Displaying the Monster: Patrick White, Sexuality, Celebrity

The “monster” Study

The diagnosogenic (semantogenic) theory for the onset of stuttering was initially proposed by Wendell Johnson in the early 1940s. It suggested that calling attention to a child’s normal hesitations (repetitions) could precipitate stuttering (Bloodstein, 1987). Some of the evidence that Johnson used to support this theory (e.g., certain tribes of American Indians, in which there appeared to be n...

Measuring Celebrity

Celebrity is not fame, but it too can be measured. A version of this paper, somewhat mangled by the editor, appears in Annals of Improbable Research 12, 1 (Jan/Feb 2006), 14–15. Fame is being known. Celebrity is being known by your first name. Monica Lewinsky became famous when people learned of her presidential activities. She became a celebrity when people called her Monica. Schulman [1, 2, 3...

Taming the Cookie Monster

Celebrity Recommender

This paper presents both a rationale and a pilot study for using celebrities to present computer generated content recommendations. The rationale explores how people's parasocial relationships with celebrities influence decision-making. The pilot study examines if celebrity presentation of recommendations influences subjects' qualitative assessment of a recommender. Statistical tests on a small...

Pinterest Celebrity

The current study analyzed celebrity lifestyle brands’ Pinterest pages in order to determine how they framed their brands to users. Pinterest features a strong female user base, and users employ the site to collect items that they aspire to purchase, or aspire to be like. Results indicate that celebrities use their lifestyle brands to promote their celebrity status, give advice on home décor an...