首页    期刊浏览 2024年11月15日 星期五
登录注册

文章基本信息

  • 标题:Destined to succeed? Team identification and the attributional bias of NFL fans.
  • 作者:Dwyer, Brendan ; Eddy, Terry ; LeCrom, Carrie W.
  • 期刊名称:Journal of Sport Behavior
  • 印刷版ISSN:0162-7341
  • 出版年度:2014
  • 期号:November
  • 语种:English
  • 出版社:University of South Alabama
  • 关键词:Attributional biases;Sports spectators

Destined to succeed? Team identification and the attributional bias of NFL fans.


Dwyer, Brendan ; Eddy, Terry ; LeCrom, Carrie W. 等


Being a fan in today's media saturated sport marketplace can be an emotional roller coaster, and often times, the conclusion of the season can be most maddening. From front office firings and coaching changes to ring ceremonies and White House visits, media commentators and pundits overreact to any number of seasonal outcomes (Lewis & Proffitt, 2012; Reese, 2001). From a fan's perspective, making sense of a successful or unsuccessful season not only influences one's relationship with the team, but also impacts one's self- and social identity. Previous research in this area has recognized internal and external attribution and team identification as important factors within a sport fan's affective, cognitive, and behavioral response to team success and failure (Wann & Dolan, 1994; Wann & Schrader, 2000). However, these studies have been limited to single game outcomes and have not examined the impact of attributable factors for an entire season. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the moderating impact of team identification on the attributional bias of two groups of sport team fans that experienced opposite seasonal outcomes (success/ failure). The following sections outline the importance of this area of study and formulate the problem under examination.

Team Identification

Team identification is an important psychological construct that has been at the forefront of research in various sport-related fields. Team identification has been defined as a fan's psychological connection to a team and involves the degree to which the fan views the team as an extension of themselves (Wann et al., 2011). The concept of team identification is a common application of social identity theory, which says that an individual's self-concept is partially derived from knowledge of their membership in social groups (both formal and informal), along with the emotional and value significance attached to the membership (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). Through these group memberships, the individual adopts the values and beliefs of the social group, which creates a social identity that is shared with other members of the group. It should be noted that social identity impacts fan behaviors regardless of the role an individual plays in the group, as fans still perceive themselves to be part of the group even when they are not active participants in an organized collective (Reysen & Branscombe, 2010). Identification with a team has been found to be a strong predictor of numerous spectator affective, cognitive, and behavioral reactions, including social well-being (Wann, 2006; Wann, Waddill, Polk, & Weaver, 2011), team-related purchasing history and future purchasing intentions (Bodet & Bemache-Assollant, 2011; Fink, Trail, & Anderson, 2002; Judson & Carpenter, 2005; Lock, Taylor, Funk, & Darcy, 2012; Robinson & Trail, 2005; Sutton, McDonald, Milne, & Cimperman, 1997; Trail, Anderson & Fink, 2005), and sponsorship-related outcomes (Gwinner & Swanson, 2003).

For highly identified fans, who by definition have a strong positive connection to their team of choice, being a follower is a central component of their social identity - thus, the performance of their favorite team is closely linked to their feelings of self-worth (Tajfel, 1981; Wann & Schrader, 2000). In other words, highly identified fans have greater positive biases towards players on their favorite teams than low identified fans, and similarly have more negative biases toward players on rival teams (Wann et al., 2006). One such bias has been termed intergroup bias, which occurs when group members maintain positive distinctiveness by making comparisons that favor the in-group (such as the team of choice) over the out-group (Dimmock, Grove, & Eklund, 2005). Intergroup bias also serves to explain why highly identified fans will root against rival teams of their preferred team, and why they will also root against teams that defeated their favorite team (particularly in a playoff or tournament format), as a coping exercise to recover lost self-esteem (Grieve, Wann, & Zapalac, 2008). It should be noted that social identity predicts that these biased perceptions will only be found in individuals with high levels of identification with a team, and that less highly identified fans will not exhibit these same biases (Tajfel, 1981; Tajfel & Turner, 1986). Because lowly identified fans will not feel the same effects on self-worth and self-esteem (positive or negative), there is no need for them to adopt these biases. Given the wealth of knowledge in this area and the significance of team identification in explaining fan behavior, the current study sought explore the moderating impact of team identification on the relationship between team success or failure and fan attribution.

