Daniel Wann

Murray State University · Department of Psychology

This research attempted to examine the tolerant responses of sport fans to scandalized athletes by drawing on fans’ self-serving bias and attribution theory. To this end, we conducted a quasi-experimental study (n = 219). The results of SEM analysis indicate that fans with a high team identification reported a greater level of external attribution...

When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down occurred, virtually all sports leagues—from recreational sports to professional leagues—were paused or canceled. This left a gap for fans of those sports to fill. The purpose of the present research study was threefold: 1) to examine what strategies sport fans used to cope with the loss of the live sport viewers...

The current study investigated how group members react to favorite and rival brands among sport teams and theme parks. Specifically, fans of sport teams perceptions of favorite and rival brands were compared to that of theme park fans. Results showed that fans of sport teams reported more positivity toward their favorite brands and more negativity...

Sport fandom has been associated with greater social psychological health, increased life structure, and the satisfaction of the needs for belonging and distinctiveness. However, sport fandom is also linked to interpersonal violence, aggressive tendencies, and overconsumption of alcohol. These negative outcomes often occur in tandem with higher lev...

This study examined how spectators perceived athletes with disabilities when the spectators were aware of the disabilities versus when the spectators were unaware. A 10-minute video of a deaf collegiate basketball team (Gallaudet University) playing against a hearing collegiate basketball team (Wilkes University) was used as a means to collect data...

The chapter takes a different approach by focusing primarily on the implications of the comparative investigations conducted in this text and beyond. Specifically, implications for future research and for practice are discussed. Additionally, the planned resource www.SharedPerspectives.org is introduced and details are provided regarding its propos...

0.1] Abstract The current study qualitatively investigated how fans of the Disney Theme Parks are introduced to the brand and their perceptions of Disney and Universal Parks. Findings indicate that family plays a very important role in both introducing and building loyalty toward Disney and the Disney Parks. Further, both family and positive memory...

Belonging and distinctiveness are considered innate motivators for human behavior and decision making. Satisfaction of both needs is often associated with increased levels of well-being and personal agency. Both belonging and distinctiveness have been examined as successful motivators for sport fandom, but research is needed to determine the differ...

The current study investigated how group members react to favorite and rival brands among sport teams and theme parks. Specifically, sport team fans' perceptions of favorite and rival brands were compared to that of theme park fans. Results showed that fans of sport teams reported more positivity toward their favorite brands and more negativity tow...

This essay discusses a qualitative investigation we conducted with fans of the Disney parks and resorts during the summer of 2020 regarding the company's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, 22 people responded to open-ended questions from an online survey to discuss their views of the closures and planned reopenings of the Disney parks...

This study explores the interaction effects of game outcomes and status instability and the moderating role of implicit team identification on spectators' status-seeking behavior (the pursuit and preservation of social status). The current study seeks to contribute to the existing consumer behavior and spectatorship literature by examining the coun...

Although empirical evidence indicates that sport media consumption has a positive effect on sport consumers’ subjective well-being (SWB), there is little information regarding how these enhancements in SWB change over time. Th e current research demonstrates that less identified sport consumers experienced greater levels of purpose in life when it...

The current study further investigated rivalry and group behavior by comparing the perceptions and likely behaviors of sport fans regarding their biggest rival teams to that of Star Wars and Star Trek fans. Results showed that sport fandom was correlated with more negativity toward the relevant rival than among science fiction fans. Further, being...

What makes people like a team? We suggest and test here whether people’s perceptions of teams and organizations differ as a function of the strategy the teams pick on their way to success. Two main strategies are compared: (1) Development is a strategy focused on building and enhancing the abilities of current team members; and (2) Acquisition is a...

The current study investigated the influence prior consumption has on male and female consumers and brand supporters. In particular, 206 self-reported fans of Disney reported their perceptions of the Disney and Universal theme parks brands. Results indicate that men reported more negative perceptions and likely behaviors toward Universal theme park...

The current study investigated differences in the way fans experience rivalry in sport and popular culture, specifically, Disney Theme Park fandom. Results showed that fans of a sport team were more identified with their favorite team and more negative toward their rival team than were fans of Disney's Theme Parks toward Disney and Universal (rival...

