Fictional friends and enemies as first aid after ostracism? Experimentally investigating the potential of para-/orthosocial relationships in belongingness need restoration and emotion regulation

Author:

Lutz Sarah1ORCID,Schneider Frank M23ORCID,Reich Sabine4ORCID,Schimmel Michelle5,Oechler Hannah5,Beinlich Laura5

Affiliation:

1. Institute for Media Research, Chemnitz University of Technology , Chemnitz, Germany

2. Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam, The Netherlands

3. Everyday Media Lab, Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien (IWM) , Tübingen, Germany

4. Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research, University of Bremen , Bremen, Germany

5. Institute for Media and Communication Studies, University of Mannheim , Mannheim, Germany

Abstract

Abstract Being socially excluded seriously threatens individuals’ need to belong and emotional well-being. This article investigates to what extent different coping strategies help overcome these detrimental effects: thinking about real-life friends/enemies (i.e., orthosocial relationships, OSRs) and thinking about (dis)liked media characters (i.e., parasocial relationships, PSRs). Across three experiments (NPilot = 129, NStudy1 = 132, NStudy2 = 855), we first induced social exclusion using a virtual ball-tossing game. Afterward, we manipulated different relationship types and valences and compared them to non- or less-relational control conditions. As hypothesized, belongingness and emotional well-being increased from pre- to post-coping. This effect was fully mediated by perceived relationship closeness to the respective person(a). Highlighting that PSRs represent more than surrogates (i.e., secondary replacements of OSR), both relationship types did not differ in coping effectiveness. Moreover, positive relationships were more effective in fulfilling both coping goals than negative ones.

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

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