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Abstract: Reports an error in "Belongingness needs mediate the link between attachment anxiety and parasocial relationship strength" by A. Luke MacNeill and Enrico DiTommaso (Psychology of Popular Media, Advanced Online Publication, Apr 04, 2022, np). In the original article, there were some errors. The third sentence in the fourth paragraph of the Background section should appear as follows: Based on past theorization, we expected that anxiously attached individuals would be drawn to figures that are high in qualities such as warmth and sensitivity, those same characteristics that these individuals are seeking and probably not finding (to their satisfaction) in their real-life attachment figures. The phrase in the first paragraph of the Participants section beginning 27 were removed should appear as follows: 27 were removed for selecting a media figure that did not qualify for the study. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2022-48394-001). Previous research has shown a link between attachment anxiety and the strength of the parasocial relationships that people form with their favorite media figures. The mechanism underlying this connection is unclear, although certain findings from the literature suggest that belongingness needs could play a role. In the current study, we assessed whether the association between attachment anxiety and parasocial relationship strength is mediated by belongingness needs. A sample of 200 online participants filled out measures of attachment anxiety and belongingness needs, reported their favorite TV figure, and completed a measure of the strength of their parasocial relationship with that figure. As expected, results showed a significant association between attachment anxiety and parasocial relationship strength. This association was mediated by belongingness needs. These results may help to explain why anxiously attached individuals tend to form stronger parasocial relationships with their favorite media figures than people with other attachment orientations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) PubDate: Thu, 14 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000423
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Abstract: People obtain social information from the media—particularly when they lack real-world experience. This occurs most prominently among younger viewers who seek to learn about sexual and romantic interactions and relationships. This is due both to their lack of first-hand experience in these types of situations as well as the developmental stage they are experiencing (i.e., intimacy vs. isolation; Erikson, 1968). In light of this, we proposed a construct called para-couple relationships or long-term associations with a media couple that develop during viewing but endure beyond the media exposure situation. Across 2 studies, we created and validated a scale to capture para-couple relationships among emerging adults and tested this construct in relation to other developmentally related variables. Our results inform media entertainment and developmental research alike, in particular, as it relates to emerging adults’ relationships with media couples and their romantic and sexual socialization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) PubDate: Thu, 12 May 2022 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000409
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Abstract: This study examined Big Five and Dark Tetrad personality perception for 56 characters from the popular TV show Game of Thrones—and the book series that inspired it, A Song of Ice and Fire—by 309 fans recruited from 3 relevant subreddits. Specifically, we examined consensus—the extent to which multiple perceivers (participants) rate 1 or more targets (characters) similarly—and assumed similarity—the extent to which perceivers (participants) see targets (characters) as they see themselves. Using cross-classified structural equation models, we found that consensus correlations were significant for all Big Five and Dark Tetrad traits, ranging from .54 for narcissism to .83 for agreeableness (M = .66, SD = .10). Assumed similarity slopes were positive (range: .07–.29; M = .15, SD = .06) and significant for all traits except conscientiousness and open-mindedness. Thus, raters reliably assumed that characters were similar to themselves on 7 of 9 traits. Exploratory sex-differences analyses showed no sex-of-character effects but significant sex-of-perceiver effects for conscientiousness, open-mindedness, and Machiavellianism; women perceived characters to be higher on these traits than men. In addition, women (vs. men) rated themselves as higher on extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness but lower on Machiavellianism. We also present rankings for characters with the highest and lowest scores on each trait. Broadly, this work is important for understanding not only how our perceptions of personality generalize to fictional characters but also how we use fiction characters—and our perceptions of their personalities—to better understand our own social world. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) PubDate: Thu, 21 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000398
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Abstract: The present study examined people’s expected reactions to their beloved ones’ romantic relationship announcements in parasocial love (PSL) and unrequited love (UL). In a between-subjects design study, 330 college students in China were asked to name a media figure with whom they had PSL or someone they knew in person who had been their UL object. Then they reported their expected negative emotional reactions, closeness reduction, and coping strategies if the media figure or the love object announces romantic relationship involvement. PSL was found to be lower than UL in strength. People with stronger PSL and UL are expected to have more negative emotional reactions. People in PSL reported less negative emotional reactions and less closeness reduction in contrast to their counterparts in UL. The likeliness to adopt different coping strategies varied by the type of relationship and gender. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) PubDate: Thu, 07 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000400