The current study investigated fandom and rivalry toward Disney's and Universal's theme parks. In particular, fans of Disney's theme parks were asked to report their attitudes toward each brand, along with their perceptions and behaviors toward Universal's theme parks. Results showed that participants reported more higher attitudes toward Disney's...

Shame has been conceptualized as an emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and evolutionary phenomenon, and may impact such responses as anger, anxiety, withdrawal, and avoidance (Gilbert & McGuire, 1998). Vicarious shame may be experienced when someone that an individual identifies with engages in a shameful activity. Furthermore, research on group ide...

This paper examines how managers of teams in new or non-traditional sport markets interpret the literature on fan socialisation, identify best practices and formulate strategies to develop new fans and build a larger fan base in the shadow of larger,more established leagues.A qualitative investigation was undertaken, and managers from NHL teams wer...

Previous research had found that level of team identification was positively associated with aggression at youth sporting events (Wann, Weaver, Belva, Ladd, & Armstrong, 2015). The current investigation was designed to extend this work by incorporating fan dysfunction into the model (i.e., fans who are confrontational and frequently complain). Spec...

The present study aimed to examine the attitudes and behaviors of football fans in the Middle East and to make comparisons between the different football markets in the region. Overall, 2133 football fans from 10 countries participated in the survey. Results showed that football is popular among all fans, regardless of country, age and income brack...

As the National Hockey League (NHL) has made concerted efforts in recent years to expand into the Sunbelt region of North America, its teams still face tremendous challenges to building up their fan bases. Adopting a qualitative research protocol, this study explored the phenomenon of NHL fandom formation in the Sunbelt region. Research findings re...

Objective: We investigate how (a) attendance at sport games and (b) identification with a sport team as fans (i.e., team identification) influence older adults’ perceptions of emotional support, belonging, and subjective well-being (SWB). Method: An experimental pilot study was conducted with 50 older adults, followed by a main survey study adminis...

Athletes oftentimes own and direct their own philanthropic foundations to make positive prosocial impacts at every level, from global down to local. A key challenge for these foundations is to communicate effectively with their target audiences to obtain support from them. By drawing from the construal-level theory and athlete identification litera...

Through this study attempts were made to (1) define the concept of implicit team identification (iTeam ID), (2) examine the effects the interactions between iTeam ID and emotions exert on flow, and (3) examine the behavioral consequences of flow in the context of spectator sports. The opponent process and implicit memory theories served as the stud...

Research questions: The current study is aimed at providing preliminary answers to two research questions: (1) What salient self-images do people pursue for self-expression in the context of sport participation? (2) To what extent does participant desired self-image (PDSI) influence consumer behavior? Research methods: In Phase 1 of the study, a co...

The following chapter provides an intimate look at sport fans, the identification they have with a favorite team, and their relationship with teams identified as rivals. In particular, team identification and rival perceptions were used to investigate the Glory Out of Reflected Failure (GORFing, excitement when the rival loses to someone other than...

The current longitudinal case study investigated how conference realignment and beginning new annual competitions impacted fan rival perceptions for fans of the Texas A&M Aggies, Missouri Tigers, and Texas Christian University Horned Frogs. In particular, fan rival perceptions before and after conference realignment were compared to determine if si...

The current study examined fan evaluations of Major League Baseball team performance for a previous season as well as predictions of, and consumption expectations for, an upcoming season. With respect to evaluations of the recently completed season, appraisals were positively predicted by team identification, actual wins, and the number of playoff...

Research question: The purpose of the current research was to examine the interaction effects between the positivity of game characteristics and different types of social experiences on fans’ evaluations of their retrospective media consumption experiences. Research method: The combination of game characteristics and the type of social experience w...

The team identification–social psychological health model predicts that sport team identification leads to social connections which, in turn, result in well-being. This pattern of effects was tested in a sample of 380 college students completing measures of sport fandom, identification with their university’s men’s basketball team, sense of belongi...

The purpose of the study is to examine the relative effects of game process (i.e., boring versus exciting) and outcome (i.e., losing versus winning) on sport consumers’ happiness depending on their level of team identification. The authors investigated how sport consumers’ levels of happiness are different after recalling (Study 1) and imagining (S...

Based on self-determination theory, the current research examined the effect of team identification on spectators’ energy and happiness. Most importantly, this research attempted to identify a key underlying mechanism of why and when sport spectatorship enhances spectators’ happiness by adapting energy, a new concept to the sport management literat...

