Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory:

Explaining Para-social and Social Attachment to Celebrities

By Gayle S. Stever
Assistant Professor
Empire State College/SUNY
Rochester, NY 14609

Running Head: Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

Mail to: Gayle S. Stever

Abstract
The theories of Levinson (1986) and Erikson (1959, 1968), Bandura’s (1986) Social

Cognitive Theory, and the ethological attachment theories of Bowlby (1969), and

Ainsworth (1978) are used in a discussion of the para-social and social relationships that

fans have with celebrities. Fans’ attachments to celebrities play primary and secondary

roles in the developmental stages of adulthood and transitions between those stages.

Celebrities are role models for adults and attachment develops in much the same way it

develops in face-to-face relationships, e.g. through proximity and familiarity with the

face, voice and manner of the celebrity. Included are examples from the fan research of

the author. One conclusion is that fan attachments are often part of the normal course of

adult development in the areas of identity, intimacy, and generativity. Additionally,

application of Levinson’s concept of stage transitions suggested that this might be a time

when relationships with celebrities are more likely to begin.

Keywords: Para-social; Celebrity; Fans; Erikson, Levinson, Attachment, Bandura

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

Theories of developmental psychology are a good fit when explaining fan

behavior, and the purpose here is to explore these applications. I have spent the last 20

years doing participant observer ethnography in various fan communities and the

conclusions in this article are gleaned from field notes, interviews, and surveys as well as

observations within each of the communities in my studies (Author, In press, 2009a,

2009b, 2008, 1995, 1994a, 1994b, 1991a, 1991b, 1990).

While extensive research has been conducted in areas like social psychology

(Giles, 2000, 2002), sociology (Adams & Sardellio, 2000; Ferris, 2001), mass

communication (Ruben, 2000; Ruben & McHugh, 1987; Ruben & Step, 2000), popular

culture (Sandvoss, 2005; Harrington & Bielby, 1995), and anthropology (Caughey,

1984), only limited research has examined fans and their relationships with celebrities in

the developmental literature. When psychologists study fan behavior, they tend to

emphasize the pathological end of the spectrum of fan behavior with very little being said

about average people who engage in para-social and social attachments to celebrities

(Dietz et al., 1991; Maltby et al., 2006). The emphasis in this article will be on how being

a fan affects the course of development for the primarily healthy adult.

Developmentalists have completed substantial work in the area of attachment,

including study of infant/caregiver attachment (Ainsworth, 1978; Bowlby, 1968) and

adult romantic attachment (Shaver, Hazan, & Bradshaw, 1988). In the past 20 years,

attachment theory has also begun to be applied to para-social attachments although most

applications have been limited to adolescents (Adams-Price & Green, 1990; Giles &

Maltby, 2004). I have observed that developmental theories apply to fan behavior and

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

also para-social interaction, defined as the one-way knowing of another person who does

not know the fan in return (Horton & Wohl, 1956). The purpose of this paper is to

demonstrate the usefulness of developmental theory for understanding fan behavior based

on those observations and experiences (Author, in press, 2009a, 2009b, 2008, 1995,

1994a, 1994b, 1991a, 1991b, 1990).

Fan communities studied included those of Star Trek and specific Star Trek

actors, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Lord of the Rings and specific actors from

the movies, Madonna, George Michael, Prince, Janet Jackson, Paul McCartney, Jake

Gyllenhaal, and Josh Groban. Theories included are the lifespan theories of Levinson

(1986) and Erikson (1959, 1968), Bandura’s (1986) Social Cognitive Theory, and the

ethological attachment theories of Bowlby (1969), and Ainsworth (1978).

Life Stage Theories

Erikson (1959, 1968) offered his psychosocial theory wherein each stage of life is

driven by a crisis. When all of the crises are resolved in concert, healthy ego identity is

achieved. A recent addition to this theory suggested that all the stages of adulthood are

involved in the development of identity and that intimacy, generativity, and integrity are

subcategories of identity (Whitbourne & Connelly, 1999).

