A recent study published in the Southwestern Mass Communication Journal investigated how parasocial interactions with Donald Trump are related to attitudes towards him. The findings suggest that the more viewers engage in parasocial interactions with Trump, the more likely they are to hold negative attitudes toward the former president.
Parasocial interactions refer to one-sided relationships with media personas. These relationships mimic real-life social interactions, where viewers feel a sense of friendship or connection to these figures despite the lack of direct interaction or feedback from the media figure. Trump’s significant presence on television and social media platforms provided a unique opportunity to examine how parasocial interactions can impact viewers’ political attitudes and certainty about these attitudes.
To undertake their investigation, the research team gathered data from a diverse group of 404 participants using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform, specifically targeting MTurk Master workers. This subset of workers is recognized for their reliability and quality in task completion.
The participants completed a structured survey designed to measure various facets of the participants’ experiences and attitudes. Key among the measures were the PSI-Process Scale and a Trump attitude scale, both adapted to suit the study’s specific needs. The PSI-Process Scale evaluated the cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions of participants’ parasocial interactions with Trump.
Attitudes toward Trump were assessed using a specific scale that asked participants to rate their agreement with statements regarding Trump’s characteristics and policies. The study also incorporated measures of attitude certainty. Participants were asked to rate the clarity and correctness of their attitudes towards Trump.
Contrary to their initial hypothesis that parasocial interactions would engender positive attitudes toward Trump, the researchers found that increased parasocial interaction, especially its cognitive dimension, was associated with more negative attitudes toward the former president.
In other words, those who agreed with statements such as “I carefully followed the behavior of Donald Trump” and “I kept asking myself how things would evolve around Donald Trump” tended to also agree with statements such as “Donald Trump will ruin America’s reputation internationally” and “Many of the things that Donald Trump says are lies.”
Participants who reported higher levels of parasocial interactions with Trump also expressed greater certainty about their negative attitudes toward him. This was reflected in measures of both attitude correctness and clarity, indicating that these viewers were not only sure of their negative views but also felt confident that these views were justified and clear in their minds.
This outcome challenges the conventional understanding of parasocial interactions as predominantly fostering positive sentiments towards media personas. It highlights the unique dynamics at play when the media persona in question is a polarizing political figure.
According to the researchers, the findings could be indicative of a phenomenon known as “hate-watching,” in which individuals deliberately engage with media content featuring personas they actively dislike. This engagement is not driven by a desire for enjoyment in the traditional sense but rather by a complex mix of gratification, curiosity, and a sense of catharsis that comes from consuming content that provokes negative emotions.
This study sheds light on the complex dynamics between viewers and media personas, particularly in the context of politically charged figures. But the study, like all research, includes some caveats.
The timing of the survey, conducted after the 2020 presidential election amidst intense media scrutiny of Trump, might have influenced participants’ responses. Additionally, the research’s cross-sectional nature and the use of a self-selected group of MTurk workers may limit the generalizability of the findings.
Future research could expand on these findings by exploring how different types of media content (positive or negative portrayals) affect parasocial interactions and by examining the long-term effects of parasocial interactions on viewer attitudes and behaviors.
The study, “Summer of 45 — The Parasocial Effects on Attitude Certainty and Attitude Clarity Toward Donald Trump,” was authored by Dian Puspasari and T. Phillip Madison.