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Parasocial Relationships Between Sports Fans and Professional Athletes

Abstract Details

2019, BA, Kent State University, College of Communication and Information / School of Communication Studies.
This study explores how sports fans create and maintain parasocial relationships with professional athletes. A survey was conducted using participants from a Midwest state university to gather information about their thoughts and actions toward their favorite professional athletes. Furthermore, three individual interviews were conducted regarding the level of parasocial relationships the respondents experience with their favorite athletes. It was found that athletes who appear similar to the respondents resulted in higher parasocial relationships. The longer an athlete has been playing professionally contributed to higher levels of parasocial relationships. Fans who have high levels of parasocial relationships with professional athletes are more likely to follow those athletes on multiple social media platforms. However, there was not a correlation found between frequent social media posts from the athlete and high levels of parasocial relationships. Additional analyses did not find a difference in the level of parasocial relationships of males and females. Both genders were found to have strong parasocial relationships. Keywords: Parasocial relationships, sports communication, sports fans, social media
Paul Sommer, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Leslie Heaphy, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
39 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Stahler, A. R. (2019). Parasocial Relationships Between Sports Fans and Professional Athletes [Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1575907648474977

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Stahler, Ariel. Parasocial Relationships Between Sports Fans and Professional Athletes. 2019. Kent State University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1575907648474977.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Stahler, Ariel. "Parasocial Relationships Between Sports Fans and Professional Athletes." Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1575907648474977

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)