Parasocial Interactions and Relationships

The term “parasocial interaction” (PSI) was first used by Horton and Wohl (1956) to describe viewers' responses to media characters (called “personae” in PSI research; singular: “persona”) during media consumption. Horton and Strauss (1957) set down the first systematic descriptions and observations of PSI as well as of more long‐term responses to personae, known as parasocial relationships (PSR). These two articles can be regarded as the beginnings of theorizing about PSI and PSR, as empirical data were still nonexistent.