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MAYBE NEXT YEAR: A CLEVELAND
BROWNS FAN ANALYSIS ON
MOTIVATIONS TO BASK IN REFLECTED
GLORY
Shawna Jackson
Study
• Cialdini’s Basking in Reflected Glory (BIRG)
• Cialdini: commonplace for an individual to show off the successes
of others in which they are connected (e.g. sports team)
• Bernache-Assollant et al.: accentuating one’s connection with a sports
team
• Spiral of Silence Theory (Mass Communication)
• An individual feels less willing to express their opinion when they
are in the minority
Rationale
• 2011 Catalyst Fan Engagement Study: 80% of sports fans
were connected to their favorite sports team through
Facebook
• Build on Cialdini’s BIRG
• Limited research since the idea was proposed in 1976 (a dozen
related studies)
• Computer-mediated communication: Facebook
• Spiral of Silence Theory
• A lot of research on online political discussions, limited on online
sports discussions, specifically through Facebook
Rationale cont’d.
• Forbes.com: in 2010, Cleveland was named the Most
Miserable City in the U.S.
• “Cleveland sports fans have had to endure more anguish than
those in any other city,” followed by a mention of “crummy sports
teams.”
• Continued disappointment: will this affect BIRG?
Literature Review
• Cialdini, 1976:
• College students were more likely to show off their team’s apparel
following a victory, describe the victory using the pronoun, “we,”
versus “they,” and were more likely to recall a victory in greater
detail over a defeat.
• Madrigal, 1995:
• BIRG led to more satisfaction, creating a higher likelihood that the
fans would bask in reflected glory because they physically attended
the game.
• Grove et al., 1991:
• Studied players, coaches, and spectators. Fans found themselves
more in control of their reactions when the game resulted in a
victory; however, when the game resulted in a defeat, the reactions
were less controlled.
• Cialdini says a “controlled” reaction is wearing team apparel.
Literature Review cont’d.
• McDevitt, Kiousis, and Wahl-Jorgensen, 2003:
• Individuals in the minority would be less likely to express their
opinions in both face-to-face communication and computermediated discussion and individuals, regardless of opinion, are
perceived as more moderate in a computer-mediated setting over
face-to-face communication
• Results showed that individuals in the minority were more moderate
than the majority, but not significant
• Bordia, 1997:
• Computer-mediated communication was found to take a longer
amount of time, produce longer and more thought-out ideas, and
allow for an equal amount of participation between the individuals
in discussion.
• Cannot locate anything YET on sports fans and CMC…
Hypotheses
• H1: Fans who score higher on the Sports Fan Motivation Scale
are more likely to have a high association with the Cleveland
Browns than fans who score lower on the Sports Fan
Motivation Scale.
• H2: Fans who score lower on the Sports Fan Motivation Scale
are more likely to indicate less pride in the city of Cleveland
than fans that score higher on the Sports Fan Motivation Scale.
• H3: Fans in the minority opinion regarding a victory or defeat
will be less likely to speak out than fans in the majority opinion
on the Official Cleveland Browns Facebook Page.
• H4: Fans in the majority opinion regarding a victory or defeat
are more likely to use first person singular and plural pronouns
when describing a professional football team’s successes than
fans in the minority.
Variables
• Association with the team (high or low)
• Pride
• Outcome of the game (victory or loss)
• Language
• E.g. pronouns
Sampling
• Population: Cleveland
Browns fans
• Sampling frame:
Fans who “Like” the
Cleveland Browns
Facebook Page
• 517,000+ users
Pilot Reliability
• 2 articles
• 1 win, 1 loss
• Systematic sampling:
every nth user
comment
• LIWC
Dictionary – LIWC
• Pronouns
• I, We, They, Them, etc…
• Affective/Emotional Processes
• Pride, win, happy, hate, nervous, etc…
• Sensory/Perceptual Processes
• See, hear, feel
• Social Processes
• References to other people, including family
• Relativity
• References to past or future seasons
• Leisure Activity
• Football, game, play
• Physical States and Functions
• Ache, heart, etc…