Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T10:02:29.005Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

More Than a Game: Football Fans and Marriage Equality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2016

Brian F. Harrison  and
Melissa R. Michelson
Brian F. Harrison
Affiliation:
Northwestern University
Melissa R. Michelson
Affiliation:
Menlo College
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Public opinion tends to be stable. Once formed, attitudes are persistent and endure over time at both the individual and the aggregate levels. Attitudes toward marriage equality, however, have changed rapidly in recent years. This article posits that this is partly due to people learning that other members of their in-groups are supporters; they then alter their own opinions to be consistent with those of other in-group members. The authors tested this theory using a set of randomized survey experiments that shared identities as fans of professional football. When fans learn—sometimes unexpectedly—that other fans or athletes are supporters of marriage equality, they are motivated to agree in order to further normalize their membership in those sports-fan groups.

Type
Articles
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 49 , Special Issue 4: Elections in Focus , October 2016 , pp. 782 - 787
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allport, Gordon. 1954. The Nature of Prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Banauch, Dawn Michelle. 2012. “Changing Same-Sex Marriage Attitudes in America from 1988 through 2010.” Public Opinion Quarterly 76: 364–78.Google Scholar
Bergan, Daniel E. 2012. “Partisan Stereotypes and Policy Attitudes.” Journal of Communication 62: 1102–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bettencourt, B. Ann, Manning, Mark, Molix, Lisa, Schlegel, Rebecca, Eidelman, Scott, and Biernat, Monica. 2016. “Explaining Extremity in Evaluation of Group Members: Meta-Analytic Tests of Three Theories.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 20 (1): 49–74.Google Scholar
Carsey, Thomas M. and Layman, Geoffrey C.. 2006. “Changing Sides or Changing Minds? Party Identification and Policy Preferences in the American Electorate.” American Journal of Political Science 50: 464–77.Google Scholar
Cottingham, Marci D. 2012. “Interaction Ritual Theory and Sports Fans: Emotion, Symbols, and Solidarity.” Sociology of Sport Journal 29: 168–85.Google Scholar
Gregory, Anne. 2004. “Rethinking Homophobia in Sports: Legal Protections for Gay and Lesbian Athletes and Coaches.” DePaul Journal of Sports Law & Contemporary Problems 2: 264–92.Google Scholar
Lau, Richard R. and Redlawsk, David P.. 2006. How Voters Decide: Information Processing in Election Campaigns. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lenz, Gabriel S. 2009. “Learning and Opinion Change, Not Priming: Reconsidering the Priming Hypothesis.” American Journal of Political Science 53: 821–37.Google Scholar
Petty, Richard E. and Cacioppo, John T.. 1986. “The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 19: 124–81.Google Scholar
Platow, Michael J., Durante, Maria, Williams, Naeidra, Garrett, Matthew, Walshe, Jarrod, Cincotta, Steven, Lianos, George, and Barutchu, Ayla. 1999. “The Contribution of Sport Fan Social Identity to the Production of Prosocial Behavior.” Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice 3 (2): 161–9.Google Scholar
Public Religion. 2014. Available at http://publicreligion.org/research/2014/02/2014-lgbt-survey/#.VV41p-dyoVM. Accessed on August 1, 2015.Google Scholar
Sherif, Carolyn W., Sherif, Muzafer, and Nebergall, Roger E.. 1965. Attitude and Attitude Change: The Social Judgment–Involvement Approach. Philadelphia: Saunders.Google Scholar
Taylor, Hudson. 2013. “When Fans Become Allies: What’s to Come After Super Bowl XLVII.” Huffington Post. Available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hudson-taylor/when-fans-become-allies-whats-to-come-after-super-bowl-xlvii_b_2554754.html. Accessed on My 26, 2016.Google Scholar
Voci, Alberto. 2006. “Relevance of Social Categories, Depersonalization and Group Processes: Two Field Studies of Self-Categorization Theory.” European Journal of Social Psychology 36: 73–90.Google Scholar
Wann, Daniel L. and Branscombe, Nyla R.. 1993. “Sport Fans: Measuring Degree of Identification with Their Team.” International Journal of Sport Psychology 24: 1–17.Google Scholar
Wann, Daniel L. and Branscombe, Nyla R.. 1995. “Influence of Identification with a Sports Team on Objective Knowledge and Subjective Beliefs.” International Journal of Sport Psychology 26: 551–67.Google Scholar
Wann, Daniel L. and Dolan, Thomas J.. 1994. “Spectators’ Evaluations of Rival and Fellow Fans.” Psychological Record 44: 351–8.Google Scholar
Wann, Daniel L. and Schrader, Michael P.. 1996. “An Analysis of the Stability of Sport Team Identification.” Perceptual & Motor Skills 82: 322.Google Scholar
Williams, Claire. 2007. “Sexual Orientation Harassment and Discrimination: Legal Protection for Student-Athletes.” Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport 17: 253–83.Google Scholar
Zaller, John. 1992. The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Harrison and Michelson supplementary material

Appendix

Download Harrison and Michelson supplementary material(File)
File 41.2 KB

A correction has been issued for this article:

Errata