Gayle S. Stever, Ph. D.

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 absence of a conceptual definition for celebrity worshiper and how this term relates to use of the term fan. Currently, these terms are most often used as if they were synonyms (Haspel, 2006; Maltby, Day, McCutcheon, Gillett et al., 2004; McCutcheon, Lange, & Houran, 2002). Sampled groups of serious fans contained many individuals who met none of the criteria for celebrity worship, as identified by the CAS. The use of celebrity worshiper as a synonym for fan appears to be conceptually flawed.

by Gayle S. Stever, March 2011

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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, New York), Bandura’s (1986 Social foundations of thought and action: a social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs) Social Cognitive Theory, and the ethological attachment theories of Bowlby (1969 Attachment and loss, Vol. 1, attachment. Hogarth, London), and Ainsworth (1978 Patterns of attachment: a psychological study of the strange situation. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale) are used in a discussion of the para-social and social relationships that fans have with celebrities. Fans’ attachments to celebrities play primary and secondary roles in the developmental stages of adulthood and transitions between those stages. Celebrities are role models for adults, and attachment develops in much the same way it develops in face-to-face relationships, e.g. through proximity and familiarity with the face, voice, and manner of the celebrity. Included are examples from the fan research of the author. One conclusion is that fan attachments are often part of the normal course of adult development in the areas of identity, intimacy, and generativity. Additionally, application of Levinson’s concept of stage transitions suggested that this might be a time when relationships with celebrities are more likely to begin.

Keywords: Para-social–Celebrity–Fans–Erikson–Levinson–Attachment–Bandura

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 for their participation in the fandom of the target celebrity. A structured, focused, and largely qualitative post hoc comparison of the cases of Michael Jackson compared to Josh Groban fandoms make up this discussion with each case study set in a different time in media history. The researcher used ethnographic participant-observer methods to collect much of the data for this research with findings reported from both previously published articles and also research notes kept on the two tours. The likely impact of the Internet on such relationships, the differing personalities of the celebrities, and the changing nature of media and how that may affect fandoms are discussed. Toffler’s (1991) “demassified” media is offered as a partial explanation for why the nature of fan celebrity interaction might be changing as the 21st century progresses.

by Gayle S. Stever, January 2011

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 interactive vs. isolated fans. There is a need to differentiate the fan suffering from pathologies from fans who are healthy and who lead normal and productive lives. This system of classification is based on 20 years of participant observation in various fan communities. Nine motivations (task, romantic, identification, and others) and five levels are described as the result of qualitative content analysis of documents written by 150 fans who answered the question “Why are you a fan of your favorite celebrity?” This system was developed after study of specific celebrities and their fans. As such it may not apply to fans of texts, genres, or cultural phenomena. While some fans were found to have very intense and obsessive interests in celebrities, a large subgroup of fans were in a less obsessive and more socially motivated category of fan, one motivated by interest in the work of the celebrity and in the potential for networking with other fans. Extremely obsessive or high level fans have the potential to do harm to both their celebrity objects or, more frequently, to themselves, but these high level fans are only a small percentage of the people who identify themselves as dedicated fans of a celebrity. Identifying specific fans who have the potential to be troublesome would be more efficient than assuming that all dedicated fans have this potential.

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 fans of a specific celebrity to rank order three roles they might see the target celebrity playing in society with an option to not rank them at all. Of 409 respondents attending Josh Groban fan club meetings, 75% said Groban’s most important role in society was as a leader and role model in trying to make the world a better place. A factor analysis of correlations of Likert-type scale ratings and an analysis relating those factors back to the rank orderings support the internal reliability and validity of the questionnaire.

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 subcultures, an INT male subculture and an INF female subculture. A discussion comparing and contrasting rock star and Star Trek fan subcultures concluded that group norms for public behavior of the group are related to the type of the group.