Category Archives: Research Paper

by Gayle S. Stever, November 2020 In book: The Sage Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology (pp.398). Publisher: Sage  Link to article. Evolutionary theory as it relates to media psychology is often controversial (Grabe, 2011). A fundamental tenet relating the two fields … Continue reading →

by Gayle S. Stever, September 15, 2019 Transformative Works and Cultures, Vol. 30 This article describes the methods and materials used in my various studies of fan cultures in the years from 1988 to 2018. It delineates a mixed methods/multi-perspectivist … Continue reading →

by Riva Tukachinsky, Gayle Stever, December 15, 2018 Communication Theory, Volume 29, Issue 3, August 2019, Pages 297–318 The article proposes a theoretical model of the development of parasocial relationships (PSRs) building on Knapp’s model of relationship development. Through synthesis … Continue reading →

by Gayle S. Stever, November 2016 In a participant-observer ethnographic study, the researcher offers evidence from 10 years of observation of the Josh Groban fandom as an example of fans becoming friendly acquaintances of celebrities. Contrary to the way much … Continue reading →

by Gayle S. Stever, March 2016 Article: Forming attachments to those people proximal to the individual was the only option prior to mass media. In an era of mass media, individuals become acquainted with media personae, expanding greatly the pool … Continue reading →

by Gayle S. Stever and Kevin Lawson, January 2013 Twitter is a relatively new social media website and a good option for celebrities who want to chat with their fans without having to give away personal access information. This paper … Continue reading →

by Gayle S. Stever, January 2013 This article delineates the distinctions between mediated and parasocial relationships before outlining the key aspects of parasocial theory and suggesting that the theory be expanded to consistently include parasocial attachment as a category distinct … Continue reading →

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 →

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 →

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 →