Attribution Theory

There are several theoretical contexts that have been used to explain biases and differences in perception associated with team identification (i.e. Basking in Reflected Glory (BIRGing), negative pessimism). In this study, the framework to be employed is that of attribution theory, which is based on the seminal work of Heider (1958) and Weiner (1985). Attribution theory is a concept from social psychology that addresses the processes by which people explain the causes of events (Rees, Ingledew, & Hardy, 2005; Wann, 1997; Weiner, 1985). Attribution theory focuses on a fundamental need that people have to explain the underlying causes of important events or outcomes (Weiner, 1985). The explanations that people assign to outcomes are termed attributions, and these attributions can influence emotions, decisions, expectations, and behaviors (Allen, Coffee, & Greenlees, 2012). Attribution theory is a common framework for investigation in sport psychology, where the goal is to generally determine how participants explain performances, or to discover the difference in an athlete's attributions after winning and losing (Martin & Carron, 2012; Rees et al., 2005).

Although little is known about the processes by which participant and team attributions emerge, it seems that personality, experience, and intergroup relationships act as precursors to athlete attributions (Allen et al., 2012; Heider, 1958). Hence, participants' attributions will vary based on how long they have played the sport and how well they get along with their teammates, as well as their individual personality traits. Although there are slight variations in paradigms used to classify causal attributions, most are centered around the following three general dimensions: locus of causality (the extent to which the attribution is viewed as having been influenced by the individual or other sources), stability (the extent to which the attribution remains constant over time), and controllability (the extent to which the individual can control the attribution) (Martin & Carron, 2012; Weiner, 1985).

In general, athletes will tend to attribute wins to internal, stable, and controllable factors (factors within the team), and losses to external, unstable, and uncontrollable factors (factors outside of the team's control) (cf. Allen et al., 2012; Martin & Carron, 2012). For example, during post-game interviews we often see players attribute a win to a strong effort by their team, whereas losses are often attributed to bad luck, an unstoppable performance by the other team, poor calls from the officials, etc. This phenomenon is known as the team-serving bias, which is similar to other coping techniques (i.e., intergroup bias) in that it is an attempt to restore lost self-esteem (Allen et al., 2012; Martin & Carron, 2012).

Investigation of the team-serving bias through attribution theory has also been extended to include non-participants, namely sport fans. It has been found that highly identified fans demonstrate a success/failure attributional bias, similar to the team-serving bias, in that they form internal attributions following success (Madrigal & Chen, 2008; Wann & Dolan, 1994) and external attributions following defeat (Wann & Dolan, 1994; Wann & Schrader, 2000). However, similar to the intergroup bias in team identification, lowly identified fans do not tend to exhibit the same self-serving attributional pattern, and appear to be less bothered with explaining or justifying defeat (Wann & Branscombe, 1990; Wann & Schrader, 2000). Highly identified individuals will also tend to manipulate attributions after a loss in an attempt to protect their self-esteem, and these fans will show increases in negative emotions following a loss, compared to fans with lower levels of identification (Wann & Dolan, 1994; Wann, Dolan, McGeorge, & Allison, 1994). Similar to athletes, highly identified fans will also tend to exhibit self-serving attribution patterns by attributing their team's successes to controllable and stable causes (Wann & Schrader, 2000).

Purpose

In all, attribution and team identification research among sport fans has varied over the past two decades, but its impact in explaining sport fan attitudes and behaviors is evident. This study looked to contribute to the conversation. As mentioned above, much of the literature in this area has been limited to single game applications and has not examined seasonal outcomes. Hence, the authors believed it would be beneficial to extend this research to an entire season of professional football due to the raised stakes of a full season of success or failure as opposed to a single game outcome. To examine an entire professional league season within the context of attribution theory, the team outcomes must closely resemble a win and a loss. As a result, the 2011-12 New York Giants (NYG) and Jets (NYJ) were selected as the seasons for this investigation.

