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Divergent approaches examine this connection from both parasocial (one-way, non-dialectical) and social (two-way, dialectical) perspectives. This study examined how player\u2013avatar connections may be better understood by integrating an existing parasocial approach (character attachment [CA]) with a social approach (player\u2013avatar relationships [PARs]). A quantitative linguistic analysis of massively multiplayer online game (MMO) player interviews revealed statistically robust associations among language patterns, dimensions of CA, and PAR types. Validating and extending prior research, findings highlight the importance of self-differentiation and anthropomorphization in suspending disbelief so that the avatar may be taken as a fully social agent.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444814554898","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,10,18]],"date-time":"2014-10-18T01:27:45Z","timestamp":1413595665000},"page":"1257-1276","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":99,"title":["Avatars are (sometimes) people too: Linguistic indicators of parasocial and social ties in player\u2013avatar relationships"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Jaime","family":"Banks","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"West Virginia University, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nicholas David","family":"Bowman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"West Virginia University, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2014,10,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-1461444814554898","unstructured":"Banks J (2013) Human-technology relationality and self-network organization: players and avatars in World of Warcraft. 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