IPRC 2022/BOR D- Social Psychology 04
The Dehumanisation of Celebrity: “Celebrities, they are not like us”
Aina Safiah Yulyanto Adhi Setiawan1, Amira Farzana Binti Saiful Bahrin2, Muhammad Fiqri3, Hafizi Bin Yusri4, Nor Alisya Afifi Binti Ali Ariff5, Alia Maisarah Bt Hisham6, Nurul
Miza Mohd Rashid7 ainayuly22@gmail.com1
International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia
ABSTRACT
This paper explores attitudes towards celebrities that influence dehumanisation and investigates whether an individual who feels socially connected to their admired celebrity would engage in dehumanisation of celebrities as much as an anti-fan would. The three main objectives of this paper would be to identify the reasons for the attitude toward the celebrity and explore the behavioral attempts to engage with celebrities on social media and outside social media. This paper is crucial for understanding the nature of individuals who dehumanise celebrities and the reasons for their obsession or hatred. Celebrities are more accessible now, so when something happens in their lives, people assess the acts these celebrities take. It is all too easy to make rash decisions without fully understanding the circumstance. It's vital to remember that everyone, famous or not, lives a complicated life, and no one has the right to pass judgement from afar. Third-year undergraduate students of Human Sciences major from International Islamic University Malaysia were sampled and administered for semi-structured interviews. Beforehand, the researchers delivered a short briefing on the topic and study’s objectives The participants were then asked to introduce themselves and mention the celebrity they wished to comment on. Finally, the semi-structured questions with some add-ons were delivered. The transcription of the interviews was analyzed using Thematic Analysis. The three elements found are reasons behind their attitudes towards the celebrities, behavioral attempts to engage with the celebrities on social media, and behavioral attempts to engage with the celebrities outside social media.
Keywords: dehumanisation, celebrity, attitude
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