Parasocial learning as a transformative learning process

Having suggested parasocial learning emerges from learner experience of entertainment-education in the OLLE, I have come to perceive this learning process as a transformative one. In doing so I align it with the ideas of Mezirow (2009) who emphasizes personal transformation and Friere (1972) who gives more attention to transformation in the social environment, as I assert that parasocial learning leads to change at both a personal and social level. I will discuss the role of parasocial learning as a vehicle for social change in section 5.1.3 of this chapter as here I want to focus on parasocial learning as a medium for personal change. In doing so I will extend the ideas of Bandura (2004) with regard to how learning takes place in the context of entertainment-education as I propose that learning in this context influences more than outcome expectancy but can lead to changes in views and personal transformation. My work also advances Sabido’s (in Nariman 1993) original theory of entertainment-education by integrating the processes by which learning and personal change take place. While my extrapolations here draw on literature that has influenced my understanding of the context, my position is also informed by reports of learner experience of parasocial learning within the primary data. As such I believe my assertion that parasocial learning is a transformative learning process reflects a fusion between learner experience and my interpretation of it and so remains grounded in my phenomenological intentions.

It seems parasocial learning may lead to changes in outcome expectancy, attitudes and actions through reflection on personal practice. Although there are many definitions of reflection making it an elusive concept to describe, for the purposes of this discussion, I have understood reflection as a process of critically reviewing experience in order to learn from it (Freshwater et al 2008) as this interpretation of reflection is widely accepted in nurse education. In addition nursing academics such as Johns (2013) and Bulman and Schutz (2013) make associations between retrospective reflection-on-action (Schön 1987) and personal transformation. Outcome expectancy, although a common concept in healthcare, is ordinarily associated with patient care rather than nurse education but as my discussion below suggests, it is a meaningful concept to consider when

156 describing learner experience of parasocial learning and the personal change that occurs as a

consequence.

According to Bandura (2004) motivations and actions are influenced by the outcomes that

individuals expect their actions to produce and these anticipated outcomes will prompt an individual to self-regulate their own behaviour. Bandura (2004) described this as outcome expectancy.

According to Bandura (2004) individuals will generally seek pleasurable outcomes and social approval for their behaviours and avoid behaviours that have unpleasant consequences or gain social disapproval. Changes in outcome expectancy seem apparent within the parasocial learning process, as motivated by the desire to be like a character or the desire to avoid negative

consequences experienced by a character learners appear to seek to modify their practice. I propose therefore that outcome expectancy has a role in prompting the review of practice within the

parasocial learning process and can motivate learners to modify their actions in practice.

Learners who appear to engage in parasocial learning seem to undertake a review of practice that extends beyond adjustments in outcome expectancy however. Changes to attitudes and values which may be interpreted as personal transformation also seem to occur. Mezirow (2009) proposes that personal transformation takes place when individuals experience change in what they think, feel and perceive, suggesting that alterations in emotions and attitudes impact upon how individuals function and how they envisage their world in the future. Personal transformation therefore extends beyond a desire to comply with social norms and avoid negative consequences. It involves critique of the self which may result in confronting deeply held assumptions. Exploring learner experience implies that during the parasocial learning process learners subject their attitudes to critical review and may modify them as a consequence. I therefore assert that parasocial learning is a

transformational learning process that may result in enhanced personal insight and changes in attitudes to practice. Identifying parasocial learning therefore implies a learning process by which

157 both attitudes and actions may be modified by the learner through changes in outcome expectancy and self critique.

Reflection is a key step in parasocial learning that may lead to what Mezirow (2009) describes as a self reflective reframe. A reframe is a mechanism for reinterpreting difficult experiences, ideas and emotions to identify positive alternatives that can support changes in action (Mezirow 2009). Drawing on Jung’s concept of individuation (1961/1989), Dirkx (2006) and Dirkx and Smith (2009) propose that change through self reflection occurs in response to a dialogue between the conscious and the unconscious mind in which individuals become more self aware. Similarly in parasocial learning, learners reflecting on their responses to characters may become more aware of how their emotions impact upon their decisions and they appear able to consider their actions mindfully as a result. Mezirow (2009) suggests that becoming more aware of the impact of emotions on self and others through self reflective processes leads to personal transformation. These similarities imply that parasocial learning is a transformative process.