These two teams have very different seasons from expectations to outcomes. The NYJ had appeared in the AFC championship game the previous two seasons, and were ranked 7th in ESPN's Power Rankings at the beginning of the season. The NYG, on the other hand, did not reach the playoffs in either of the previous two seasons and suffered several injury losses in the 2011-12 preseason, which caused them to drop to 15th in the Power Rankings prior to Week 1 (ESPN.com, 2011). Despite the high expectations (1) for the 2011-12 NFL season stemming from the previous two years success, the NYJ finished 8-8 and did not qualify for the playoffs. The NYG, however, were not being forecasted to make the playoffs, yet went on to win the Super Bowl. Thus, based on the previous attribution/ identification work, it was predicted NYG fans would score higher on internal attributes, while NYJ fan would score higher on external attributes. In addition, it was predicted that team identification would moderate the attributional bias of these groups of fans for both sets of attributes. The following hypotheses were developed to guide the study:

H1: Fans of the NYG will score higher on the internal attributes of their team's season than NYJ fans.

H2: A fan's level of team identification will significantly moderate the relationship between team outcome and a fan's internal attribution

H3: Fans of the NYJ will score higher on the external attributes of their team's season than NYG fans.

H4: A fan's level of team identification will significantly moderate the relationship between team outcome and a fan's external attribution.

Method

Participants and Procedures

Undergraduate and graduate students from a large urban university in the New York City area were surveyed at the conclusion of the 2011-12 NFL season. Potential respondents were solicited before class. No incentive was provided, and willing volunteers were provided an informed consent statement before starting the questionnaire. Paper surveys were distributed, and of the 245 solicited, 225 began the survey with 194 fully completed the questionnaire (79.2% response rate). The raw data were coded and preliminarily examined in Microsoft Excel. The statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Sample demographics were assessed through the online survey software. The sample was mostly male (84.8%) with an average age of 22 (5'Z)=11.761). Fifty six percent of the respondents identified the NYG as their preferred team and 44% picked the NYJ; 59.7% identified themselves as Caucasian followed by 15.7% Black, 11% Hispanic/Latino, and 4.2% Asian. Participants who identified a preferred team other than the NYJ or NYG were eliminated from the sample. Among the respondents, 41.8% indicated that they attended a game at MetLife stadium during the 2011-2012 season.

Instruments and Analyses

Before application, the instrument was piloted with a small sample of graduate students at a large urban university in the mid-Atlantic. Ultimately, seven different types of attributions were included based on the work of Warm and Dolan (1994) and the pilot results: four internal (players, fans, front office management, & coaches) and three external (opponent performance, referees, & fate). See Table 1 for the specific item information. The authors understand the reliability concerns related to using single-item measures (Peter, 1979). However, previous applications of attribution theory in sport spectatorship have used similar methods (Warm & Dolan, 1994; Warm & Schrader, 2000). Each attribute was measured on a seven point Likert-type scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to seven (strongly agree). Team identification was measured using the three-item, team factor of Robinson and Trail's (2005) Point of Attachment Index (PAI). This variable was also measured on a seven point Likert-type scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to seven {strongly agree). Additionally, this variable was dichotomized (high & low) by a respondent's mean PAI score; a mean score greater than or equal to four was categorized as high. Team identification, regardless of scale choice, is a construct that has been dichotomized previously (Wann & Grieve, 2008). Four was chosen as the dichotomous cutoff because it was the neutral midpoint of the seven point Likert scale.

To test the four hypotheses, the two sets of dependent variables, internal and external attributes, were tested via two separate 2X2 between-subjects multiple factorial analyses of variance (MANOVA). One subject variable was the dichotomized team identification score, and the other was the categorical classification of season success/failure of the respondent's most preferred team (0=success; l=failure).

