The contribution of sport fan social identity to the production of prosocial behavior.

Abstract

Experimenters observed the number of sport-team-identified fans who contributed money to charity workers before and after 6 football games. Charity workers were identified as supporters of 1 of the 2 teams competing, or of neither team. Consistent with predictions, more fans contributed to in-group than to out-group-supporting charity workers. In addition, charity workers identified with either team received a higher frequency of contributions from fans of both teams together after the game relative to before; this pattern was reversed among charity workers not identified with a team. This unexpected finding suggests an increased salience of a general sport-fan identification after the game relative to before. Finally, fans of winning teams in particular contributed more to any charity worker (i.e., collapsed across in-group, out-group, and neutral supporters) after the game than before, but this pattern was reversed among fans of losing teams. This final finding is discussed with reference to both self-categorization theory and the literature on mood and prosocial behavior.

Stressful life transitions and wellbeing: A comparison of the stress buffering hypothesis and the social identity model of identity change

“…Instead, social support emerges from group memberships, such that it is both more likely to be given (Drury, Brown, Gonzales & Miranda, 2016;Levine et al, 2005;Platow et al, 1999) and received in the manner it was intended (Haslam & Reicher, 2006) within the context of a salient shared group membership. For instance, in one study, Manchester United football club fans were quick to help others wearing Manchester United shirts, but slow to help those wearing rival team shirts.…”

Ingroup Bias and Ingroup Projection in the Furry Fandom

“…These biases in fan perception have even been found in children as young as 5 years old, who evaluated ingroup soccer fans more positively than outgroup fans (Abrams, Rutland, & Cameron, 2003). Studies of biased fan behavior show similar effects, with soccer fans more likely to help fans of the same team than fans of a rival team in an emergency situation (Levine, Prosser, Evans, & Reicher, 2005; see also Reysen & Levine, 2014), and fans contributing more to ingroup charities than to charities related to outgroup teams (Platow et al, 1999). Not limited to positive behavior, sport fans also punish a fellow fan less harshly than an outgroup fan for violating norms (Schiller, Baumgartner, & Knoch, 2014).…”

“…Research on fan groups, in particular, has illustrated ingroup bias in helping behavior (Levine et al, 2005), charitable donations (Platow et al, 1999), soccer chants (Scheepers et al, 2003), language usage (Maass, 1999), and evaluations of others (e.g., Wann et al, 2012). In the present research, we assessed ingroup favoritism through ratings of positive traits of one's ingroup species compared to other species in the fandom (Study 1) and explicit statements regarding the superiority of one's species compared to others in the fandom (Study 2).…”

More Than a Game: Football Fans and Marriage Equality

“…Sports fans categorize themselves and others as in-groups and out-groups (Voci 2006 ), and they exhibit typical in-group favoring behaviors, including rating other in-group members more favorably than out-group members (Wann and Branscombe 1995 ;Wann and Dolan 1994 ). Shared identity as a fan of a team also can lead to increased prosocial behavior (Platow et al 1999 ).…”

“…Sports fans categorize themselves and others as in-groups and out-groups (Voci 2006 ), and they exhibit typical in-group favoring behaviors, including rating other in-group members more favorably than out-group members (Wann and Branscombe 1995 ;Wann and Dolan 1994 ). Shared identity as a fan of a team also can lead to increased prosocial behavior (Platow et al 1999 ).Perhaps taking their cue from this concept, marriage-equality organizations are conducting ongoing campaigns that tap into sports-fan in-group identities to shift attitudes about gay rights. Most well known among these organizations is Athlete Ally, founded in January 2011 by Columbia University wrestling coach Hudson Taylor.…”