Parasocial relationships with morally ambiguous media characters – the role of moral foundations

Parasocial relationships are examined in diverse contexts and with various media characters, from news presenters to fictional movie heroes. A popular character trope in recent productions is the morally ambiguous media character (MAC). MACs disrupt the dichotomy between hero and villain, simultaneously exhibiting moral and immoral behavior. MACs attracted the attention of researchers, but little is known about parasocial relationships with them. This study examines these relationships by applying a multidimensional morality approach. The five moral domains of care, fairness, loyalty, authority, and purity are considered for the media character and the viewers. The role of these moral domains in parasocial relationships with morally ambiguous media characters was examined through an online survey (N = 250). The results show that moral behavior generally and moral behavior in care, fairness, and loyalty increased the strength of parasocial relationships, regardless of the viewer’s moral foundations. The characters’ behavior in authority and purity did not influence the viewers’ general morality perception nor their parasocial relationships with them. The study contributes to the existing literature about MACs by considering viewers’ parasocial relationships, their moral foundations, and the perceived morality in each of the five moral domains

Farewell on Screen: Uncertainty in Parasocial Relationships and Breakups with Fictional Media Characters

Analysis of the impact of parasocial relationships to series character and show affinity on uncertain, temporary, and definitive parasocial breakups with characters and shows

Feeling Pressured by Health Prevention Campaigns as a Motivational Force: Examining the Role of Visual and Verbal Mode Design Features

This research examines the influence of address style (direct, no address) and narrative voice (first-person, third-person), on the feeling of being pressured by a public service announcement about work stress in two sequential studies. The results of a choice-based conjoint analysis show that persuasive messages designed with a first-person narrative voice and direct address tend to pressure recipients. Results of a between-subjects online experiment suggest that this feeling increases subjects’ behavioral intentions to prevent stress when people interact parasocially with the displayed character. Both direct address and first-person narrative voice led directly to reduced behavioral intention to prevent stress

Study 2

Results of a between-subjects online experiment suggest that this feeling of being pressured increases subjects’ behavioral intentions to prevent stress when people interact parasocially with the displayed character. The positive effect of direct address was dependent on the underlying psychological mechanism (i.e., parasocial interaction). Furthermore, both direct address and first-person narrative voice led directly to reduced behavioral intention to prevent stress

Study 1

This research examines the influence of two visual and verbal mode design aspects, address style (direct and no address) and narrative voice (first-person and third-person), on the feeling of being pressured by a public service announcement about work stress in two sequential studies. The results of a choice-based conjoint analysis show that persuasive messages designed with a first-person narrative voice and direct address tend to pressure recipients. The feeling of being pressured was triggered almost entirely by the narrative voice

Parasocial relationships with morally ambiguous media characters – the role of moral foundations

Parasocial relationships are examined in diverse contexts and with various media characters, from news presenters to fictional movie heroes. A popular character trope in recent productions is the morally ambiguous media character (MAC). MACs disrupt the dichotomy between hero and villain, simultaneously exhibiting moral and immoral behavior. MACs attracted the attention of researchers, but little is known about parasocial relationships with them. This study examines these relationships by applying a multidimensional morality approach. The five moral domains of care, fairness, loyalty, authority, and purity are considered by the media character and the viewers. The role of these moral domains in parasocial relationships with morally ambiguous media characters was examined through an online survey (N = 250). The results show that moral behavior generally and moral behavior in care, fairness, and loyalty increased the strength of parasocial relationships, regardless of the viewer’s moral foundations. The characters’ behavior in authority and purity did not influence the viewers’ general morality perception nor their parasocial relationships with them. The study contributes to the existing literature about MACs by considering viewers’ parasocial relationships, their moral foundations, and the perceived morality in each of the five moral domains