Results

With respect to team identification, the sample leaned toward being more highly attached NFL team fans with 121 (62%) respondents categorized in the high group. On a seven point scale, the sample mean was 4.491 (SD=2.358). Table 2 provides all means and standard deviations for this study's measures. The Cronbach's alpha for the three-item scale .963 suggesting good internal consistency. The results of the first MANOVA (internal attributions) suggest season success/failure was an influential main effects factor as the omnibus results were statistically significant F(4,185) = 6.136, p < .001. The univariate results (Tables 3), in particular, indicated the attributional factors of team performance, the coaching staff, and fans were more influential internal attributes for NYG fans than NYJ fans. The interaction effect between the two variables (moderating impact), however, was not significant (F [4,185] = 1.018, p = .399). In other words, a fan's level of team identification did not strengthen or lessen the internal attributes of explaining a successful or unsuccessful season.

The omnibus external attributions results also suggested season success/failure was an influential main effect factor F (3,181) = 6.674, p < .001 (Table 4). Interestingly, while the univariate results related to opponent performance were higher for NYJ fans than NYG fans, the attributable impacts of the referees and fate were higher for NYG fans than NYJ fans. In addition, team identification was a statistically significant moderator of team success/failure as it related to external attributions (F [3,181] = 3.314, p = .021). The univariate results, however, only suggest that the influence of the referees was moderated by team identification, as low identified NYJ fans scored much lower than low identified NYG fans (Figure 1).

While not hypothesized, it was noted that NYG fans scored higher on nearly every attribute, so an additional ANOVA was conducted on the total attribution score (see Table 2) and a statistically significant difference was found between fans that experienced a successful season (NYG; M = 33.468) and fans experiencing a failed season (NYJ; M= 30.106) (F [1,190] = 20.005, p < .001).

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Discussion

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the seasonal attribution of two distinct groups of NFL fans and the moderating impact of team identification on a fan's attributional bias. Four hypotheses were devised and tested. The findings for HI mostly supported the hypothesis that fans of successful teams see the favorable outcomes determined by internal attributes. This partially confirmed the work of Wann and Dolan (1994) and Wann et al. (1994) as three of the four attributes were statistically significant. The team's front office was the only attribute where the difference was minimal. It is possible to think that based on the often contentious relationship between fans and a team's management that NYG fans viewed the on-field success as occurring despite the actions of the team's top administration. Likewise, a jaded NYJ fan could see a direct relationship between the team's struggles and the effort of the front office.

More research is needed to assess the relationship between fans and the front office. Service quality literature has explored the topic, but only minimally (Theodorakis, Kambitsis, & Laios, 2001). In addition, researchers and journalists alike have thoroughly discussed the relationship between fans and coaches (Phillips, 2013; Robinson & Trail, 2005), but a distinct examination of the link between fans and the front office is lacking. It is interesting to note, however, the sizable gap between the groups for the Fans attribute. Paralleling previous research, it appears fans highlight their impact when a team is successful, but downplay their influence when the team does poorly (Madrigal & Chen, 2008; Wann & Branscombe, 1990). In general, the participants were somewhat more objective in their attributions than expected, so this was perhaps the clearest example of self-esteem recovery (or a coping technique) exhibited by the fans in this study (Wann & Schrader, 2000). Although not directly tested in this study, this result indirectly lends support to the notion that highly identified fans see themselves as important members of a collective (Reysen & Branscombe, 2012; Sutton et al., 1997)--a collective that not only includes other fans, but perhaps also includes the team itself. More research is needed to determine the influence that fans believe they hold over team performance, and where exactly the boundaries of the in-group of a team's fans begins and ends (Tajfel, 1981).

As a moderating variable, however, the impact of team identification was not statistically significant. Therefore, H2 was rejected. Given the importance of protecting one's self-identity from failure especially for highly-identified sport fans, it was surprising that a moderating relationship was not determined (Allen et al., 2012; Martin & Carron, 2012). This may speak to the popularity and durability of NFL team identification that in conjunction with losing season one does attribute failure internally much different than a successful sport team fan.

The third hypothesis predicted that NFL failure would result in higher external attribution scores than success. This hypothesis was rejected as well despite statistically significant differences between the groups for all three attributes. The Opponents' Performance mean scores followed the hypothesized relationship, but the impact of Referees and Fate actually resulted in a statistically significant difference in the opposite direction. In other words, NYG fans had higher attribution scores than the NYJ fans. Previous work related to attribution and the influence of success and failure is clear that external sources are most often attributed to influencing negative outcomes (Wann & Dolan, 1994; Wann & Schrader, 2000). Thus, the current results are contradictory.

