Gayle Stever

Gayle S. Stever, Ph.D. is a professor of psychology for Empire State College/State University of New York. She has published numerous articles on parasocial theory, with particular focus on parasocial attachment in journals like Journal of Adult Development, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Journal of Media Psychology, and Communication Theory. Her most cited work is, "Twitter as a way for celebrities to communicate with fans: Implications for the study of parasocial interaction" in the North  American Journal of Psychology. She won the Susan H. Turben Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2017 from Empire State College. In 2019 she published her first book, The Psychology of Celebrity. 

Degrees

  • M.Ed. in Counseling Education from Arizona State University
  • Master of Counseling in Counseling Psychology from Arizona State University
  • Ph.D. in Lifespan Development Psychology from Arizona State University

Publications

  • Stever, G. (2020). Evolutionary psychology and mass media. In Shackelford, T.K. (Ed.). (in press). The Sage Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology. London: Sage Publications.
  • Stever, G. (2020). How do parasocial relationships with celebrities contribute to our development across the lifespan? In Shakleford, K. (Ed.) (in press). Real Characters: The Psychology of Parasocial Relationships with Media Characters. Fielding Graduate University Press.
  • Tukachinsky R. & Stever, G. (2018) Theorizing development of parasocial experiences. Communication Theory. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qty032
  • Stever, G. (2017). Parasocial interaction: Concept and impact (incl. measurement and scales). International Encyclopedia of Media Effects. Wiley Blackwell. (Invited)
  • Stever, G. (2016). Evolutionary theory and reactions to mass media: Understanding parasocial attachment. Psychology of Popular Media Culture. Mar 14 , 2016, 95-102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000116
  • Stever, G. (2016). Meeting Josh Groban (again): Fan/Celebrity contact as ordinary behavior. International Association for the Study of Popular Music Journal, 6(1), 104-120.
  • Stever, G. & Lawson, K. (2013). Twitter as a way for celebrities to communicate with fans: Implications for the study of parasocial interaction. North American Journal of Psychology, 15(2), 597-612.