In the context of this theory, it would make sense that para-social and social

attachment to celebrities would be explained differently depending on the stage of

development of the participant. The most salient stages of lifespan development in the fan

groups studied (Author, 2009b) have been adolescence, young adulthood, and middle

adulthood. For each of these stages, Erikson described a developmental crisis. For the

adolescent, the crisis is identity versus diffusion, for the young adult it is intimacy versus

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isolation, and for the middle adult the crisis is generativity versus self-absorption.

Levinson’s (1986) stage theory augments the idea of stages with stage transitions. At

critical developmental junctures, a period of transition leads to the next stage. A

transition is a chance to evaluate the past and think about the future. “What have I done

with my life? What do I want to make of it? What new directions shall I choose?”

(Levinson, 1978, p. 84).

An adolescent in the midst of identity crisis looks for models to emulate.

Particularly for adolescents who don’t have models in the home, the media provide a

wealth of celebrities who fit as role models for just about any identity desired. Whether

the young person is into rebellion, social activism, or philanthropy, potential models

abound (Adams-Price & Greene, 1990; Erikson, 1968; Giles and Maltby, 2004).

For the young adult struggling with the crisis of intimacy versus isolation, media

and celebrities can play a role in a person’s struggle at this stage. Erikson (1959) said that

if intimacy was not achieved, isolation was the result. In an era of transient family life

where people move frequently, parents often divorce, and breakup is a way of life, young

adults feel increasingly isolated. Many see attachment and a sense of intimacy with a

celebrity to be preferable to the feelings of isolation they experience otherwise. As one

28-year-old woman explained, vicarious romance is better than no romance at all. The

popularity of paperback romance novels is one kind of evidence that this is most likely

true. Experiencing a romance that isn’t “real” is satisfying on some level. Levinson

(1986) referred to the “Age 30 Transition,” where adults must decide the basis for their

next life structure. If a real relationship hasn’t been established, some fans decide to

move ahead with the para-social relationship as a primary structure in his or her life.

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

Levinson pointed out that this involves the person saying “This I will settle for,” (p. 6) as

he or she begins to create the next step in the life journey. Indeed, the fans settle for

something that isn’t real rather than have no romantic attachment at all.

The fans I met and interviewed who are doing this were well aware of what they

were doing. They chose to fall in love with their target celebrity. Unless they were

delusional or ill, they knew it wouldn’t ever be real. Sometimes distance from the

celebrity was a good thing for them, particularly in the case of participants who had been

in a dysfunctional or damaging relationship. After her father had divorced her mother and

abandoned their family, one 18-year-old young woman said: “I love Michael Jackson,

and he can’t leave me or hurt me.” Another woman, who was the target of date rape on

two occasions, preferred the safety of a distant para-social relationship.

For fans in middle age, a number of unique situations occur. Some fans have used

fan activity as a way to recapture aspects of lost youth. A group of women gathering at

someone’s home for a sleepover party where much giggling and watching of videos and

looking at photos is the primary activity are engaging in social behavior that was familiar

for many of them in their younger years. Girls in high school often got together to giggle

together and talk about a boy from school that they all liked. To reconvene years later and

gossip about a favorite celebrity was a way to feel young again, a way to bond with other

women of similar tastes, and a way to connect on an emotional level. Usually there was

the sharing of some commonly enjoyed music, television program or movie(s) in addition

to the common fascination with the celebrity. I attended an event where there were 40

women crammed into one hotel room watching Lawrence after Arabia: a Dangerous

Man and shrieking and sighing every time Alexander Siddig came onto the screen.

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

Whether watching Orlando Bloom in Troy or Josh Groban in concert, the behavior is

similar and in each case mentioned, a majority of the participants were in the 30 to 65, or

middle-adulthood age range.