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Abstract: The present studies set out to characterize how subtle threat cues manifest in marketing horror and children’s entertainment. Objective measures of luminance, colorfulness, redness, and angularity were calculated from images of movie posters (Study 1), album covers (Study 2), and video game box art (Study 3). The relative importance of these predictors at distinguishing between horror and children’s items was assessed using logistic regression models. In an exploratory manner, three global image statistics that relate to spatial composition were hierarchically included as predictors. The results indicate that marketing materials in popular media exploit low-level visual properties that are implicated in threat appraisals when there is a desire to unambiguously communicate the presence or absence of threat. In general, horror items were darker, less colorful, featured a greater proportion of red, shapes with a greater degree of angularity, and included more complex and isotropic changes in luminance compared with their children’s counterparts. The results provide insight into the tacit cues that are used to signal threat in popular media. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) PubDate: Thu, 07 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000401
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Abstract: [Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported online in Psychology of Popular Media on Jul 14 2022 (see record 2022-80475-001). In the original article, there were some errors. The third sentence in the fourth paragraph of the Background section should appear as follows: Based on past theorization, we expected that anxiously attached individuals would be drawn to figures that are high in qualities such as warmth and sensitivity, those same characteristics that these individuals are seeking and probably not finding (to their satisfaction) in their real-life attachment figures. The phrase in the first paragraph of the Participants section beginning 27 were removed should appear as follows: 27 were removed for selecting a media figure that did not qualify for the study.] Previous research has shown a link between attachment anxiety and the strength of the parasocial relationships that people form with their favorite media figures. The mechanism underlying this connection is unclear, although certain findings from the literature suggest that belongingness needs could play a role. In the current study, we assessed whether the association between attachment anxiety and parasocial relationship strength is mediated by belongingness needs. A sample of 200 online participants filled out measures of attachment anxiety and belongingness needs, reported their favorite TV figure, and completed a measure of the strength of their parasocial relationship with that figure. As expected, results showed a significant association between attachment anxiety and parasocial relationship strength. This association was mediated by belongingness needs. These results may help to explain why anxiously attached individuals tend to form stronger parasocial relationships with their favorite media figures than people with other attachment orientations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) PubDate: Mon, 04 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000399
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Abstract: Problematic gamers may focus on game-play so much that they forego regular daily activities in favor of more game time, leading to health impairments. Because problematic gamers often desire to return to the game as quickly as possible, they are known to make myopic choices that favor short-term benefits at the cost of long-term gains. The present research examines certain health behaviors that are likely to suffer from such myopic decision-making: sleep quality, diet quality, and personal hygiene. Although other research has assessed the relationships between gaming behavior and each of these health behaviors separately, they are likely to be intercorrelated—representing a pattern of unhealthy decision-making. To achieve our research goal of understanding how problematic gaming might be associated with these health behaviors, we surveyed a university-based sample (n = 354), including targeted sampling of high-intensity gamers. We assessed problematic gaming’s relationship with poorer sleep quality, diet quality, and personal hygiene behaviors. Our results reveal a significant association between problematic gaming and all 3 negative health behaviors. Negative health behaviors associated with problematic gaming may be a potential sign that there is a behavioral addiction issue. Interventions should consider a pattern of such behaviors along with gaming behavior to encourage healthier behavioral choices and game-play. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) PubDate: Mon, 14 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000397
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Abstract: As gamers age, the classic and retro video game market grows in lockstep. Previous work has shown that myriad aspects of games, such as playing familiar franchises, seeing game consoles and trailers, or even thinking about past gameplay, can induce nostalgia. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches, the current study looks to one off-screen element of video games inextricable from gaming experiences that might further contribute to (or hinder) nostalgia: video game controllers. Participants played Super Mario Bros. with either an original Nintendo Entertainment System controller, one of two different modern Nintendo controllers, or watched streamed gameplay. Controller type was mostly unrelated to nostalgia in quantitative analysis, with nominal variation in qualitative analysis. However, we did find that perceived in-game success predicted both personal and historical nostalgia, overall gaming experience predicted personal nostalgia, and younger gamers without Super Mario Bros. experience felt increased historical nostalgia. Research questions, study design, and data analyses were preregistered prior to data collection. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) PubDate: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000382
