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The current research examined the relationship between level of sport fandom (operationally defined as the degree subjects considered themselves to be a sport fan, the amount of money they spent each year on sport spectating, and the amount of time they spent each week reading about,
discussing, watching, or listening to sport programs) and the consumption of beer and liquor. Data collected from 180 college students failed to find any significant relationships.

Factors believed to be motivations responsible for sport fandom include eustress, self-esteem, escape, entertainment, economic, aesthetic, group affiliation, and family needs. However, these factors have been untested empirically, and a valid and reliable measure of sport fan motivation has been unavailable to researchers. The current two studies were an attempt to develop such a measure. The construction and validation of a 23-item Likert-scale measure, the Sport Fan Motivation Scale, are described. Discussion centers on possible uses for the instrument.

"Sports, and the fans that follow them, are everywhere. Sport Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Fandom examines the affective, behavioral, and cognitive reactions of fans to better comprehend how sport impacts individual fans and society as a whole. Using up-to-date research and theory from multiple disciplines including psychology, sociology, marketing, history, and religious studies, this textbook provides a deeper understanding of topics such as: - the pervasiveness of sport fandom in society - common demographic and personality characteristics of fans - how fandom can provide a sense of belonging, of uniqueness, and of meaning in life - the process of becoming a sport fan - sport fan consumption - and the future of sport and the fan experience. The text also provides a detailed investigation of the darker side of sport fandom, including fan aggression, as well as a critical look at the positive value of fandom for individuals and society. Sport Fans expertly combines a rigorous level of empirical research and theory in an engaging, accessible format, making this text the essential resource on sport fan behavior." --

To examine sport fandom in Australia, a convenience sample of 163 university students (62% males, 38% females, M = 21.3) attending a large, multi-sector institution located in a western suburb of Melbourne voluntarily completed a 25-item questionnaire survey which included the Sport Fandom Questionnaire ( Wann, 2002 ) and the Sport Spectator Identification Scale ( Wann and Branscombe, 1993 ). Descriptive and inferential statistics revealed that males chose 'friends' as their most influential sport fan socialization agent while females ranked friends, parents and school about the same. Male socialization agents were very important for both sexes with 'father' chosen most influential. Males scored higher on every measure of sport fandom behavior including attending sports events, watching sports on television, listening to sports on the radio, engaging in a sports conversation with others, and accessing sport information via the Internet. Australian Football League teams were chosen 'favorite team' by 81 percent of the total sample; selection was unrelated to the respondent's sex. Compared with similar data obtained from US, Norwegian and Greek university student samples, these Australian students were judged greater sport consumers and more heavily identified with the sport fan role and a favorite team.

Observational learning is an important component of human learning. According to Bandura (1965), observational learning is characterized by four stages: attention, retention, motor reproduction, and motivation. The first stage, attention, is a crucial subprocess that can be influenced
by model characteristics. Characteristics such as attractiveness, trustworthiness, similarity, and perceived competence have been shown to enhance a model's effectiveness. This study extended this research to social power. It was hypothesized that observational learning effectiveness
would be greater in groups taught by a model with a base of social power than in a control group. A research question examined which base of social power (legitimate, expert, or referent) yielded the greatest effectiveness. Subjects watched a tape of a model performing a puzzle task. The model
was described as having one of the three bases of social power. A fourth group was taught by a model introduced without the mention of a base of social power. The results revealed that subjects in the power groups scored significantly higher on the variables of time elapsed to complete the
puzzle, number of pieces correctly placed, and whether the subject finished or not. Implications for the findings of this study such as the use of social power(s) in a teaching and managerial setting are discussed.

Previous attempts to account for the occurrence of spectator aggression have employed one of the long-standing theories of aggression (i.e., instinctual theories, drive reduction models, and the social learning perspective). While support for some aspects of these theories has been documented, a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon might direct research to more fruitful avenues. Such an analysis is proposed in this review. In addition to incorporating well-documented concepts such as physiological arousal and modeling, this new viewpoint includes the motivational aspects of team or group identification, the cognitive component of categorization, and the esteem-enhancing consequences of aggressive behavior. A model of the variables leading to spectator aggression is presented, and it is contrasted with prior theoretical viewpoints. Public policy implications for aggression reduction among sports spectators are discussed.

Spectators' emotional responses during actual competitions and attributions for game outcomes have been previously examined. In the current research, emotional responses of fans either high or low in identification with a team were measured after they simply read a newspaper article written by another fan of their team or a fan of a competing team. The author was described as either loyal or disloyal to his own team following a competition that was either won or lost in overtime. As hypothesized, persons with varying degrees of identification with the team exhibited different patterns of reactions to the article. For highly identified persons, the most positive mood state followed exposure to a sports article that described a victory for the ingroup whose author was also an admitted loyal fan of the same team. The most negative affect was evoked when the author of the article was a disloyal fan of the subjects' favorite team and the competition was lost. This pattern was not found for individuals low in identification with the team. They were not significantly influenced by the game outcome, group membership of the author, or the author's degree of commitment to the team. Implications for research on sports spectators, exposure to sports news, and emotion regulation are discussed.

As a result of increased geographic mobility, industrialization, and the like, traditional social and community ties have declined. Conversely, sports spectatorship has continued to flourish. We argue that strong identification with a specific sports team provides a buffer from feelings of depression and alienation, and at the same time, fosters feelings of belongingness and self worth. In effect, sports team identification replaces more traditional family and community-based attachments to the larger social structure. Three studies find support for these notions, using basketball and baseball fans. The relationship between degree of team identification and team success was also examined; it was only significant for individuals who identify with teams geographically removed from themselves. Discussion focuses on the positive implications of sports team identification for self-esteem maintenance and the social ties it creates.

Previous research has demonstrated that people are capable of strategic self-presentation; they decrease the distance between themselves and successful groups with which they have only the most trivial of associations, and strive to increase the distance between themselves and groups viewed negatively as a result of some perceived failure. These two processes, termed basking-in- reflected-glory (BIRGing) and cutting-off-reflected failure (CORFing) respectively, assist in the maintenance of self-esteem. The current study investigated the extent to which allegiance to a group would modify these general processes. In support of the hypotheses, higher fan identification resulted in increased tendencies to BIRG and decreased tendencies to CORF. In contrast, persons moderate or low in identification were less likely to BIRG and showed an increased likelihood to CORF. Discussion focuses on the role of identification with a group in terms of how it moderates coping with threats to an identity and its impact on self-esteem.

The current study tested the hypothesis that there would be a positive relationship between sport team identification and willingness to injure anonymously an opposing player or coach. To test this hypothesis, 88 college students were asked to indicate their willingness to murder someone
anonymously and their willingness to injure anonymously the star player and coach of a rival team. The data confirmed the hypothesis, even after controlling for level of sport fandom. However, because the data failed to reveal a significant relationship between team identification and desire
to murder someone anonymously, it is apparent that the highly identified fans were not simply more aggressive in general. Rather, they were more aggressive only when the target was a player or coach of a rival team. Discussion centers on the instrumental nature of the current form of fan aggression.