Campus Location
Abilene Campus (Residential)
Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Communication
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Dorothy C. Andreas
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Lynette Sharp Penya
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Jennifer Golden
Abstract
The present study researched and investigated the discourse of five mega fashion influencers on TikTok, as well as the discourse of 15 followers engaging with fashion influencer content on the same platform. The theory used to guide this study was discursive psychology theory, which provided the groundwork for understanding how both influencers and followers position their identities, justify their actions and decisions, and construct their reality. The primary aim of this research is to deepen understanding of how influencer discourse shapes follower discourse, identifying recurring patterns, contradictions, and the ways in which tensions are negotiated. The findings reveal a range of verbal and nonverbal strategies employed by fashion influencers to present themselves as authentic and friendly, while also highlighting the extent to which followers adopt, co-opt, resist, and negotiate the discursive patterns of influencers.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Guerrero Hernandez, Andrea, "Voices of a New Era: A Discursive Psychology Study of Influencer-Follower Discourse on TikTok" (2026). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1008.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/1008
Included in
Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons, Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Fashion Business Commons, Marketing Commons, Social Media Commons