Linguistic Synchrony in Parasocial Interaction

Abstract

This investigation examines the linguistic behavior of audience members replying to the blog posts of television characters. Proponents of communication accommodation theory (Giles, 1973; Giles, Coupland, & Coupland, 1991) contend interactants accommodate the communicative behaviors of others they perceive as socially desirable. We argue similar behaviors should be observed in individuals engaging in parasocial interaction. Using the Language Inquiry and Word Count software (LIWC) (Pennebaker & Francis, 1999), we examine the language use of the TV characters as well as the audience members replying to their blog posts for linguistic synchrony and verbal immediacy by comparing language usage. The results suggest that audience members adapt language behaviors to TV characters and are more immediate when posting more often.

Keywords:

• Blog Reply
• Communication Accommodation
• Linguistic Synchrony
• Parasocial Interaction
• Verbal Immediacy

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jayne Goode

Jayne Goode (PhD, 2010, University of Missouri) is a Lecturer in the Department of Communication at the University of Dayton.

James D. Robinson

James D. Robinson (PhD, 1982, Purdue University) is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Dayton.