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Abstract: A growing body of research suggests that free heterosexual internet pornography (IP) often depicts violent, coercive, and degrading acts by men against women. This has raised concerns that IP may be fostering the development of gendered, coercive, and aggressive sexualized beliefs and attitudes toward women, with the potential for these to influence how some men behave in their sexual interactions with women. The current study of young adult males and females (17–25 years) explored problematic IP viewing and how this might be associated with the development of gendered and sexually aggressive attitudes. Specifically, a number of environment and person factors that might lead individuals to be more susceptible to the development of problematic IP viewing, and the endorsement of gendered and sexually aggressive beliefs and attitudes were examined. Positive associations were found between problematic IP viewing, stereotypical gendered attitudes, IP-congruent beliefs (including beliefs that endorse sexual coercion), and psychological vulnerability factors such as higher levels of sexual impulsivity, depression, and the tendency to dissociate. Higher stereotypical gendered beliefs, higher IP-congruent sexual beliefs, and higher sexual impulsivity all uniquely contributed to the prediction of problematic IP viewing. Based on these findings, it appears probable that some young adults’ sexual attitudes and beliefs may be, to some extent, associated with their exposure to the violent, coercive, and degrading acts by men against women often found in IP. Broader implications for aggression and violence against women are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) PubDate: Thu, 24 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000393
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Abstract: COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns have had major negative effects on individuals’ mental health and psychological well-being. Isolated at home, people may engage in recreational activities such as binge-watching (i.e., viewing multiple episodes of a TV series in 1 session) as a strategy to regulate emotional states. This is the first longitudinal study assessing changes in TV series viewing patterns during the first COVID-19 lockdown and examining whether binge-watching was associated with changes in positive and negative affect throughout this period. TV series viewing practices and motivations, binge-watching behaviors, psychopathological symptoms, and affective states were jointly assessed through a 6-week longitudinal online survey at 3 time points (i.e., T1, T2, and T3), in Belgium, France, and Switzerland. Results showed significant increases in individuals’ watching habits (e.g., higher daily time spent viewing, expansion of coviewing practices). Results from the longitudinal analyses principally showed that male gender and social motives for TV series watching predicted a decrease in negative affect levels. A problematic binge-watching pattern characterized by loss of control was the single predictor of an increase in negative affect over time. These findings suggest that TV series watching patterns effectively increased during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Watching TV series for social motives emerged as a protective factor, whereas problematic binge-watching seemed to act as a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy throughout these unprecedented circumstances. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) PubDate: Thu, 24 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000390
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Abstract: Preferences for various genres of movies or books have long been considered to express unique aspects of personality. The question, however, remains: Do the “darker” aspects of personality manifest in such preferences' This study, therefore, examined the relative contribution of personality, as measured by the Mini International Personality Item Pool and the Dirty Dozen, to movie and reading preferences in a sample of 386 participants. Hierarchical regressions showed that the Big Five personality traits differentially contributed to predicting media preferences. Results further revealed that even after controlling for the Big Five traits, Machiavellianism predicted preferences for genres of movies and books characterized by intensity, whereas a preference for light books was predicted by narcissism. It follows, then, that both movie and reading preferences can represent a means through which people do express aspects of their own personalities, which may partly explain the importance of entertainment media in our everyday lives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) PubDate: Thu, 24 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000394
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Abstract: The present study examines 4 cognitive discrepancy management strategies that media users can use in response to a celebrity making a political statement that runs contrary to their beliefs. The experiment (N = 382) replicates the results using 3 celebrities and 2 attitude object contexts. Exposure to a celebrity making political statements that the media user disagrees with resulted in weaker parasocial relationships with the celebrity and attribution of lesser importance to that issue. Viewers who particularly liked the celebrity prior to the study were more likely to decouple the actor from their line of work to continue enjoying the actor’s media content despite their political disagreement. These findings illuminate the potential consequences of celebrity politics for both the media figures’ stardom and the citizens’ political participation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) PubDate: Mon, 21 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000385
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Abstract: Cliffhangers are a common style element in serial entertainment. This study investigates their role in today’s high-choice media environment. It is assumed that cliffhangers lead to higher arousal, increase the enjoyment of a series, and foster the intention to continue watching. This may foster binge-watching or, more generally, high-intensity viewing of TV shows. In a laboratory experiment, individuals (N = 133) were exposed to 3 to 4 episodes of a drama series, eventually finishing either with or without a cliffhanger. Participants’ arousal, enjoyment of the show, and intention to continue watching the series were measured via self-report and psychophysiological measures (electrodermal activity and cortisol levels). The results suggest that cliffhangers lead to higher arousal but do not increase enjoyment or the intention to continue watching. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) PubDate: Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000392
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