The Fate variable result may be due to the amount of perceived luck it takes to win a Super Bowl. Winning four straight playoff games, three of which were on the road, is not an easy task for any team, especially a team that lost 5 of its road contests during the season, so the NYG fans may perceive this accomplishment was due to uncontrollable forces. This discrepancy could also be attributed to media influences. As previously mentioned, it has been suggested that media can have a positive effect on fan identification (Phua, 2010), but that media can also influence fan perceptions (Kennedy & Hills, 2009). At the beginning of the 2011 NFL season, the NYG were ranked #15 in ESPN's Power Rankings, due in part to injuries sustained during the preseason ("2011 NFL Power Rankings," 2011).

Because media predictions were moderate at best, based on the literature it seems reasonable to suggest that in today's world of prediction-driven media content, it is possible that fans may begin to exhibit self-esteem protection behaviors even before a season begins. If this is the case, then opinions in the media could cause fans to lower expectations, which would in turn alter attributions, and in this case cause fans to believe that fate played a role in the NYG success, since they were widely believed to be an average team. In a pair of studies, researchers Wann and Grieve (2007; 2008) studied the phenomenon of proactive pessimism as a coping mechanism within sport fandom. The concept is defined as "the tendency to become more pessimistic as a self-relevant event draws near" (Wann & Grieve, 2008, p. 84), and the researchers found it was used by sport fans in advance of a contest. The current study appears to support the concept from a seasonal perspective. This appears to be in emerging area of research; thus, additional inquiry related to seasonal expectations and outcomes may be fruitful.

The Referee outcome, however, is not easily explained. Is it a case that NYJ fans objectively assessed the failed season and viewed the Referee attribution as an unreasonable excuse? Or, is it a case that NYG fans felt the referee decisions over the course of the season broke their way? In a secondary search of message boards and team websites, notable referee calls in favor of NYG were not found. In fact, if anything the discussion surrounding referees was mainly negative. More research in this area is suggested as this finding is difficult to interpret.

For the last hypothesis (H4), the model indicated a statistically significant interaction effect between team identification level, seasonal outcome, and external attributes. However, only Referee attribute resulted in the interaction, and once again, it was contrary to the hypothesized direction. Thus, the hypothesis was rejected. In particular low identified NYG fans indicated a much higher attributional score than the low identified NYJ fans for the Referee attribute. Once again, this outcome is not easily explained accept for the possibility that less attached NYJ fans viewed any cause for the failed season, other than the internal, as an unacceptable excuse. Or, the possibility that low identified NYG fans had to attribute the unexpected success to something and the referees seemed like a plausible explanation.

The results of the additional ANOVA addressing the total attribution scores were not anticipated, but worthy of discussion and certainly future inquiry. It may be a function of preseason expectations and the improbability of winning the Super Bowl. Regardless, attribution scores in general were higher for NYG fans that experienced success than NYJ fans that did not. Perhaps it should not be surprising that fans of a team that experienced the pinnacle of success within a sport have several attributes to possibly explain the unanticipated outcome.

Taken together, the current study's results suggest a fan's self-serving bias with respect to an entire season of outcomes is not as clear-cut as the previous attribution and team identification research would imply. While the internal attribution findings were consistent with past work, fan reactions to the external attributes were quite contrary, and the influence of team identification as a moderator was minimal. Obviously, the current study was designed to examine the impact of seasonal success and failure while previous studies assessed attribution directly following a single game. Perhaps time was a mitigating factor. Emotions maybe more raw directly following a win or loss; thus, a self-serving attributional bias may be more evident. However, with additional time to process success or failure, perhaps fans can separate a team's outcome from personal identity. Regardless, the disconnect between success/failure and self- and social identity discovered within this context is noteworthy for teams, leagues, and media companies looking to better understand sport fan behavior following a season.

