The Differential Effects of Direct Address on Parasocial Experience and Identification: Empirical Evidence for Conceptual Difference

Jonathan Cohen, Mary Beth Oliver, Helena Bilandzic

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Whereas parasocial experience is conceptualized as imagined interaction identification is defined as the merging of one’s identity with a character’s. Thus, having a character face the camera and directly address viewers should increase the sense of parasocial experience but not affect the intensity of identification. An experiment compared the levels of parasocial experience and identification among viewers of clips from the show House of Cards that included or omitted direct address tested this prediction. Results provide support for the previously theorized conceptualdistinction between parasocial experience and identification.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)78-83
Number of pages6
JournalCommunication Research Reports
Volume36
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2019

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Communication

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