Altman* 200<6. astly* research on motivated cognition 5#hich is present in cele$rity #orship6 can help e>plain tho!ght-provo,ing entertainment e>periences* and the potential of s!ch e>periences to stim!late self-reflection and personal gro#th 5)artsch ; Eliver* 20116. n concl!sion* cele$rity #orship has $oth positive and negative effects. ele$rity #orship is a $ad thing only if it is intense eno!gh to violate societal norms* if it inflicts harm on other people and if it afflicts the J#orshipperK physically or psychologically. Also* caref!l note m!st $e made to differentiate pathological and non-pathological cele$rity #orship* #hich spells a great difference #hether or not cele$rity #orship #ill go a#ry. ore st!dies* #hether empirical or $ased on ethnography* sho!ld $e done in order to f!rther !nderstand this comple> phenomenon.
References
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