Psychology Commons^™

This study investigated identification and parasocial relationships (PSRs) with media characters by examining viewers’ responses to the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens through an online survey of 113 audience members who saw the film in a theater within a month of its release. Participants reported stronger PSR and identification with the more familiar characters from the first trilogy than with the new characters introduced in the film, although the association with identification was limited to older participants. Star Wars fanship was associated with identification and PSR for old and new characters. Familiarity with the earlier films was associated with …

This survey study investigated contributors to viewers' hedonic enjoyment, appreciation, and emotional responses to a televised baseball game. There was an indirect relationship between athlete affinity and hedonic enjoyment by way of suspense. This relationship was moderated by the game's outcome such that suspense was associated more strongly with enjoyment when the viewer's team lost. Interest and knowledge of a player was the form of affinity that had a stronger relationship to suspense, rather than the viewers' sense of having a virtual friendship. Virtual friendship and sport involvement were associated directly with appreciation. Enjoyment and appreciation were associated with different …