Theoretical basis
The basic premise of the Contact Hypothesis (also called Intergroup Contact Theory) formulated byCritiques of parasocial interaction research
Since the introduction of the concept of parasocial interaction, researchers have argued that the original conceptualization of PSI as holistic or unidimensional is flawed and urged a multi-dimensional approach to account for the wide range of responses that media consumers have with mediated characters. Philip J. Auter and Philip Palmgreen expanded RPP-PSI to a 47-item questionnaire and developed a four-factor Audience Persona Interaction Scale, including identification, interest, group identification, and problem-solving abilities. Sood and Rogers (2000) performed content analysis of letters written to a popular “edutainment” program in India and identified five different kinds of audience responses, described as cognitive, affective, and behavioral engagement, and critical and referential involvement. Uli Gleich added three items to the RPP-PSI, which was translated into German, and recommends a three-factor solution for German viewers: companionship, person-program interaction, and empathetic interaction. Christoph Klimmt, Tilo Hartmann, Holger Schramm proposed a model in which not only is PSI conceptually multidimensional, but there are distinct “levels” of involvement with media personae that need to be measured. Recent scholarship openly challenges the notion that PSI is unidimensional conceptually. A dissertation by Peter B. Gregg provided factor analysis of several studies focusing on parasocial responses and concluded that the specific variables and measures that should be used in future research depend on the aims of particular research projects, and that there is no reason to think that the range of measurable parasocial responses is any less diverse than those resulting from interpersonal contact. Numerous researchers have noted the similarities between how we react to and think of mediated personae (whether fictive or real) and people we meet in person. As Rebecca Rubin and Alan Rubin note, PSI is “grounded in interpersonal notions of attraction, perceived similarity or homophily, and empathy”. People use the same communication-related cognitive processes for both mediated and interpersonal contexts, and “people and media are coequal communication alternatives that satisfy similar communication needs and provide similar gratifications” (p. 59). In other words: People make the same sort of analytical and affective judgments about mediated characters as they do with people they meet in real life, such as physical attractiveness, trustworthiness, predictability, perceived similarity (homophily), and likeability.Examples of parasocial contact hypothesis research
Positive portrayals of minority outgroups can reduce prejudice in one of two ways. The first is usually described as parasocial contact. Such research typically assumes that lack of meaningful interpersonal contact allows for the persistence of negative stereotypes and prejudice. As viewers learn about a minority group by observing positive media representations, they have the opportunity to form more favorable opinions about minority group members in terms of such traits as likeability, perceived similarity, physical attractiveness, predictability, and trustworthiness. The second way to reduce prejudice is by observing other majority group members interact positively with minority group members. This is called vicarious contact or learning, which can help “normalize” the minority group and reduce prejudice. In both cases, the hypothesized result of learning more about a minority group is to breakdown stereotypes and acquire a more complex set of cognitive schemata associated with that group. A 2020 meta-analysis by Banas, et al., included 79 cases and concluded that “positive mediated contact decreased rejudice(r = −.23; 95% CI, −.29 to −.17), whereas negative mediated contact increased prejudicial attitudes (r = .31; 95% CI, .24 to .38).” When comparing parasocial and vicarious contact, the meta-analysis found no significant difference between the two routes; both have been demonstrated to reduce prejudice. The PCH or similar intergroup contact theory has been utilized in research exploring the potential of mediated contact reducing prejudice toward a variety of minority groups, including the following: * African Americans: Ramasubramanian (2011), Kim & Harwood (2020). * Gay men: Schiappa, Gregg, & Hewes (2005, 2006); Ortiz & Harwood (2007); Bond & Compton (2015); Bond (2020). * Immigrants and refugees: Rosenthal, et al. (2020), Schemer & Meltzer (2019). * Male transvestites: Schiappa, Gregg, & Hewes (2005). * Muslim Americans: Abrams, McGaughy, & Haghighat (2018). * People with bipolar disorder: Wong, Lookadoo, & Nisbett (2017). * Transgender people: Gillig, et al. (2018); Li (2019, 2021); Orellana, Totterdell, & Iyer (2020).Recent applications and extensions of the parasocial contact hypothesis
The potential of new technologies to reduce stigma towards people with mental health problems, such as virtual reality, has been examined. In this regard, a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials showed that there are several interventions to reduce stigma towards this population, such as video games, audiovisual simulation of hallucinations, virtual reality and electronic contact with mental health service users. The meta-analysis (n=1832 participants) demonstrated that these interventions had a consistent medium effect on reducing the level of public stigma (''d''=–0.64; 95% CI 0.31-0.96; ''p''<.001). However, more research is needed in this field to determine the mechanisms of change and their medium- and long-term effects. Based on the PCH and other social psychological research on stereotypes and social groupsFurther reading
Bradley J. Bond, “Parasocial Contact and Prejudice Reduction.” In ''The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology'' (John Wiley & Sons, 2020). Peter B. Gregg and Edward Schiappa, “Parasocial Communication.” In Mike Allen, ed.,References
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