Erikson (1959) suggested that if a crisis of a prior developmental stage were not

resolved, it would be revisited in later stages. Erikson stated, “the first must persistently

outweigh (although it will never do away completely with) the second” (p. 128). So with

healthy ego identity, intimacy outweighs isolation, identity outweighs diffusion, or

generativity outweighs self-absorption.

Fans in middle age may be revisiting the intimacy crisis. But perhaps it is

necessary to consider the more psychoanalytic or Freudian aspects of Erikson’s (1959)

theory, and suggest that what is at work here is regression as an ego defense mechanism.

Is this kind of behavior a hedge against aging? A number of women who were

interviewed from the Josh Groban fan base recounted that having romantic feelings for

him makes them feel young again. Throughout this study (Author, 2009a), people who

had lost significant others or whose relationships were no longer positive said things such

as, “I didn’t think I could feel this way about anyone again.”

As already mentioned, Levinson’s (1986) theory added the important concept of

transitions between life stages. I have observed that para-social attachments are often

sought during critical life transitions. A common scenario would be a woman who has

recently lost a spouse or significant other, who seeks solace in the social environment of a

fan club and re-engages the world of relationships by engaging in one that is imaginary.

One fan stated, “After I lost my husband, I didn’t think I could feel that way about

someone ever again. My feelings for Josh made me realize that I could be attracted to

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

other men and that put me back in touch with my feelings in general.” Another fan,

whose fiancée had passed away suddenly, told me that she never left the house except to

go to work, until she was motivated to go to the concerts (given by her favorite celebrity).

That became the motivation for rejoining the social world. Each of these fans as well as

others in the studies were at a critical life transition that had been triggered by a

significant loss (death, divorce etc.), and dealt with the loss by finding a para-social

attachment. In some cases, these were women recovering from divorce. Some were

recovering from the death of a spouse. Some simply never found the time to marry

because of things like career or extended family. They joked that “I’m not dead yet” and

they simply enjoyed being around someone who made them feel young again. None of

the fans referred to here were delusional. They knew the relationship wasn’t “real.” It

didn’t matter. They had found something that reconnected them to their feelings. And in

these reported cases, the result appeared to be healthy, with increased happiness and

functioning for the person.

Erikson’s (1959) primary crisis of middle age is called generativity versus self-

absorption. One either finds a way to give back to the next generation or one focuses on

the self and selfish interests resulting in a lack of productivity wherein the person has not

found a way to help build the future for younger generations. Middle-aged fans were the

ones most likely to get involved in charity activities that were inspired by celebrities.

Two good examples of this were Star Trek fans and the Josh Groban fans. In each case,

people had found a way through their fan interest to help society and to make substantial

contributions to the well being of others. Whether it was raising money for Doctors

without Borders in partnership with Rene Auberjonois and Alexander Siddig, or sewing

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

blankets for orphans in Africa as a part of Grobanites for Charity (affiliated with the Josh

Groban Foundation), fans joined a fan club because they liked a celebrity, but what they

found that made them stay was a way to make a difference for people in need.

Ethological Theory and Attachment

A second theory is the ethological perspectives of Bowlby (1969), and Ainsworth (1978),

who developed the theory of attachment that is part of our current understanding of

infant-caregiver attachment. Related to these ideas is the theory of Shaver et al. (1988)

concerning adult romantic attachment. Bowlby (1969) originally proposed that infants are

born with a kind of biological programming, causing them to exhibit behaviors that are

designed to enhance their survival. Building on those ideas, Ainsworth (1978) developed

a theory of attachment that suggested that when humans feel strong attachments to each

other, a proximity seeking system is engaged causing individuals to want to be with the

attachment object no matter what the cost. Shaver et al. (1988) then proposed that these

same attachment patterns persist into adulthood and shape our adult romantic

attachments. Schore (2000) further suggested that attachment involved “psychobiological

mechanisms by which these processes indelibly influence the development of the

organism at later points of the life-cycle” (p. 24).