The current investigation extended past efforts on cultural differences in sport fandom by investigating sport fandom in Qatar, a previously unexplored culture. A sample of 259 sport fans completed a questionnaire packet assessing demographic variables, sport fandom, team identification, impacts of various socialization agents, and six typical spor...

The SSIS is a widely used instrumentdesigned to measure spectators’ levels of identification with a sport team. Despite the fact that several studies were conducted to examine its validity and reliability, these past efforts relied solely on Classical Test Theory (Lock et al. 2009; Theodorakis et al., 2006; Wann & Branscombe, 1993). The purpose of...

The Sport Spectator Identification Scale (SSIS) is a widely used instrument designed to measure spectators’ levels of identification with a sport team. Despite the fact that several studies were conducted to examine its validity and reliability, these past efforts relied solely on Classical Test Theory (Lock et al. 2009; Theodorakis et al., 2006; W...

The current investigation examined the number of teams fans list as rivals of teams they follow closely, moderately and casually. It was hypothesized that there would be positive correlations between the level of identification for a team and the number of teams listed as rivals, and that evaluations of rival teams would be most negative for teams...

Past research has found that sport team identification is positively correlated with social psychological health (Phua, 2012; Wann & Weaver, 2009) including work testing adolescent fans (Wann, Brasher, Thomas, & Scheuchner, in press). The current study was designed to extend previous investigations by examining the relationship between team identif...

The current investigation was designed to extend previous work on the aggressive actions of youth baseball spectators (Hennessy & Schwartz, 2007) by incorporating team identification into the research. Team identification, the extent to which a fan feels a psychological connection to a team, (Wann, Melnick, Russell, & Pease, 2001) has been found to...

Purpose – The purpose of these studies is to determine how maximizing sport fans seek optimal outcomes through team identification. Maximizers seek optimal outcomes but do not always obtain them. This may be particularly true of sport fans, who often identify with teams for reasons that run deeper than team success. Maximizing fans may be more conc...

This study examined points of attachment (POA), or how sports fans experience multiple types of identification beyond team allegiance (e.g., identification with players, coaches, levels of sport, the sport itself, and university/region) at different levels of fandom. More specifically, high school, collegiate (i.e., National Collegiate Athletic Ass...

This research confirms the relationship between team identification and social wellbeing in times of adversity, and demonstrates how the perception of 2 types of social support-instrumental and emotional support-mediates this relationship. Analysis of data from spectators attending Japanese professional soccer games in the aftermath of the 2011 Gre...

Wann et al. (2006) found that highly identified fans reported positive ratings of a player described as a potential member of a favored team but negative ratings of the same player when he was described as a potential player for a rival team. In a different study of fans' perceptions, Cottingham, Wann, and Byon (2013) found that individuals who lea...

Despite recent cross-cultural analyses of sport fandom, work in the field is still limited. To partially fill this research void, the current investigation investigated sport fandom in the United Kingdom, and included cross-cultural comparison with existing data. Four research areas were reviewed: a) sport fan behaviors, b) socialization into the s...

Team fandom origin, self-selected or socialized, should play an important role in one's level of team identification with and commitment to a favorite team. It was hypothesized that fans who self-selected their favorite team would report higher levels of team identification on three dimensions of team commitment: personal identity, affective commit...

The current work examined the superstitious behaviors of sport fans. A sample of 1661 college students completed a questionnaire packet assessing demographics, team identification, sport fandom, superstitions, perceptions of superstition impact and importance, and why they engaged in the superstitions. A total of 675 persons reported at least one s...

This project examined the role of sport confidence among a large, multinational sample of novice, intermediate, and advanced skill athletes. Four topics were investigated: the development of trait confidence, factors impacting state confidence, the role of confidence in athletic success, and the impact of sport participation on confidence in other...

This experiment investigated the differential effects of dispositional (gender) and situational (armband) group membership on in-group favoritism. Subjects met a confederate either similar or dissimilar in disposition and/or situation in an interpersonal setting. The proximity between the subject and the confederate, as well as the subject’s memory...

In this experiment we investigated the effect(s) on content comprehension of studying using different levels of elaborative rehearsals. The elaborative methods examined involved studying an article and then preparing and giving a 3- to 4-min presentation from either the first-person or the third-person perspective. A third (control) condition invol...