Limitations and Future Research

Certainly limitations to the current study exist. First, a student sample is less generalizable than a heterogeneous group of NFL fans. For instance, it was not feasible to run demographic comparisons on this sample. Also, the gender breakdown of this sample was heavily skewed toward males (85%). While this is mostly due to the setting of data collection, it is not representative of the general sport fan population. Thus, an extension to more diverse samples is advised. Second, the soaring popularity of the NFL may have actually influenced the results. It is currently the strongest brand in North American sports and that may have impacted both team identification and attribution results. Lastly, the timing of data collection could have impacted the findings. Surveys were distributed and collected over two week period of February 2012. This was a month after the season for NYJ fans, and two weeks for NYG fans. This inconsistency may have led to the dissimilar attribution findings.

In terms of future research, there are a lot of possibilities given the unanticipated results. For instance, more research related to the impact of fate or destiny is needed. Do fans really believe an uncontrollable force such as fate is truly that influential? If that is the case, is it unique to the NFL or is it something that is commonplace across all sporting contexts. In addition and as mentioned above, what is the impact of time on self-serving attribution patterns and team identification? A more direct examination of the self-perceived influence of fans would also be a fruitful line of research. That is, how integral do fans feel their attendance is? In general, as the sport industry continues to grow and receive more and more media coverage, fan behavior and the antecedents that drive behavior will continue to be burgeoning areas of inquiry. The inputs and outputs related to attribution, team identification, and team outcomes are among the factors worthy of additional scrutiny.

References

2011 NFL Power Rankings: Week 1. (2011, September 7). ESPN.com. Retrieved from http:// espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2011/week/l

Allen, M.S., Coffee, P., & Greenlees, I. (2012). A theoretical framework and research agenda for studying team attributions in sport. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 5, 121-144.

Bodet, G., & Bemache-Assollant, I. (2011). Consumer loyalty in sport spectatorship services: The relationships with consumer satisfaction and team identification. Psychology & Marketing, 28, 781-802.

Cialdini, R.B., Borden, R.J., Thome, A., Walker, M.R., Freeman, S., & Sloan, L.R. (1976). Basking in reflected glory: Three (football) field studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 366.

Dimmock, J.A., Grove, J.R., & Eklund, R.C. (2005). Reconceptualizing team identification: New dimensions and their relationship to intergroup bias. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 9, 75-86.

Fink, J.S., Trail, G.T., & Anderson, D.F. (2002). An examination of team identification: Which motives are most salient to its existence? International Sports Journal, 6, 195-207.

Grieve, F.G., Warm, D.L., & Zapalac, R.K. (2008). Sport fans' responses to the end of the season. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 4, 375-389.

Gwinner, K., & Swanson, S.R. (2003). A model of fan identification: Antecedents and sponsorship outcomes. Journal of Services Marketing, 17, 275-294.

Heider, F. (1958). The psychology of interpersonal relations. New York, NY: Wiley.

Judson, K.M., & Carpenter, P. (2005). Assessing a university community's identification to sport in a changing climate. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 14, 217-226.

Kemiedy, E., & Hills, L. (2009). Sport, media and society. New York, NY: Berg Publishers.

Kwon, H.H., Trail, G.T., & Lee, D. (2008). The effects of vicarious achievement and team identification on BIRGing and CORFing. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 17, 209-217.

Lewis, J., & Proffitt, J.M. (2012). Bong hits and water bottles: An analysis of news coverage of athletes and marijuana use. Journal of Sports Media, 7, 1-21.

Lock, D., Taylor, T., & Darcy, S. (2011). In the absence of achievement: The formation of new team identification. European Sport Management Quarterly, 11, 171-192.

Lock, D., Taylor, T., Funk, D., & Darcy, S. (2012). Exploring the development of team identification. Journal of Sport Management, 26, 283-294.

Madrigal, R., & Chen, J. (2008). Moderating and mediating effects of team identification in regard to causal attributions and summary judgments following a game outcome. Journal of Sport Management, 22, 717-733.

Martin, L.J., & Carron, A.V. (2012). Team attributions in sport: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 24, 157-174.

Peter, J.P. (1979). Reliability: A review of psychometric basics and recent marketing practices. Journal of Marketing Research, 16, 6-17.

