Out of Reach Yet Sort of Like Us: Why We Love Celebs

Craving icons of perfection, we put those with fame and fortune on a pedestal—yet we're quick to knock them off.

Stargazing for Survival
Our obsession with status is hard-wired, making it deeper than you think
Seeing by Starlight: Celebrity Obsession
From Princess Diana to The Donald, A-listers teach us how to grab life's goodies—or so we're wired to think. What we actually learn from celebrities may surprise you.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201104/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/stargazing-survival

Can Brad and Angelina Ruin Your Love Life?
The trouble with beautiful people
Why I Hate Beauty
Men are barraged with images of extraordinarily beautiful and unobtainable women in the media, making it difficult for them to desire the ordinarily beautiful.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201104/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/can-brad-and-angelina-ruin-your-love-lif

Scintillating Scandals
A crash course in heroic downfalls
Adam Lambert and Tiger Woods: A Tale of Two American Idol Scandals
For the media, celebrity pain and humiliation is mother's milk

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201104/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/scintillating-scandals

Your Brain On Envy
When your pain is my gain
Envy predicts how good you’ll feel when your rival suffers.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201104/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/your-brain-envy

Can a Devastating Shark Attack Really Lead to a Better Life?
Posttraumatic growth, family, & spirituality in the Soul Surfer story

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201105/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/can-devastating-shark-attack-really-lead

Real Housewives & Black Swan: Too Rich & Too Thin?
Do money and beauty lead to happiness?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201105/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/real-housewives-black-swan-too-rich-too-

Middleton Mania
What are the psychological reasons we buy something that Kate wears?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201105/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/middleton-mania

Why We Are Obsessed with Celebrities
The existential and social appeal of celebrities.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201105/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/why-we-are-obsessed-celebrities

Want to be famous? Like Sandra Bullock?

There's more to that wish than you think.
What's really behind the wish to be famous?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201104/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/want-be-famous-sandra-bullock-theres-mor

When Bad Things Happen to Rich People
A need to believe that the successful suffer
Americans Like to Think that Rich, Successful People Suffer:

The Deadly Sin of Envy
Are the rich really happier?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201104/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/when-bad-things-happen-rich-people

Why Schadenfreude Makes Us Miserable
When it comes to others' pain, laughter isn't always good medicine

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201104/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/why-schadenfreude-makes-us-miserable

How to Win American Idol
What it takes to make it to the top
A creativity researcher cracks the pop-stardom code:

It's not talent or looks—it's something far more improbable

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201104/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/how-win-american-idol

Charlie and the Psychic Time Bomb
The hidden trigger in his life

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201104/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/charlie-and-the-psychic-time-bomb

Living the Fairy Tale
Forget happily ever after, what about happy right now?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201104/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/living-the-fairy-tale

Saved By Prince William
Prince William’s Bald Spot Shines at the Royal Wedding
Prince William’s bald spot has gone viral

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201104/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/saved-prince-william

Can Royalty Help Democracy?
Tribal Weddings and Democratic Stability
Is a Royal Wedding just entertainment or something more?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201104/out-reach-yet-sort-us-why-we-love-celebs/can-royalty-help-democracy