Regular article
Football games: Victory, defeat, and spectators' power preferences

https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(83)90061-2Get rights and content

Abstract

A conceptual distinction between two types of experienced power was proposed, and an experimental-field study examined its relevance to participation in vicarious power-related activities. After two college football games, spectators could volunteer for an experiment in which they would “work in the role of experimenter.” Respondents chose an image-of-power position soon after home-team defeat and an actual-power position soon after home-team victory, this difference between choices dissipating with time. The results suggest that the experience of vicarious success or failure at power-related activities influences people's subsequent preferences between the appearance of power and the actual use of power.

References (12)

  • J.D. Barber

    The lawmakers

    (1965)
  • J.D. Barber

    The presidential character: Predicting performance in the White House

    (1972)
  • R.B. Cialdini et al.

    Basking in reflected glory: Three (football) field studies

    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

    (1976)
  • J. Cohen et al.

    Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences

    (1975)
  • A.M. Isen et al.

    Affect, accessibility of material in memory, and behavior: A cognitive loop?

    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

    (1978)
  • A.M. Isen et al.

    Duration of the effect of good mood on helping: “Footprints on the sands of time”

    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

    (1976)
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (6)

This research was supported by NIGMS Training Grant in Social and Personality Psychology GM-01941.

View full text