Understanding Parasocial Attachment

Many people are blind-sighted and tricked into being sucked into the world of celebrities and reality tv. This occurrence is known as celebrity worship syndrome and it can have many detrimental effects. Research has found that celebrity worship syndrome and an addiction to celebrities “has likewise been conceptualized as a search for a solid identity and social role ... and compulsive and obsessional elements are noted at advanced stages of addiction ... Thus, while absorption can partially account for the vividness of delusions related to dissociative experience ... the progression along our hierarchy of celebrity worship might reflect increases in the thresholds of the need and capacity of psychological absorption” (Rockwell). The absorption-addiction model that Rockwell references describes the parasocial relationship of a celebrity and a fan. Typically, due to deficits in a person’s life, a fan will become absorbed into a celebrity's following in order to escape their current life and they eventually become addicted. If an obsession with a celebrity is left unchecked it has the possibility to spiral into thoughts or behaviors that can be harmful to the fan and

Hollywood is a very powerful modern day institution, where a star's image can characterize, shape and circulate societal myths and ideologies. The construction of a star's image as a commodity of their societal myths and ideologies has the extraordinary power to exert messages so that even the smallest details become significant yet not overtly obvious. How a star's image is produced and then consumed can justify a society's relationship with that image and therefore aid in explaining the social construction of what society deems as their 'reality'. A star's image is created through a range of representations churned out by Hollywood. Capitalism from the commercialization of these images has made Hollywood the dominant force it is

This model serves to illustrate that media “is an integral part of the continuous process of cultural production and reproduction that characterizes everyday life.” (Steele, 556) This means that the media serves to shape values, as well as reinforce existing values and meaning that individuals attribute to their everyday

John Bowlby’s Attachment theory is relevant to serial murderers since it looks at the child’s early life experiences, focusing on the bond between the mother and child (Bretherton, 1992). It argues that a break in the bond will lead the child to a life of crime and delinquency. In this paper we will discuss two points. The first point is discussing Aileen’s Wuornos life from childhood to adulthood and the second point is explaining how her life is relevant to Bowlby’s Attachment Theory. We will finally know what happened in Aileen Wuornos’ life that caused her to become one of the most famous female serial killers of all time.

There are many people who stretch the idea of our “obsessions” with celebrities. In Deborah King’s article, “The Impact of Celebrities”, she argues that people are obsessed with celebrities in an unhealthy way. However, in Palmer’s short essay response, he assumes that King exaggerates our “obsession” with celebrities. Although King’s argument is strong, I have to agree with Palmer that being obsessed with celebrities isn’t as bad as King suggests.

Explain the adaptive value of female body shape as it relates to evolutionary theory. Remember to include details that are missing in the media article (e.g. explain other features such as waist and hip ratio).

The ongoing scientific investigation of how exactly evolution occurred and continues to occur has been an argumentative idea amongst society since Darwin first articulated it over a century ago. The scientific basis of evolution accounts for happenings that are also essential concerns of religion; both religion and science focus on the origins of humans and of biological diversity. For instance, in the reading “Truth Cannot Contradict Truth,” Pope John Paul II, addressing the Pontifical Academy of Science, discussed the matter of God as creator of man. The Pope explains that men cannot relate to animals because men are superior. The reasoning for that is because God created humans under his likeness. What the church is saying about mankind

Radio, television, film, and the other products of media culture provide materials out of which we forge our very identities; our sense of selfhood; our notion of what it means to be male or female; our sense of class, of ethnicity and race, of nationality, of sexuality; and of "us" and "them." These products of media help shape our view of the world and our deepest values: what we consider good or bad, positive or negative, moral or evil. They contribute to educating us how to behave and what to think, feel, believe, fear, and desire -- and what not too. The media teach us how to be men and women, how to dress,

At the age of 11, my family and I visited The Museum of Natural History in New

The role of fame and celebrities’ heavily influence American culture. Some people may be eager for a celebrity status or be drawn to one who has achieved it for reasons not fully understood. When the word “fame” is thought of, often what comes to mind is the money and the attention that comes with it. However, fame can also bring pain through addiction and the publics lack of acknowledgement that celebrities are people who share the same struggles and stress. America’s obsession with “celebrity culture” effects the attitudes, behaviors, and the overall views of an average person, and also those of the celebrity themselves.

Although Ronald Aylmer Fisher isn’t a relatively famous or well- known statistician, he is still considered to be amongst the greatest twentieth century scientists. Ronald Fisher found success through his carefully researched statistics by unifying concepts of natural selection and sexual selection to discover ways to help improve the human race.

As I read through this verbose chapter I began to pick up on the dominating themes of celebrity culture and their development over time. I consider myself somewhat of a celebrity super fan but as I read I realized I have never dove deeper into the meaning of celebrity but merely skimmed the surface. During my perusal of the chapter many thought-provoking concepts jumped out at me.

Have you ever wondered what influences us to behave the way we do? Look a certain way? Or even looked for an explanation to what causes us to apply a certain perspective regarding personal and controversial issues? One of the answers to these questions may revolve around the influence we absorb from celebrities. A definitive term for celebrity is an iconic figure to a category or group who has achieved success in one or multiple aspects of their lives. As a result, these individuals have drawn in publicity and fame. Over the years with the advances in media and other forms of communication, celebrities have become topics of discussion worldwide, rather if it’s at school, with colleagues or at the dinner table, it is fair to say that

Even though evolution is an ancient concept, Charles Darwin brought up a new idea focusing on naturalistic modification of a population over time. He believed that species differ over time and space. In other words, after a period of time creatures undergo genetic mutations in their genetic code in which the beneficial mutations are preserved and the disadvantage mutations are eliminated. This concept he termed as natural selection. According to natural selection, all species have common ancestry and their diversity comes as a result of descent modifications. A species that develops functional advantages would pass the same traits to their offspring

Biological evolution is the name for the changes in gene frequency in a population of a species from generation to generation. Evolution offers explanation to why species genetically change over years and the diversity of life on Earth. Although it is generally accepted by the scientific community, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution has been studied and debated for several decades. In 1859, Darwin published On The Origin of Species, which introduced the idea of evolutionary thought which he supported with evidence of one type of evolutionary mechanism, natural selection. Some of the main mechanisms of evolution are natural selection, mutation, and genetic drift. The idea that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor has been around for