Phillips, B. (2013, February 18). Who moved my cheese? Understanding a fan's relationship with coaches. Grantland.com. Retrieved from http://www.grantland.com/story/_/ id/8957014/understanding-fan-relationship-management-sports

Phua, J.J. (2010). Sports fans and media use: Influence on sports fan identification and collective self-esteem. International Journal of Sport Communication, 3, 190-206.

Rees, T., Ingledew, D.K., & Hardy, L. (2005). Attribution in sport psychology: Seeking congruence between theory, research and practice. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 6, 189-204.

Reese, S. D. (2001). Prologue--Framing public life: A bridging model for media research.

In S. D. Reese, O. H. Gandy, Jr., & A. E. Grant (Eds.), Framing public life: Perspectives on media and our understanding of the social world (pp. 7-31). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Reysen, S., & Branscombe, N R. (2010). Fanship and fandom: Comparisons between sport and non-sport fans. Journal of Sport Behavior, 33, 176-193.

Robinson, M.J., & Trail, G.T. (2005). Relationships among spectator gender, motives, points of attachment, and sport preference. Journal of Sport Management, 19, 58-80.

Spinda, J.S. (2012). Perceptual biases and behavioral effects among NFL fans: An investigation of first-person, second-person, and third-person effects. International Journal of Sport Communication, 5, 327-347.

Sutton, W.A., McDonald, M.A., Milne, G.R., & Cimperman, J. (1997). Creating and fostering fan identification in professional sports. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 6, 15-22.

Tajfel, H. (1981). Human group and social categories. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel & W. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations. Chicago, IL: Nelson-Hall.

Theodorakis, N., Kambitsis, C., & Laios, A. (2001). Relationship between measures of service quality and satisfaction of spectators in professional sports. Managing Sendee Quality, 11, 431-438.

Trail, G.T., Anderson, D.F., & Fink, J.S. (2005). Consumer satisfaction and identity theory: A model of sport spectator conative loyalty. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 14, 98-111.

Wann, D.L. (1997). Sport psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Wann, D.L. (2006). Understanding the positive social psychological benefits of sport team identification: The team identification-social psychological health model. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 10, 272-296.

Wann, D.L., & Branscombe, N.R. (1990). Die-hard and fair-weather fans: Effects of identification on BIRGing and CORFing tendencies. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 14, 103-117.

Wann, D.L., & Dolan, T.J. (1994). Attributions of highly identified sports spectators. The Journal of Social Psychology, 134, 783-792.

Wann, D.L., Dolan, T.J., McGeorge, K.K., & Allison, J. A. (1994). Relationships between spectator identification and spectators' perceptions of influence, spectators' emotions, and competition outcome. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 16, 347-364.

Wann, D.L., & Grieve, F.G. (2007). Use of proactive pessimism as a coping strategy for sport fans: The importance of team identification. Journal of Contemporary Athletics, 2, 341-356.

Wann, D.L., & Grieve, F.G. (2008). The coping strategies of highly identified fans: The importance of team success on tendencies to utilize proactive pessimism. In L. W. Hugenberg, P. Haridakis, & A. Eamheardt (Eds.) Sports mania: Essays on fandom and the media in the 2P' century (pp. 78-85). Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

Wann, D.L., Keenan, B.L., Burnett, S., Martin, J., Page, L., & Smith, L. (2002). The impact of sport team identification and attributions of ability and effort on spectators' impressions of athletic performance. North American Journal of Psychology, 4, 347-354.

Wann, D.L., Koch, K., Knoth, T., Fox, D., Aljubaily, H, & Lantz, C. (2006). The impact of team identification on biased predictions of player performance. The Psychological Record, 56, 55-66.

Wann, D.L., & Schrader, M.P. (2000). Controllability and stability in the self-serving attributions of sport spectators. The Journal of Social Psychology, 140, 160-168.

Wann, D.L., Waddill, P.J., Polk, J., & Weaver, S. (2011). The team identification-social psychological health model: Sport fans gaining connections to others via sport team identification. Group Dynamics: Theoiy, Research, and Practice, 15, 75-89.