During parasocial learning learners seem to experience an emotional challenge which acts as a stimulus for reflection and change. I use the phrase emotional challenge to mean a poignant response to the characters or storyline which appears to be experienced as empathy or aversion as part of the parasocial learning process. In common with stories, entertainment-education uses melodrama or dramatic peaks to stimulate responses by creating tension in the moral universe of the learner (Sabido in Singhal and Obregon 1999). Presented with this exaggerated reality it seems the learner then has to review their current context and consider future actions. This appears to be experienced by the learner as an emotional challenge. This stimulus can be aligned with what Mezirow (2009) described as a disorientating dilemma which is seen as a stimulus for self critique, the stepping stone to personal transformation and change. Thus I suggest that the emotional challenge in parasocial learning may be considered a disorientating dilemma and thus parasocial learning may be considered a transformational learning process.

158 According to Taylor (2009) disorientating dilemmas are promoted through value laded content. In entertainment-education values are presented in the form of a storyline or integrated into

characters and add intensity to the learning experience. In parasocial learning emotional challenges appear to occur as a reaction to the values inherent in conflicts between characters or in response to characters struggling with adversity. Although reports from the field of entertainment-education suggest that learner response may differ depending on the level of involvement with the story (Murphy et al 2011), the characters (Moye-Gusé 2008) and emotional involvement (Kincaid 2002, Gesser-Edelsberg 2011) and my results imply that learners may engage with characters and stories at different levels, parasocial learning seems to occur when the emotional challenge is heightened. Involvement with the story, the characters and emotional involvement all appear important in creating the emotional challenge or disorientating dilemma that stimulates the review of practice and leads to change.

In parasocial learning the intensity of the emotional challenge seems to be linked to involvement with characters. I use the term involvement here to mean increased attention to a character as offered by Moyer-Gusé (2008) and suggest that in parasocial learning involvement may be heightened in learners in response to characters they feel they know. Presenting learners with recognizable situations using dramatic theory (Bentley 1967, Kincaid 2002) and familiar patient characters using archetypes and stereotype principles (Jung 1933), provides learners with familiar challenges and consequently they may experience similar emotions to those they experience in their own clinical practice. Dirkx and Smith (2009) acknowledge that the OLLE can support powerful emotional experiences and claim that personal transformation can occur when learners engage thoughtfully with the emotional elements presented in the OLLE. By engaging emotional responses Dirkx and Smith (2009, p.64) suggest that the OLLE has the potential to evoke the kind of deep learning that engages learners in “self-work, self-change and transformation.” As the emotional response to characters in parasocial learning seems to stimulate a review of practice in the form of

159 self reflection that results in personal change, I suggest it may be understood as a transformative learning process.

From exploring learner experience it seems that significant changes in outcome expectancy may also occur in response to specific types of parasocial interactions, most noticeably with transitional role models. My primary data seems to provide support for the theoretical assertions of Slater and Rouner (2002) who proposed that changes in outcome expectancy amongst learners motivate them to plan to change behaviour as my findings suggest changes in outcome expectancy appear more significant in the presence of transitional role models. While aspirational character role models may have value in parasocial learning by promoting desirable practice and negative character role models may help learners identify practice to be avoided, in parasocial learning learners seem to experience empathy in response to transitional role model characters who experience the challenges of

(vicarious) clinical practice and attempt to develop strategies to overcome them. These findings seem to provide primary data to support Bandura’s (2004) assertion that learners are most likely to draw inspiration from transitional role models by seeing them overcome similar adversities. Bandura (2004) went on to suggest that transitional role models function as vicarious motivators that

increase learner self-efficacy in adopting new behaviours as they perceive they can improve their own lives by similar means. It therefore seems reasonable to infer that in parasocial learning learner empathy with transitional role models may act not only as a stimulus to motivate reflection and change but may also function to increase learner confidence in their capacity to do so. Hence parasocial learning may have the potential to empower learners to change their own practice. In identifying the steps in parasocial learning that contribute to individual change, I have proposed that the learner engages in self reflection and suggested that parasocial learning is a transformative process. In doing so I am advancing Sabido’s (in Nariman 1993) interpretation of the actions of audience members in entertainment-education as transmitters of educational messages. I recommend that his communication circuit is amended accordingly so that the description of the learner’s role is changed from “transmitter” to “transformer” and that a communication arrow

160 labelled “reflection” is added from the audience member to the entertainment-education character to reflect the transformation that occurs within parasocial learning through self reflection in the context of entertainment-education (see Figure 13).

Figure 13 Showing recommended amendments to Sabido’s 1993 communicator circuit to show learner engagement in reflection and personal transformation.

My recommendations mean that the transformative nature of learner experience should be considered as part of entertainment-education design.

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