One prominent aspect of ethological theory is literature on the newborn

propensity to be attracted to the human face. Numerous research studies support the idea

that human infants are born with a tendency to look longer at human faces than any other

objects (Muir et al., 1994; Schore, 2000). That gazing behavior is the first in a series of

behaviors that works to attract a caregiver and elicit care from that caregiver. Attachment

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

and its counterpart in the caregiver (called bonding) are strengthened as the human face

becomes more and more familiar (Blehar et al., 1977; Schore, 2000).

Until about a century ago, human beings primarily saw the faces of those they

knew in their immediate families and neighborhoods. It was rare to see a human face

unless the person was known. This has radically changed in the past 100 years. In my 20

years of observation of intense attraction and attachment to celebrities, one of the

commonalities in every fan base studied has been the fascination on the part of the fan

with the face of the target celebrity. One of the most shared artifacts in fan groups is a

photograph of the attachment object, with close-ups of the face being particularly valued.

With the advent of the Internet, it has become very easy to exchange photographs of a

celebrity, but even pre-Internet, fans in the late 1980’s and early 1990s’ would exchange

copies of photographs by mail. Once networked into the fan community of Michael

Jackson, for example, I received dozens of photographs of Jackson from fans who had

been met through correspondence or at fan events. Without particularly seeking these

photographs out, they were still sent by numerous correspondents.

As my study transitioned to fans of Star Trek beginning in 1991, Star Trek

conventions were attended where one of the staples of fan merchandising was the

celebrity photograph, most often a “headshot” or close-up of the face. One celebrity’s fan

club sold photographs to raise money for charity, and there were many fans who had to

have every one of the photos offered, no matter how many the fan already had. This same

fascination with photos was found in other fan bases such as Lord of the Rings, Xena,

Stargate, and Babylon 5.

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

Most recently, my study of Internet fan web sites yielded a similar observation.

Considering the web sites of Alexander Siddig, Nana Visitor, Sean Bean, Orlando

Bloom, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sarah Brightman, RyanDan, Josh Groban and a number of

others, one of the common staples of fan club web sites is “picture threads” or discussion

forums where the posting of pictures is the primary activity.

A hypothesis to be tested with a more systematic study of larger numbers would

be: Anyone who looks frequently enough at pictures of a media figure is likely to form an

attachment to that figure. When surrounded by photographs of a particular media

persona, fans exhibited feelings of familiarity, i.e. emotions like concern, care and

attraction. While sexual attraction was an element of this attraction, it is simplistic to

attribute feelings of attachment only to romantic or sexual feelings for a celebrity. Indeed

while studying celebrities as diverse as Michael Jackson, George Michael, Josh Groban

and Orlando Bloom as well as female celebrities such as Janet Jackson, Madonna, Nana

Visitor, and others, the sense of familiarity seemed to change fans’ perception of them.

Further study is needed to test this hypothesis.

Here is the important point: People are biologically predisposed to form

attachments to familiar others (Bowlby, 1969, Muir, et al., 1994; Schore, 2000). When

the familiar other is a celebrity, it is difficult to make the distinction between someone

known and someone known through media (Restak, 1991). Restak’s hypothesis was that

there is a part of the human brain that can’t really tell the difference between something

experienced in real life and something experienced through media. His discussion

focused on experiences of violence through the media, but the concept could be extended

to include social experiences with celebrities.

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

So the attachment process is engaged with the same intensity as it would if the

target were someone who was seen on a daily basis. Romantic relationships progress

from initial attraction, to a honeymoon phase of romantic infatuation (Fisher, 2004). Then

if they are destined to move to the next level, that honeymoon phase ends and a “real

knowing” comes about. Numerous fans have expressed, either personally to me or on

public discussion boards, their frustration when they reached the phase when what they

were feeling made them want to have more from the celebrity and they realized the social

aspect of the relationship had gone as far as it was likely to ever go.

That people should stop “obsessing” on celebrities and focus on the “real people”

in their lives is a common and repeating theme in the psychological literature (e.g.

