The interpersonal beginnings of fandom: The relation between attachment style, trust, and the admiration of celebrities

Brian Collisson,Lynn E Mccutcheon,Rebecca Britt,Blaine L Browne,Amy M Browne

doi:10.5964/ijpr.v12i1.282

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between people’s attraction to celebrities and their interpersonal trust and attachment style. Previous research suggests that individuals with different attachment styles are differentially attracted to celebrities. We predicted that securely attached participants who mistrust, rather than trust, others tend to have higher levels of benign celebrity attraction. We found only partial support for our hypothesis. Surprisingly, there were no significant differences between different attachment styles on either of the two measures of celebrity admiration. These findings contribute to the literature on trust and celebrity worship by providing new information about how different attachment styles may (or may not) affect the relationships that people have with their favorite celebrity.

Highlights

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between people’s attraction to celebrities and their interpersonal trust and attachment style
We argue that insecurely attached people may be especially likely to form parasocial relationships as adults
All variables used in the statistical analyses had approximately normal distributions and there were no significant outliers found.iv Scatterplots indicated linear relationships among the scales

Summary

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between people’s attraction to celebrities and their interpersonal trust and attachment style. There were no significant differences between different attachment styles on either of the two measures of celebrity admiration These findings contribute to the literature on trust and celebrity worship by providing new information about how different attachment styles may (or may not) affect the relationships that people have with their favorite celebrity. The fan does not need to possess good social skills, and does not run the risk of being criticized or rejected (Ashe & McCutcheon, 2001) unless the fan tries to contact the celebrity (McCutcheon, Aruguete, McCarley, & Jenkins, 2016; McCutcheon, Scott, Aruguete, & Parker, 2006)

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Conclusion