In two experiments, we tested the hypothesis that increases in the level of interaction between a subject and an apparent stranger would result in a more positive impression of the stranger. The research was conducted in both actual (Experiment 1) and hypothetical (Experiment 2) settings. The pattern of results differed significantly between the tw...

The current investigation examined percentages of viewing time for six different types of televised sporting events: events involving a favorite team, events involving a moderately supported team, events involving a rival of a favorite team, events involving neither a rival nor a preferred team, sport news shows, and sport documentaries. Four varia...

The current study investigated the influence of a U.S. intercollegiate team competing in a new conference for multiple seasons on fan perceptions of rival teams and likelihood of considering anonymous aggression toward rival teams. Fans of teams that changed conferences during conference realignment reserved stronger negative perceptions of the for...

This study was an extension of Wann, Schinner, and Keenan's (2001) research on male sport fans' and non-fans' impressions of female fans. The current investigation examined whether the gender role orientation (masculine or feminine) of the female fan plays a role in males' impressions of her. Male participants with a high or low interest in sport r...

In this case study analysis, we explored the motives for playing Strat-O-Matic Baseball (SOMB), a baseball simulation played as a board game or online, from the perspective of the uses-and-gratifications theory. In phase I of the study, SOMB manager narratives (N = 50) were analyzed for motive statements. In phase II, an online survey asked SOMB ma...

This project investigated the psychology of success among current and former Olympic athletes. Four themes were targeted: the impact of fan support, perceptions of the home field advantage, the importance of preevent rituals, and perceptions of attributes that lead to athletic success. Participants were 325 Olympic athletes from 13 countries who ha...

Wann and Polk (2007) found a positive relationship between identification with a local sport team and perceptions of the trustworthiness of others. Furthermore, Wann et al. (in press) found a negative correlation between team identification and perceptions of the trustworthiness of rival fans. The current pair of studies was designed to replicate W...

Because sport team identification plays an important role in facilitating higher levels of sport attendance and consumption (Wann et al., 2001), sport management and marketing professionals are often interested in determining variables that serve as antecedents of identification. Some authors have suggested that the need to belong may be one such v...

The current investigation examined the interrelationships among overall sport team identification, specific dimensions of team identification, and behavioral intentions. Using an antecedents approach to guide predictions (Dabholkar, Shepherd, & Thorpe, 2000), a model was tested in which overall identification would mediate the relationship between...

Wann and Polk (2007) found a positive relationship between identification with a local sport team and perceptions of the trustworthiness of others. Furthermore, Wann et al. (in press) also demonstrated that when fans were asked to evaluate the trustworthiness of fellow fans and rival fans that fellow fans were perceived to be more trustworthy than...

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 Identifi...

According to the Team Identification-Social Psychological Health Model (Wann, 2006b), team identification and social psychological health should be positively correlated because identification leads to important social connections which, in turn, facilitate well-being. Although past research substantiates the hypothesized positive relationship betw...

Previous work has consistently found positive relationships between levels of sport team identification and social psychological well-being. According to the Team Identification–Social Psychological Health Model, these effects result from the increased social connections fans generate through their interest in the team. The current pair of investig...

Previous research has found a positive relationship between sport team identification and social psychological health (e.g., Wann, Dimmock, and Grove, 2003; Wann, Inman, Ensor, Gates, and Caldwell, 1999). The current investigation examined the impact of fan dysfunction (i.e., a fan's tendency to complain and be confrontational) on the identificatio...

Consistent with the Team Identification - Social Psychological Health Model (Wann, 2006a), research indicates a positive relationship between identification with a local sport team and social psychological health. However, because fans often select the local team as their favorite (Jones, 1997), it remained possible that the findings were due to th...

Previous research found that highly identified fans report a willingness to engage in a variety of behaviors designed to assist their team, including instrumental aggression, illegal/unethical acts, and superstitious behaviors. The current investigation extended past research by investigating a willingness to engage in acts of desperation (e.g., gi...

The goal was to investigate a potential causal pattern between the motives of sport spectators and team identification by using a cross-lagged panel design. Questionnaires were completed by 229 participants at the beginning and end of one NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) college football season for 4 mo. in the USA. The questionnaire...