Maltby et al., 2006, McCarley & Escoto, 2003; McCutcheon et al., 2003). Fan

relationships are perceived as obsessive and dysfunctional and are seen as poor

substitutes for a real relationship with a person who is accessible. And yet the reality is

that many people continue to allow themselves to “fall in love” with people they may

never meet. They carry on love relationships at a distance and some people find that

experience to be satisfying. (There are others who become ill and psychologically

troubled but this topic is beyond the scope of this paper). The judgment as to if this is

helpful or unhealthy behavior is not as easy to make as it might seem on the surface.

While I would agree that sometimes such behavior is unhealthy, I have seen many cases

where the focus on a celebrity created a cushion between real relationships such that a

pattern of dysfunctional attraction was broken. Indeed one woman shared with me that

after a succession of real dating relationships with men who turned out not to be

compatible, she observed that her children were devastated each time she broke up with

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

someone. She decided to focus on a vicarious attachment to her favorite celebrity for a

time in order to stop this pattern of relationship break-ups that were so hard on her

children. The vicarious relationship was a transition for her, and six years later, she

resumed dating in real life. Speaking about this time of her life, she felt that this had been

a good choice for her and for her family.

How does one maintain a depth of feeling for such a person, one not seen on a

regular basis and whose presence is only felt through their work or words? The

ethological attachment theories of Bowlby (1969) and Ainsworth (1978) would suggest it

is the repeated exposure to the human face that reinforces the attachment. In addition, the

human voice serves as an additional reinforcer (DeCasper & Fifer, 1980; Schore, 2000).

The Internet has made the spoken voice of celebrities available, particularly through the

current YouTube phenomenon. A fan of someone like Josh Groban can go into YouTube,

type in his name, and see almost every media interview he has done for the last 3-5 years.

In addition, fan web sites specializing in preserving videos for other fans contain dozens

of these archived media interviews, performances, and other forms of visual information

on the target. The paparazzi stalk celebrities and offer a selection of moments that were

intended to be private for the celebrity, now available on the Internet as well.

There is no lack of representations of the human face, voice, and actions on the

Internet and this wealth of information feeds the attachment to celebrities who are

depicted in this way. Fans are willing to spend hours and hours gazing at such media and

vicariously experiencing a relationship with the celebrity. With each photograph and

video, the attachment intensifies.

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

Once the fan has developed an attachment for the celebrity, the proximity seeking

system is engaged just as it would be in a relationship with a child or a romantic partner.

Fans seek proximity in a number of ways. Looking at photographs as discussed above is

one way. Being avid consumers of the creative work of the celebrity is another way.

Some fans seek vicarious proximity through the collecting of memorabilia. In such a

context, anything touched by, used by, or related to the celebrity can take on value. But

most fans leave it at the desire for an autograph or perhaps having their photos taken with

the celebrity. All of the above is within the boundaries of normal fan behavior and is

rarely troublesome for the fan (Author, 1994b; Harrington & Bielby, 1995; Kozinets,

2001; Tulloch & Jenkins, 1995).

Some fans make it a quest to meet the celebrity in person, and once they have

achieved that goal, the desire to meet him or her again and again can become all

consuming if not kept in check. This potentially disturbing behavior can be explained by

that powerful proximity seeking system that drives attachment in human beings. While it

is hard for the non-fan to relate to it in this context, most people understand such a drive

by relating it to the powerful pull one feels for proximity to one’s children or significant

other. For some fans, the target celebrity takes on the role of vicarious life partner, and

the quest to be near that person has the potential to take over a person’s life. In this

context, being a fan can become a negative influence on development. So I am not in

disagreement with Maltby and his colleagues (e.g. Maltby et al., 2006) with respect to

what they call “celebrity worship” being a potential sign of poor mental health. I would

simply maintain based on my own observations that this is not always the case.

