Glenn !

1
Lily Glenn
Adam Padgett
English 102-033
27 October 2016
Discovering the Negative Effects of Celebrity Worshiping on Mental Health
Inquiry: What are the negative effects of celebrity worshiping?
Proposed Thesis: I generally argue that celebrity worshiping can have negative effects on an
individuals mental health, relationships, and society as a whole due to its slippery slope and
engulfing nature.
Intro: As social media and virtual presence of celebrities in everyday life, via news, magazines,
Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, etc., have tremendously increased, and so has the number of
individuals with mental instability influenced by celebrities. An innate psychological mechanism
and two present day social psychological behaviors can be contributed to this incline.
Choi, Chong Ju, and Berger Ron. "Ethics of Global Internet, Community and Fame Addiction."
Journal of Business Ethics 85.2 (2009): 193-200. Web.
The article Ethics of Global Internet, Community and Fame Addition by Chong Choi
outlines the hypothesis that American society is choosing to spend their time obsessing
over fame and celebrities instead of participating in actives with their community and
family. However, the majority of people aspiring to be famous will not succeed, thus
becoming disappointed and potentially depressed. The number of individuals who
become globally famous are minute compared to those who attempt to become
prominent in their field, leaving those undistinguished individuals to face unemployment
and in low income situations. Gil-White, an evolutionary psychologist, states that the
internet has made it possible for Americans to act on impulses of admiration of the
famous. He explains, only humans have the ability to observe and then mimic complex
behaviors. This creates prestige hierarchies, where those with the most valuable skills
to be imitated are placed at the top of this hierarchy (195). Therefore, others seek to
reach this hierarchy, and if not attainable, then at least be close to such individuals who
are at the top of the hierarchy, i.e. celebrities. This source provides valuable scientific
based research that supports my thesis. It will assist me in connecting celebrity obsession
to one of the human brains innate psychological mechanisms. I came upon this credible
source on JSTOR, and it is clear that the author has written an unbiased article for the
Journal of Business Ethics.

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Douglas, Kate. "When You Wish Upon a Star." New Scientist 179.2408 (2003): 26-31. EBSCO.
Web. 5 Oct. 2016.
In the article, When You Wish Upon a Star, the author, Kate Douglas, discusses that
psychologists are discovering that worshiping celebrities is a slippery slide to depression,
anxiety, and psychosis. Similarly, evolutionary biologists are seeing this progressing
trend as an issue but drawing its causation from a different source. They believe that
human evolutionary history is the key to this movement because paying special
attention to successful individuals is among the cleverest things our big-brained species
does (1). Essentially, they are stating that back in the ice age individuals copied those
who were successful hunters and elders. However, we no longer have a need to hunt, and
longevity does not necessarily mean health. Therefore, that psychological mechanism
from the caveman days is still embedded in us, and it now instructs us that people who
are popular are worth copying. Similarly to Chois, Ethics of Global Internet,
Community and Fame Addiction, this source provides evidence that worshipping the
sought-after person is in our genes. It is just what we seek that has changed from elite
hunters or elders to celebrities. This source is credible because it comes from New
Science, a reputable science journal and uses research to prove her argument from
prestigious universities across America.
Ferris, Kerry O. "Through a Glass, Darkly: The Dynamics of Fan-Celebrity Encounters."
Symbolic Interaction 24.1 (2001): 25-47. Web.
In the article, Through a Glass, Darkly: The Dynamics of Fan-Celebrity Encounters
the author, Kerry O. Ferris, explains the process leading up to celebrity stalking. Fans of
serial television programs construct patterns, bonds, and social circles around a show.
Due to their unique nature of fictional characters being played by professional actors, a
relationship forms between viewer and character encompassing both real and fictional
components. The actor is real, yet the character he/she plays is not, resulting in the
viewer failing to identify these as two different entities. A pseudo-relationship and
sometimes even (temporary; only affects ones emotions towards characters in a show)
schizophrenia result from this acquaintance. This article will provide me with statistics
that will back my argument on mental illness resulting from celebrity worship. This
article is a credible source because it was found on JSTOR and was written for the
Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction.
McCutcheon, Lynn. "Conceptualization and Measurement of Celebrity Worship." British Journal
of Psychology 93.1 (2002): 67-89. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2016.
In the article, Conceptualization and Measurements of Celebrity Worship, the author,
Lynn McCutcheon, formulates a model of celebrity worship based on psychological
absorption (leading to delusions of actual relationships with celebrities) and addiction
(fostering the need for progressively stronger involvement to feel connected with the

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celebrity) (1). McCutcheon breaks the model down to three levels, the first being low
worship. The behaviors include watching and reading about a celebrity. At the second
level, issues begin to arise as celebrity worship takes on a social characteristic. The third
level is where a combination of over-identification with the celebrity, empathy with the
celebritys successes and failures, compulsive behaviors, and obsession with details
about the celebrities life occur. This source is relevant to my topic because it specifically
writes about the negative effects that result from celebrity worship. It will provide
textual support that will strengthen my paper and its credibility. This source is credible
because it comes from the respected British Journal of Psychology and it cites many
esteemed scholars around the world.
Olson, Samantha. "The Psychological Effects of Idolatry: How Celebrity Crushes Impact
Children." Medical Daily (2015): 1-4. Medical Daily. Web.
In the article The Psychological Effects of Idolatry: How Celebrity Crushes Impact
Childrens Health, the author, Samantha Olson outlines children establishing
psychological and emotional independence during teenage years. However, such said
child needs individuals other than its parents to look up to, therefore actors, singers, and
sports figures often become their role model. These famous figures become the
guidance for such adolescents while transitioning to adulthood. Since this dependence is
so high on a a virtually intangible person, yet someone who is constantly appearing in
some print form or other, it is not uncommon for such said child to develop Celebrity
Worship Syndrome to that celebrity. Olson shares her belief that if parents use
fundamental approaches to lay the groundwork, it will raise the child to be able to
balance celebrity dependence with reality. This source supports my report because it
provides a social psychological reason behind celebrity worship that can be used in
addition to the innate psychological mechanism. This concept is quite recent and relevant
in todays society because of the myriad media coverage on so many different platforms.
This source is credible because it is written in Medical Daily, a highly esteemed journal.
Thomson, Matthew. "Human Brands: Investigating Antecedents to Consumers' Strong
Attachments to Celebrities." Journal of Marketing 70.3 (2006): 104-19. Web.Copy
The article Human Brands: Investigating Antecedents to Consumers Strong
Attachments to Celebrities by Matthew Thompson explores how consumers are
attached to buying human brands, or any well-known person who is the center of a
marketing communications effort. The article details the ways in which organizations
spend a tremendous amounts of money annually in an effort to construct psychological
connections between the customer and human brands. This process works for celebrities
and other famous figures because instead of the average person forming a bond with an
inanimate object, it instead relates to a bona fide human being. This relationship is
established because we repetitively see these individuals and it causes the brain to form a
seemingly face-to-face relationship. This correlation can also be contributed the

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increased perception of a shared background and social appeal with the famed
individual. However, this process also largely contributes to people becoming ill with
Celebrity Worship Syndrome, anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses. This
source contributes valuable research into one of the ways Celebrity Worship Syndrome
can form. Secondly, it also gives reason to why people prefer to buy celebrity
(sponsored) products, when virtually the same product is available at a lower cost. This
source is credible because it was located on JSTOR and was written for the Journal of
Marketing. There are also three studies within this article that are used to prove the
writers point further proving its reliability.