Biased Evaluations of In-Group and Out-Group Spectator Behavior at Sporting Events: The Importance of Team Identification and Threats to Social Identity

Abstract

Previous researchers have demonstrated that sport fans often exhibit in-group bias by reporting more positive evaluations of fellow in-group fans than of rival out-group fans. The authors designed the present investigation to extend previous research by replicating past efforts in a field setting and to advance our understanding of the impact of social identity threat. The present authors hypothesized that, in addition to the base-level in-group bias effect, the bias effect would be most pronounced in situations involving a threat to one's social identity. The authors believed that fans of a losing team and fans of a home team would experience threats to their identity and, consequently, exhibit particularly high levels of in-group favoritism. Further, because past researchers had shown that one's level of group identification plays a vital role in social perception, the present authors predicted an interaction in which the greatest amount of bias would be exhibited by highly identified fans rooting for a home team that had lost. Data gathered from spectators (N = 148) at 2 North American college basketball games confirmed the authors' expectations, with the exception that the supporters of the winning team reported higher levels of bias. The authors discussed the factors underlying the unexpected game outcome effect and the use of in-group bias as a coping strategy.