ABSTRACT

Purpose

Evidence shows that the least successful clubs have the most committed fans – why? Here, we test the “shared-dysphoria-pathway-to-fusion” (SDPF) hypothesis that fans of the least successful clubs become irrevocably “fused” to their club and to each other, as a result of sharing self- and club-defining memories of past defeats.

Design

To assess the SDPF hypothesis, we calculated the most and least successful clubs from the UK’s top league, the Premier League, over a 10-year period. We then invited fans of these clubs to complete a survey (N = 752), comprising qualitative recollections of football events, quantitative survey measures of identity fusion and psychological kinship, and a trolley dilemma measuring willingness to sacrifice one’s self to save fellow supporters.

Findings

Our mediation model supported the SDPF hypothesis. Fans of Crystal Palace, Hull, Norwich, Sunderland, and West Bromwich Albion were more bonded and more willing to sacrifice themselves for other fans of their club than were fans of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester City. Across clubs, memories of past football defeats formed an essential part of fans’ self-concepts, thus fusing them to their club. Identity fusion in turn predicted a readiness to lay down one’s life to save fellow fans, and this relationship was statistically mediated by psychological kinship.

Practical implications

Understanding that shared suffering can lead to extreme bonding may help sports clubs and policy makers manage crowd behaviour. Clubs will benefit from tailoring brand management and fan retainment strategies to the SDPF hypothesis. In addition, these findings provide insight into the motivations of oppressed or persecuted groups, and such others fused through shared sufferings, helping us better understand and manage the psychological processes that can lead to extreme self-sacrifice.

Research contributions

This is the first study to show mediational support for the SDPF hypothesis in relation to football fandom. The psychological mechanism that may have once bonded embattled foraging groups in our ancestral past, now works in the modern world to unite soccer fans, among other kinds of groups, in their millions.

中文翻译：

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失败中的团结：球迷之间的共同痛苦和团结

摘要

目的

有证据表明，最不成功的俱乐部拥有最忠诚的球迷——为什么？在这里，我们检验了“共享焦虑症融合途径”(SDPF) 假设，即最不成功俱乐部的球迷由于分享自我和俱乐部-定义过去失败的记忆。

设计

为了评估 SDPF 假设，我们计算了 10 年期间英国顶级联赛英超联赛中最成功和最不成功的俱乐部。然后，我们邀请这些俱乐部的球迷完成一项调查（N  = 752），包括对足球事件的定性回忆、身份融合和心理亲属关系的定量调查措施，以及衡量牺牲自己拯救其他支持者意愿的电车困境。

发现

我们的中介模型支持 SDPF 假设。与曼联、阿森纳、切尔西、利物浦或曼城的球迷相比，水晶宫、赫尔城、诺维奇、桑德兰和西布罗姆维奇的球迷更加团结，也更愿意为俱乐部的其他球迷牺牲自己。在各个俱乐部中，对过去足球失利的记忆构成了球迷自我概念的重要组成部分，从而将他们融入了俱乐部。身份融合反过来预示着愿意牺牲自己的生命来拯救其他粉丝，而这种关系在统计上是由心理亲属关系调节的。

实际影响

了解共同的痛苦会导致极端的联系可能有助于体育俱乐部和政策制定者管理人群行为。俱乐部将受益于根据 SDPF 假设量身定制品牌管理和球迷保留策略。此外，这些发现提供了对受压迫或受迫害群体的动机的洞察，以及其他因共同的苦难而融合在一起的人，帮助我们更好地理解和管理可能导致极端自我牺牲的心理过程。

研究贡献

这是第一项显示 SDPF 假说与足球迷相关的中介支持的研究。在我们祖先的过去，可能曾经将四面楚歌的觅食群体联系在一起的心理机制，现在在现代世界发挥作用，将数以百万计的足球迷和其他类型的群体团结起来。