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

Bandura and Reciprocal Determinism

The final theory is Bandura’s (1986) Social Cognitive Theory. Bandura’s work

began at the end of an era of behaviorism in the 1950’s where behavior was believed to

be the product of a simple chain of stimulus, response and reinforcement. Certainly some

fan behavior could be explained this way. Fans received material on a favorite celebrity,

and that material was enjoyable and thus reinforcing. The reinforcement caused them to

seek out more material. Thus, fans make good customers, a main reason why media have

learned to court them to a certain degree. However Bandura (1986) pointed out that the

one-way model of behaviorism was no longer adequate. His idea was that human

behavior was part of a three legged triangle made up of the person, his/her environment

and his/her own behavior. It is an interaction among all three of these elements that best

explains human behavior.

For example, a fan who waits after a concert to meet the favorite celebrity and is

lucky enough to have this happen, starts out feeling attraction, that attraction causes them

to reach out with behaviors designed to attract the celebrity’s attention, even if only for a

moment. The actual attention received is a powerful reinforcer that rewards the attraction

and intensifies it. In addition the celebrity, who is also a person within the social system,

is changed by the interaction and his or her behavior also evolves with respect to the

relationship. Thus, it is not uncommon for the same fan to have a series of encounters

wherein he or she is remembered and repeatedly rewarded for making the effort to seek

out the celebrity. A celebrity who is highly interactive within a fan base develops an

extensive network of fans that are known to that celebrity. Within such a social system,

attachments become powerful and pervasive.

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

Integration of Theories

This suggests a connection between Social Cognitive Theory and Attachment

Theory. One theory talks about role models while the other talks about attachment

objects, but in the context of fan-celebrity relationship, the role model becomes the

attachment object and the two theories together give a better explanation of the power of

that relationship in the individual’s life than either theory does separately. Additionally,

Erikson’s theory of life stages suggests that there are times during development when

fans are more vulnerable to developing such attachments to models than in other stages.

Why do some fans develop pervasive connections to celebrities? Repeated exposure to

the faces of attractive models during a stage of life when one is looking to form

connections to attractive others could be one explanation as to why the average person

can become strongly attached to a favorite celebrity. Life events like the loss of a partner

can also cause a person to seek the solace of attachment to someone who is distant and

therefore “safe.”

Levinson (1978) suggested that it is during life transitions that we seek to redefine

who we are and find new structures for the life ahead. Are para-social and social

attachments to celebrities more likely to occur during these transitions? Further research

is needed to explore this question.

Conclusions

The purpose of this paper has been to apply developmental theory to fan behavior,

both para-social and social, in order to show that most fan interests evolve from the same

developmental processes and tasks that drive other social behaviors. Bandura’s Social

Cognitive theory, Attachment Theory, and Life Stage Theories all apply to fan behavior

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

as they might to other kinds of behaviors. These applications suggest that fans are simply

people who have chosen relationships with celebrities in order to meet psychosocial

needs. This would appear to be a natural byproduct of a society where much of the

information we process about the world comes to us through mass media, whether TV,

movies or the Internet.

The issue involved is the degree to which para-social and social attachments to

celebrities are a positive influence versus a negative influence in the life of the fan. The

answer to that issue is likely to reflect a continuum more than a dichotomy. These

relationships probably represent both negative and positive social influences, although it

could be argued that most relationships of any kind are this way. The response to this

issue will differ from individual to individual. Further study is needed to decipher exactly

how these processes work and how they affect development throughout the lifespan.

Another issue involves the extent to which para-social and social connections

with celebrities are a primary versus a secondary part of the person’s social network

(Levinson, 1986). Both types of cases were encountered: In some cases, people had

primary social relationships with family and friends in their real daily lives and the

celebrity relationship was a pleasurable but secondary connection. In other cases, people

felt that the connection they had with the celebrity was one of the most important in their

lives. Is this purely because of the lack of available real relationships or is this simply a

choice some people make? Further study is needed to consider this question as well.

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 Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory

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