Refining the relationship between ingroup identification and identity management strategies in the sport context: The moderating role of gender and the mediating role of negative mood

Abstract

The aim of this exploratory research was to refine the relationship between ingroup identification and three classical identity-management strategies: individual mobility, social competition and social creativity. More specifically, in the particular context of sport spectators' reactions to their team loss, we tested the moderating role of gender in differentiating the use of CORFing (distancing) strategy and the mediating role of negative mood in differentiating the use of social competition and social creativity strategies. To this end, 173 French physical education students were asked to watch an edited video clip about a defeat of the French national rugby union team. As expected, and consistent with past research, results first showed that the amount of team identification is a reliable determinant of the participants' choice of an identity management strategy. Highly identified spectators were more associated with engaging themselves in ingroup-protective behaviors (i.e., blasting and boosting) than spectators low in team identification who, in contrast, privileged distancing strategies (i.e., CORFing). Moreover, results revealed that participant's gender moderates the link between ingroup identification and CORFing strategy, and that negative mood mediates the ingroup identification—blasting strategy relationship. Theoretical implications of these moderating and mediating effects are then discusse

‘I was there from the start’: The identity-maintenance strategies used by fans to combat the threat of losing

“…This belief enabled respondents to maintain a positive team identity by legitimising and enhancing their status in the group (Wann & Branscombe, 1990). Our findings[ 1 0 _ T D $ D I F F ] build on previous quantitative work that revealed a statistical correlation between identification and future performance expectations of a recently defeated rugby team (Bernache-Assollant et al, 2010). We contribute qualitative insights, which indicate that supporters make sense of their team identification using current and future frames of reference.…”

“…Ken's and Justine's statements outline a use of social creativity in preserving in-group status by boosting the team's future prospects immediately after poor performances, supporting existing work (e.g., Bernache-Assollant et al, 2010).…”

Towards a Clearer Understanding of Social Identity Theory’s Self-Esteem Hypothesis

“…This work shows that when the in-group is not able to fulfi l the group members' need for positive collective self-esteem, group members who do not feel a strong attachment with their group (i.e. low group identifi cation) tend to leave the group (Bernache-Assollant, Laurin, Bouchet, Bodet, & Lacassagne, 2010 ;Cadinu & Cerchioni, 2001 ;Ellemers, Spears, & Doosje, 1997 ;Jetten, Iyer, Tsivrikos, & Young, 2008 ). For example, Ellemers et al ( 1997 , Study 1) indicated that threatened low identifi ers more strongly desired individual mobility compared to high identifi ers, independent of the permeability of the group boundaries.…”

Fans' Reactions to their Team Victories: An Exploratory Look at the COFFING Process in Elite Sport Fandom

“…Results revealed that female fans tended to be more highly identified than male fans [Ms = 6.39 vs 5.85 for women and men, respectively; F(1, 92) = 2.86, p = .094, η p ² = .03]. Consequently, and because past research suggests that gender constitutes a salient basis for categorization in the sport spectatorship context (see e.g., Bernache-Assollant, Laurin, Bouchet, Bodet, & Lacassagne, 2010), further analyses included gender as a grouping variable.…”