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navigatingmoralityinparasocialrelationships.exploringthedynamicsofaffectivedispositionmoralfoundationsandexpectancyviolationsinmedi
Journal article

Navigating Morality in Parasocial Relationships. Exploring the Dynamics of Affective Disposition, Moral Foundations, and Expectancy Violations in Mediated Relationships

BP2-STS

  • Möri, Michelle ORCID Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Fahr, Andreas ORCID Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
  • 2024
Published in:
  • Mass Communication and Society. - Informa UK Limited. - 2024, vol. 27, no. 5, p. 1133-1157
parasocial relationships
affective disposition theory
expectancy violations theory
moral foundations theory
moral violations
English The morality of a media character’s behavior and its influence on viewers’ parasocial relationships (PSRs) are analyzed based on different theoretical perspectives on media entertainment and psychological theories. Affective disposition theory is used to explain the relationship between moral judgments and character liking. Viewers’ connections with media characters are analyzed in the context of longer-term PSRs. Accordingly, morality is treated as a multidimensional construct that consists of care, fairness, authority, loyalty, and purity. These five moral domains are applied to viewers’ moral foundations and to the behaviors of media characters. Additionally, viewers’ moral expectations and their influence on viewers’ PSRs are considered based on the expectancy violations theory. In an experimental study, the morality of a character’s behavior was manipulated (moral vs. ambiguous vs. immoral), and the effect on viewers’ PSRs based on their moral foundations and moral expectations in the five moral domains was analyzed. The results show that while moral behavior generally strengthens viewers’ PSRs, different effects emerge when viewers’ moral foundations and expectations are considered. The different patterns that emerged between the five moral domains underline the importance of a multidimensional approach to morality in this mediated setting.
Faculty
Faculté des sciences économiques et sociales et du management
Department
Département des sciences de la communication et des médias
Language
  • English
Classification
Information, communication and media sciences
License
CC BY
Open access status
hybrid
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/330950
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