Parasocial Relationships

Parasocial relationships are the concept that relationships extend beyond the physical, yet have similar characteristics to that of a real interpersonal relationship (Cohen, 2003). The relationship is typically known for extending to all sorts of media figures such as television hosts, radio hosts, TV characters, actors, sports plays, etc. More specifically, the goal of this research is to better understand parasocial relationships with TV characters. Although the viewer in the PSR (Parasocial Relationship) will never meet nor interact with the character, the feelings of companionship, similarity, and affinity will continue to develop over time based on the amount of exposure (Giles, 2002).