University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA ADOLESCENTS AND PARASOCIAL INTERACTION WITH LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITIES STEPHEN TINDI A DISSERTATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES, FACULTY OF LANGUAGES EDUCATION, SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY IN COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES (BUSINESS COMMUNICATION) OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA. JULY, 2015 i University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh DECLARATION I, Stephen Tindi, declare that this dissertation, with the exception of quotations and references contained in published works which have all been identified and acknowledged, is entirely my own original work, and it has not been submitted, either in part or whole for another degree elsewhere. SIGNATURE:……………………………………….. DATE:………………………………………………… SUPERVISOR‟S DECLARATION I hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of this work was supervised in accordance with the guidelines for supervision of Dissertation as laid down by the University of Education, Winneba. NAME OF SUPERVISOR:…………………………………….. SIGNATURE:………………………………………………....... DATE:………………………………………………………....... ii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I will like to thank my supervisor, Mr. Kwesi Aggrey, for his counsel, and all staff of the department of Communication and Media Studies, University of Education, Winneba for their encouragement and support during the period of this study Also, I am grateful to the staff and students of Apam Senior High School and Winneba Senior High School for their cooperation during the data collection process. iii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh DEDICATION This study is wholly dedicated to Mr. Kwesi Aggrey, my supervisor, for his guidance and attention to detail which has been of personal benefit to me and the study. iv University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................ ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... x ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………..1 1.0 Background to the Study .......................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ......................................................................................... 4 1.3 Objectives of the study ............................................................................................. 5 1.4 Research Hypotheses ................................................................................................ 5 1.5 Significance of the study .......................................................................................... 6 1.6 Scope of the Study .................................................................................................... 6 1.7 Operationalisation of Concepts ................................................................................ 7 1.8 Organisation of the Study ......................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................... 8 LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 8 2.2 Mass media effects ................................................................................................... 8 2.2.1 Recent Dimensions of Mass Media Effects Research ............................................ 10 v University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh 2.3 The Concept of Parasocial Interaction ................................................................... 12 2.3.1 Motivations for Parasocial Interactions .................................................................. 13 2.4 Celebrity status ....................................................................................................... 16 2.5 Adolescents and Media Consumption .................................................................... 20 2.6 Endorsing the Endorser: Adolescents‟ Interaction with Celebrities ...................... 23 2.7 Gender Differences among Adolescents ................................................................ 25 2.8 Interpersonal Attraction with Celebrities ............................................................... 29 2.9 Theoretical framework ........................................................................................... 32 29.1 Parasocial Interaction Theory ................................................................................. 32 2.9.2 The Theory of Identification .................................................................................. 35 2.10 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................. 39 METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................. 39 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 39 3.2 Study design ........................................................................................................... 39 3.3 Population of the Study .......................................................................................... 40 3.4 Sampling Technique and Size ................................................................................ 41 3.5 Instrumentation ....................................................................................................... 43 3.5.1 Questionnaire ......................................................................................................... 43 3.6 Scale Selection ....................................................................................................... 44 3.7 Validity and Reliability of Instruments .................................................................. 45 3.7.1 Face validity ........................................................................................................... 45 3.7.2 Content Validity ..................................................................................................... 45 3.7.3 Reliability of Instrument ........................................................................................ 46 vi University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh 3.8 Piloting of questionnaires ....................................................................................... 46 3.8 Data collection procedure ....................................................................................... 47 3.9 Data Analysis Procedure ........................................................................................ 47 CHAPTER FOUR................................................................................................................ 48 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ...................................................................................... 48 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 48 4.2 Demographic characteristics of respondents .......................................................... 49 4.2.1 Gender distribution of respondents ........................................................................ 49 4.2.2 Age Distribution of Respondents ........................................................................... 49 4.3 First hypotheses. ..................................................................................................... 51 4.4 Second Hypothesis:. ............................................................................................... 62 4.4.4 Gendered Difference in Interpersonal attraction .................................................... 71 4.5 Third Hypothesis. ................................................................................................... 75 4.6 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................... 81 CHAPTER FIVE .............................................................................................................. 82 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION