Additional Resources
- More information about Gayle Stever's papers can be found at researchgate.net
- Dr. Mark Duffet: Parasocial Relationships: An interview with Gayle Stever
- Alan Boyle: The Science of Dead Celebrities
- Shining Stars: A Grounded Theory Study Examining Celebrity Slacktivism by Josh Cohen (student of Gayle Stever)
- Green Tweet: Examining Celebrities versus Activists in Single Tweet Effectiveness by Josh Cohen (student of Gayle Stever)
Articles by/about Gayle S. Stever
What are parasocial relationships doing to our brains? by Allegra Rosenberg, October 31, 2024 via @NatGeo
Professor, students team up for study on Cameo and fan-celebrity relationships, Empire State University News, September 25, 2024
Leave Chappell Alone: Why Do Fan-Artist Relationships Turn Toxic, And What Can Be Done? by Stephen Daw, Billboard, August 28, 2024
Star Gazing with Gayle Stever by Winnie Yu CONNECTIONS magazine, Spring 2024, page 6
[Podcast] Moog became a YouTube megastar - and it messed with his mental health. Rose Kerr, Producer and reporter (February 17, 2024)
Swifties, Cumberbitches and the BTS ARMY: How fangirling can be empowering by Anna Levy (March 13, 2024)
Why Is Taylor Swift So Popular? by Felicity Martin (November 10, 2023)
Confessions of a Culture Writer With Celebrity Face Blindness by Bria McNeal (November 1, 2023)
Matthew Perry’s death prompted an outpouring of sadness. There's a term for that: parasocial grief by Sarah Laing The Kit (November 2, 2023)
What Taylor Swift Superfans Want You to Understand by Janay Kingsberry (October 20, 2023)
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are suddenly everywhere. Why we're invested – and is that OK by KiMi Robinson (October 2, 2023)
In Defense of Parasocial Relationships by Angela Haupt (July 13, 2023)
The big idea: why you should embrace your inner fan by Michael Bond (May 22, 2023)
How stars like Dolly Parton and Tom Hanks became American sweethearts by Scottie Andrew (February 5, 2023)
New media; How it Clouds the Line Between Reality and Fiction by Emma Mai (February 3, 2023)
Amy Robach, T.J. Holmes and why we can't look away from the 'GMA' scandal by Jenna Ryu (December 6, 2022)
What Is the Effect of Long-Term Fandom? by Cynthia Vinney (June 9, 2022)
How To Manage Post-Sport Depression by Ravishan (September 25, 2022)
QE2, queues and cultural cues by Colin Peacock (September 25, 2022)
What now for America's fascination with the royals? by Chelsea Bailey (September 17, 2022)
The Dangers of Artists Not Controlling Their Stans by Alexis Oatman (September 18, 2022)
How the Internet's Blind Devotion to Johnny Depp Has Turned Amber Heard Into a Villain by Clare Considine (2022, behind a paywall)
What Is Celebrity Worship?by Cynthia Vinney (May 26, 2023)
How to Cope with Post-Game Depression: Congratulations, you beat your favorite video game. Now it’s time to beat the feelings of emptiness.by Natalie Schriefer (February 16, 2022)
What Is a Parasocial Relationship? by Cynthia Vinney (November 21, 2022)
'Stan' culture needs to stop – or at least radically change. Here's why. by David Oliver (September 9, 2021)
Why We Feel Close to Celebrities We Have Never Met by Saumya Kalia (July 24, 2021)
Are the Activities of “Influencing” and “Following” on Social-Media Driving Users into an Existential Crisis? from Aleph (2021)
Podcast: Parasocial Relationships by neonnottingham from Nottingham College (June 22,, 2021)
Fan of the Fans by Shayla Love (March 29, 2021)
20 Years of 'Stan': How Eminem’s Epic 2000 Hit Relates to the Fan Culture It Inspired by J'na Jefferson (March 25, 2020)
Celebrity deaths can feel personal. Here's why Kobe Bryant's hits us so hard by Bryanna Cappadona (January 29, 2020)
Fan studies in psychology: A road less traveled by Gayle Stever (July 2019)
The Impact of Media: A New Model for Understanding Parasocial Experiences by Gayle Stever (May 2019)
Celebrity: A State or a Trait? by Gayle Stever
Celebrity: A State or a Trait? by Gayle Stever
Why Angry Taylor Swift Fans Lash Out Online: Fandom is all about community — even when it gets toxic by Angela Lashbrook. (May 8, 2019
How Our Make-Believe Relationships With Celebrities Shape Our Social Lives by Lauren Young (September 23, 2016)
Parasocial relationships: The make-believe bonds with celebrities by Lauren Young (September 23, 2016)
Author Archives:
Article: Celebrity Worship: Critiquing a Construct
by Gayle S. Stever, June 2011 McCutcheon, Lange, & Houran (2002) proposed the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS) to identify celebrity worshipers, useful for identifying individuals who are overly absorbed or addicted to their interest in a celebrity. Problematic is the … Continue reading
Article: Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory: Explaining Para-social and Social Attachment to Celebrities
by Gayle S. Stever, March 2011 Read the entire text. The theories of Levinson (1986 Am Psychol 41(1):3–13) and Erikson (1959 Identity and the life cycle. WW Norton and Co, New York, 1968 Youth and crisis. WW Norton and Co, … Continue reading
Article: 1989 vs. 2009: A Comparative Analysis of Music Superstars Michael Jackson and Josh Groban, and their Fans
by Gayle S. Stever, January 2011 Data from previous studies compared two celebrity fan communities and their superstar honorees. This comparison included the nature of the fan-celebrity interaction, the nature of fans’ interactions with each other, and motivations fans reported … Continue reading
Article: Creative Ethnography: Boyer’s Philosophy in Action
by Gayle S. Stever, January 2011
Conference Paper: Fan/Celebrity symbiotic social relationships: A participant-observer ethnography of fan clubs.
by Gayle. S. Stever, May 2009 International Communications Association: Theme: Keywords in Communication, Chicago, IL, May 22-26, 2009. Many individuals look for a community of like-minded people with whom to form connections. For some, the media fan community becomes this … Continue reading
Conference Paper: Fan/Celebrity Symbiotic Social Relationships
by Gayle S. Stever, May 2009 International Communication Association Chicago 2009
Article: Parasocial and Social Interaction with Celebrities: Classification of Media Fans
by Gayle S. Stever, January 2009 This study developed a system of celebrity fan classification that addresses issues raised in the literature with regard to motivations for becoming a fan, and levels of intensity for fans, recognizing a dichotomy of … Continue reading
Article : The celebrity appeal questionnaire: Sex, entertainment, or leadership
by Gayle S. Stever, September 2008 The Celebrity Appeal Questionnaire was constructed to operationalize constructs related to why fans are attracted to their favorite celebrities and was developed for use with fan bases for specific celebrities. This revised version asked … Continue reading
Article: Gender by Type Interaction Effects in Mass Media Subcultures
by Gayle S. Stever, January 1995 Data collected on 97 members of the Star Trek fan subculture showed that previous trends for other fan subcultures persisted, with introverts and intuitives significantly over-represented. Gender differences suggested the presence of two fan … Continue reading
Ph.D. Dissertation: Para-social attachments: Motivational antecedents
by Gayle S. Stever, January 1994 Arizona State University, 1994. Includes bibliographical references Link to PDF of Dissertation ABSTRACT This study involved soliciting documents from a sample of media fans who were involved in parasocial attachments to various celebrities. Each … Continue reading