Date of Award

Spring 5-3-2024

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication

Advisor

Judith Rosenbaum-Andre

Second Committee Member

Laura Rickard

Third Committee Member

Michael Socolow

Additional Committee Members

Amelia Couture Bue

Abstract

Morality impacts relationships in complex and highly contextual ways. Moral violations specifically can lead to a variety of reactions in social and parasocial relationships. This study extends past research on morality and parasocial relationships to examine the impacts of moral violations on parasocial relationships with influencers. Drawing on affective disposition theory, and expectancy violations theory, this study employs a 3-condition between subjects experiment to determine this relationship. The results indicate that a moral violation can result in a decrease in enjoyment of the influencer’s content and a parasocial breakup. The results also suggest that a moral difference between fan and influencer caused by the moral violation mediates the relationship between exposure to a moral violation committed by an influencer and a decrease in the strength of the parasocial relationship. Implications for the study of morality and parasocial relationships are discussed.

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