Friends in books: The influence of character attributes and the reading experience on parasocial relationships and romances

Abstract

While studies on parasocial relationship (PSR) have been conducted for nearly 60 years in various media contexts, research on PSR with book characters has been neglected so far. To close this gap, this study takes a first step in investigating the fundamental connections between different dimensions of the reading experience and the constitution of PSR, especially parasocial romance (PSROM). A survey of 493 adults indicates that ease of cognitive access enables PSR, mediated by reading pleasure and the feeling of presence. In addition, the degree of reality helps to establish a PSR, mediated by the personal relevance of the story. Moreover, the perceived similarity between a reader and a book character, and the attractiveness of his or her physical and mental character influence the development of a PSR, whereas only physical attractiveness influences a PSROM.