Direct and vicarious routes to relatedness need satisfaction through narrative media
Date
2024-12
Authors
Bognar, Emma
Major Professor
Advisor
Costabile, Kristi
Blankenship, Kevin
Crede, Marcus
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Abstract
Self-determination theory proposes that the desire for relatedness is an innate need shared by all humans. Relatedness is conceptualized as the need to be connected to others through meaningful relationships. One way this need may be satisfied is through narrative media, however this avenue for need satisfaction has yet to be thoroughly investigated. Narrative media such as novels, television shows, and movies provide opportunities for readers and viewers to engage with story characters, both as an independent other and as a shared self. When engaged with the character as an independent other, the audience members may form parasocial relationships with characters, feeling a sense of connection similar to that experienced in an interpersonal relationship. Additionally, as a shared self, audience members may experience identification with a character in which they empathically share the feelings, thoughts, and goals of the character as though they were their own. Previous research and theorizing have proposed that both parasocial relationships and identification might allow a reader or viewer to experience relatedness need satisfaction through narrative media. Through parasocial engagement, the reader may feel as though they are in a relationship, fulfilling their need through this parasocial experience rather than through a real-world relationship. By experiencing identification with a character who has meaningful relationships (i.e., who experiences relatedness need satisfaction), the reader may share in this fulfillment and feel their own relatedness need satisfied in turn. The present research explored the potential of narrative media to satisfy relatedness needs through the direct (i.e., parasocial relationships) and vicarious (i.e., identification) routes to need satisfaction using correlational and experimental designs. Study 1 tested how everyday TV watching can contribute to such need satisfaction. Results support both the direct route, via a positive association between parasocial relationship strength and relatedness need satisfaction, and the vicarious route, in which identification moderated the relationship between perceived character relatedness need satisfaction and participant relatedness need satisfaction. Study 2 attempted to manipulate the strength of parasocial relationships and the opportunities for vicarious need satisfaction in a short story to examine how such manipulations affect the reader’s experience of relatedness need satisfaction. Despite failure to manipulate parasocial relationship strength, Study 2 provided preliminary support for the vicarious route, showing a similar moderation effect to Study 1. Together, the results indicate that both parasocial relationships and identification with satisfied characters may allow audiences to experience relatedness need satisfaction. The associations among parasocial relationships, identification, and relatedness need satisfaction are discussed, and the framework contributes to a strong theoretical foundation for positive media psychology research.
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