Weiner, B. (1985). An attribution theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review, 92, 548-573.

Brendan Dwyer

Virginia Commonwealth University

Terry Eddy

University of Arkansas

Carrie W. LeCrom

Virginia Commonwealth University

Footnote

(1) Expectations entering the season were not measured with this study's sample. Expectations were based solely on the combination of the previous season's outcomes and ESPN's Power Rankings entering the season.

Address correspondence to: Brendan Dwyer, Center for Sport Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University, 1300 West Broad Street, PO Box 842003, Richmond, VA, 23284-2003, bdwyer@vcu.edu
Table 1

Survey Items

Internal Attributions

To what extent did the performance of the [Fav Team] players
influence the outcome of the season?

To what extent did the fans of the [Fav Team] influence the outcome
of the season?

To what extent did the performance of the [Fav Team] coaches
influence the outcome of the season?

To what extent did the performance of the [Fav Team] front office
influence the outcome of the season?

External Attributions

To what extent did the performance of the [Fav Team]' opponents
influence the outcome of the season?

To what extent did the performance of the referees influence the
outcome of the [Fav Team]' season?

To what extent did fate influence the outcome of the [Fav Team]'
season?

Team Attachment

Being a fan of the [Fav Team] is very important to me.

I would experience a loss if I had to stop being a fan of the [Fav
Team],

I consider myself to be a "real" fan of the [Fav Team]

Table 2
Scale and item means and standard deviations

                              Overall            NYG

                               n=194            n=109

                             M       SD       M       SD

Team Identification *      4.491    2.358   4.535    2.369
Internal Attributions *    5.624    0.893   5.792    0.893
  Team Performance         6.196    1.116   6.404    1.001
  Coaches                  5.777    1.039   5.972    0.922
  Front Office             4.902    1.484   5.009    1.456
  Fans                     3.777    1.707   4.394    1.616
External Attributions *    3.744    0.948   3.924    0.952
  Opponents' Performance   5.114    1.368   4.936    1.448
  Referees                 3.370    1.444   3.590    1.299
  Fate                     3.021    1.835   3.349    1.853
Attributions Total **      31.995   5.176   33.468   4.879

                                NYJ

                                n=85

                             M       SD

Team Identification *      4.435    2.356
Internal Attributions *    5.408    0.911
  Team Performance         5.929    1.203
  Coaches                  5.529    1.130
  Front Office             4.765    1.517
  Fans                     2.976    1.481
External Attributions *    3.513    0.896
  Opponents' Performance   5.345    1.227
  Referees                 3.095    1.572
  Fate                     2.600    1.733
Attributions Total **      30.106   4.952

Note. All measured on seven-point Likert scale.

* Represents scale means and standard deviations.

** Summed total therefore range from 7 to 49.

Table 3
Hypothesis 1: Internal attributions and season success/failure

                                       Team          Coaching
                                 Performance (a)     Staff (b)

Success/Failure   Observations     M        SD       M      SD

Success (NYG)         108        6.309    1.004    5.934   .922
Failure (NYJ)          84        5.885    1.191    5.521   1.135

                      Front
                   Office (c)       Fans (d)

Success/Failure     M      SD       M      SD

Success (NYG)     4.853   1.450   4.341   1.616
Failure (NYJ)     4.744   1.524   2.956   1.481

Note. (a) Main effects result, p = .008; (b) Main effects result,
p = .008; (c) Main effects result, p = .614; (d) Main effects
result, p < .001

Table 4
Hypothesis 3: External attributions and season success/failure

                                   Opponents'
                                 Performance (a)   Referees (b)

Success/Failure   Observations     M        SD       M      SD

Success (NYG)         108        4.935    1.426    3.639   1.299
Failure (NYJ)          84        5.395    1.219    3.062   1.582

                     Fate (c)

Success/Failure     M      SD

Success (NYG)     3.286   1.839
Failure (NYJ)     2.589   1.755

Note. (a) Main effects result, p = .024; (b) Main effects result,
p = .008; (c) Main effects result, p = .012
联系我们|关于我们|网站声明
国家哲学社会科学文献中心版权所有