The present study examined the extent of measurement invariance of the Greek version of the Sport Spectator Identification Scale (SSIS-G: Theodorakis, Vlachopoulos, Wann, Afthinos, & Nassis, 2006), responses across two samples representing a target team and a preferred team focus point. Sample 1 comprised 443 university students who provided SSIS-G...

The aim of the present study was to explore the multidimensional nature of sport team identification. More specifically, the study tested the psychometric properties of the Team Identification Scale (TIS) among Greek sport fans using a crossvalidation approach. Following a thorough procedure, the TIS was initially translated and then validated usin...

Previous research has explored the relationship between identifying with a sport team and psychological health. The current study focused on team identification and social fear. For 75 college undergraduates, these two variables were not significantly correlated.

Team identification (the extent to which a fan feels psychologically connected to a team) plays a fundamental role in many fan behaviors. Consequently, the establishment of psychometrically sound instruments for assessing this variable is critical. One of the most successfully utilized measures of identification is the Sport Spectator Identificatio...

Previous research has indicated that some sport spectators display high levels of fan dysfunction. That is, they tend to complain often and be confrontational in sport settings. In the current study, the relationship between childhood bullying behaviors and adult fan dysfunction was investigated. It was hypothesized that having been a bully as a ch...

This study examined relationships among team identification, fan dysfunction, general sport fandom, and trait shame coping styles in a sample of college student sport fans (N = 287). A research question was posed regarding which of Nathanson's (1992) maladaptive shame copings styles (Withdrawal, Attack Self, Attack Other, and Avoidance) would be en...

According to the Team Identification - Social Psychological Health Model (Wann, 2006), team identification and social psychological health should be positively related because identification leads to social connections which, in turn, facilitate well-being. The current study extended past work in this area by investigating the team identification w...

A great loss for sport fans was the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) 2004-2005 season because of a lockout. We examined the coping strategies of 62 NHL fans who completed the Sport Spectator Identification Scale (SSIS), identified coping strategies and responded to items assessing positive and negative effects of the lockout. Highly...

Research indicates that sport team identification is a significant predictor of the perceptions of the appropriateness of aggression (Rocca & Vogl-Bauer, 1999). However, recent research by Wakefield and Wann (2006) on dysfunctional fans suggests that this variable may also be an important predictor. Participants (N = 158 undergraduates) completed a...

Consistent with the Team Identification—Social Psychological Health Model (Wann, 2006a), past research indicates college students’ levels of identification with university teams is positively correlated with social psychological health. The current investigation was designed to examine how attendance may impact this relationship. The sample contain...

Retroactive pessimism involves retrospectively lowering one's evaluations of a group's chances for success after a failed competition. Although past research has substantiated the existence of this strategy, investigators have yet to examine how level of group identification might impact the use of retroactive pessimism. Given that coping with grou...

The current investigation examined the state social psychological health (i.e., social life satisfaction and loneliness) of individuals while they attended a sporting event and while they were at their place of residence. Based on the Team Identification - Social Psychological Health Model (Wann, 2006), it was hypothesized that the participants (wh...

Although an empirical and theoretical examination of sport fans and spectators appear to be increasing, there is still limited information on cross cultural analyses of fandom. To partially fill this research void, the current investigation involved an examination of sport fandom in Greece. Specifically, four research questions were reviewed: 'To w...

While the benefits of identification with a sport team have been described (Wann, 2006a), the conditions under which fans will change or switch identification have not been investigated. The present study was designed to address this gap. Participants (154 college students) indicated how likely they were to engage in various acts following a basket...

The current investigation examined sport type differ-ences in eight fan motives: escape, economic (i.e., gam-bling), eustress (i.e., positive arousal), self-esteem, group affiliation, entertainment, family, and aesthetics. Participants (final sample N-886) completed a ques-tionnaire packet assessing their level of fandom and motivation for consumin...

Although an empirical and theoretical examination of sport fans and spectators appear to be increasing, there is still limited information on cross cultural analyses of fandom. To partially fill this research void, the current investigation involved an examination of sport fandom in Greece. Specifically, four research questions were reviewed: 'To w...

The current investigation examined the relationship between team identification and beliefs in the trustworthiness of others. Based on the Team Identification - Social Psychological Health Model (Wann, 2006), it was hypothesized that a positive relationship would emerge between these two variables. The hypothesis was tested by asking 127 university...