Factors believed to be motivations responsible for sport fandom include eustress, self-esteem, escape, entertainment, economic, aesthetic, group affiliation, and family needs. However, these factors have been untested empirically, and a valid and reliable measure of sport fan motivation has been unavailable to researchers. The current two studies were an attempt to develop such a measure. The construction and validation of a 23-item Likert-scale measure, the Sport Fan Motivation Scale, are described. Discussion centers on possible uses for the instrument.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bentler, P. M.
(1989). EQS: Structural equations program manual. Los Angeles: BMDP Statistical Software.
2.
Branscombe, N. R.
, & Wann, D. L. (1991). The positive social and self concept consequences of sports team identification. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 15, 115-127.
3.
Branscombe, N. R.
, & Wann, D. L. (1992). Role of identification with a group, arousal, categorization processes, and self-esteem in sport spectator aggression. Human Relations, 45, 1013-1033.
4.
Branscombe, N. R.
, & Wann, D. L. (1994). Sport psychology. In Magill's survey of social sciences: Psychology (pp. 263-268). Pasadena, CA: Salem.
5.
Chorbajian, L.
(1978). The social psychology of American males and spectator sports. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 9, 165-175.
6.
Cialdini, R. B.
, Borden, R. J., Thorne, A., Walker, M. R., Freeman, S., & Sloan, L. R. (1976). Basking in reflected glory: Three (football) field studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 366-375.
7.
Comrey, A. L.
(1973). A first course in factor analysis. New York: Academic.
8.
Duncan, M. C.
(1983). The symbolic dimensions of spectator sport. Quest, 35, 29-36.
9.
Elias, N.
, & Dunning, E. (1970). The quest for excitement in unexciting societies. In G. Luschen (Ed.), The cross-cultural analysis of sport and games (pp. 31-51). Champaign, IL: Stipes.
10.
Gantz, W.
(1981). An exploration of viewing motives and behaviors associated with television sports. Journal of Broadcasting, 25, 263-275.
11.
Gauvin, L.
, & Russell, S. J. (1993). Sport-specific and culturally adapted measures in sport and exercise psychology research: Issues and strategies. In R. N. Singer, M. Murphy, & L. K. Tennant (Eds.), Handbook of research on sport psychology (pp. 891-900). New York: Macmillan.
12.
Glass, G. V.
, & Hopkins, K. D. (1984). Statistical methods in education and psychology (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
13.
Guttmann, A.
(1986). Sports spectators. New York: Columbia University Press.
14.
Hastrof, A. H.
, & Cantril, H. (1954). They saw a game: A case study. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 49, 129-134.
15.
Mann, L.
(1974). On being a sore loser: How fans react to their team's failure. Australian Journal of Psychology, 26, 37-47.
16.
McPherson, B.
(1975). Sport consumption and the economics of consumerism. In D. W. Ball & J. W. Loy (Eds.), Sport and social order: Contributions to the sociology of sport (pp. 243-275). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
17.
Ostrow, A. C.
(1990). Directory of psychological tests in the sport and exercise sciences. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.
18.
Schutz, R. W.
, & Gessaroli, M. E. (1993). Use, misuse and disuse of psychometrics in sport psychology research. In R. N. Singer, M. Murphy, & L. K. Tennant (Eds.), Handbook of research on sport psychology (pp. 901-917). New York: Macmillan.
19.
Simons, Y.
, & Taylor, J. (1992). A psychosocial model of fan violence. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 23, 207-226.
20.
Sloan, L. R.
(1989). The motives of sports fans. In J. H. Goldstein (Ed.), Sports, games, and play: Social and psychological viewpoints (2nd ed., pp. 175-240). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
21.
Smith, G. J.
(1988). The noble sport fans. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 12, 54-65.
22.
Stone, G. P.
(1971). Wrestling—The great American passion play. In E. Dunning (Ed.), Sport: Readings from a sociological perspective (pp. 301-335). Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
23.
Tabachnick, B. G.
, & Fidell, L. S. (1989). Using multivariate statistics (2nd ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
24.
Thomas, R. M.
(1986, June 4). 7 of 10 in survey say they're fans. The New York Times, p. B9.
25.
Wann, D. L.
, & Branscombe, N. R. (1993). Sports fans: Measuring degree of identification with their team. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 24, 1-17.
26.
Wann, D. L.
, & Dolan, T. J. (1994a). Influence of spectators' identification on evaluation of past, present, and future performance of a sports team. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 78, 547-552.
27.
Wann, D. L.
, & Dolan, T. J. (1994b). Attributions of highly identified sports spectators. Journal of Social Psychology, 134, 783-792.
28.
Wann, D. L.
, & Hamlet, M. A. (1995). Author and subject gender in sports research. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 26, 225-232.
29.
Wenner, L. A.
, & Gantz, W. (1989). The audience experience with sports on television. In L. A. Wenner (Ed.), Media, sports, & society (pp. 241-269). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
30.
Zillmann, D.
, Bryant, J., & Sapolsky, B. S. (1989). Enjoyment from sports spectatorship. In J. H. Goldstein (Ed.), Sports, games, and play: Social and psychological viewpoints (2nd ed., pp. 241-278). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
31.
Zuckerman, M.
(1979). Sensation seeking: Beyond the optimal level of arousal. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
