Opinion | Wednesday, 11th July 2018

World Cup 2018: Why does everyone go football-crazy when the World Cup is on?

Dr Tom Hostler, Lecturer in Psychology, discusses the impact of non-stop football coverage #AnatomyofaWorldCup

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Flag-covered local businesses make the World Cup hard to ignore. Heather R (CC BY-SA 2.0)

By Dr Tom Hostler, Lecturer in Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Football may be the national sport, but what is it about the FIFA World Cup that makes previously un-interested fans display such an enthusiasm, be it previously un-sporty colleagues, England kit-clad cousins, or flag-covered local businesses. Our emotions (both positive and negative) are a key influence.

The non-stop media coverage, as well as the plethora of England and World Cup tat at every possible outlet and football-branded food, drinks, and even washing powder mean that the event is difficult to ignore.

This inescapable coverage means that the social identities of being an “England fan” or a “Football fan” become much more salient.

Research has shown that humans are social creatures who have an innate need to want to connect with each other and belong, and so some people may take an interest for fear of missing out on the social currency of World Cup banter, or because of the expectation of the negative consequences (judgement or disapproval from others) of not joining in. Striving to portray favourable group behaviours (such as discussing England’s next game) helps to feel included and enhance group identity.

The non-stop media coverage, as well as the plethora of England and World Cup tat at every possible outlet and football-branded food, drinks, and even washing powder mean that the event is difficult to ignore.

There’s no doubt the media hype up the hedonic thrill of the competition as well –articles such as “Top 10 world cup goals!”, “The 10 best world cup games ever!” and “5 most SHOCKING red cards in World cup history!” lead people to expect drama, entertainment and aesthetic awe as a pay-off for their engagement. This encourages them to watch in the hope of experiencing these emotions - although, anyone who watched Switzerland 0 – 0 Ukraine at the World Cup 2006 would politely disagree.

When it does occur, the excitement– particularly of winning - helps to recruit more fans.

Studies have shown that when group members experience shared emotions such as happiness directed towards their own identity, this increases members’ identification with the group. Known in the psychological literature as “Basking in reflective glory”, football fans may also know it as “glory hunting”, but it is an undeniable phenomenon.

The key thing is that this relationship between group emotions and group identification works both ways: the more you identify with a group (for example, as an England fan), the stronger group emotions you feel, creating a reinforcing loop.

Despite their intensity, these heightened feelings of identification as a football fan are often short lived. People suffer from “affective adaption” - the tendency for any strong emotions to quickly return to a neutral position, and recent research has found that this applies to heightened feelings of social identity as well.

So even if you haven’t jumped on the World Cup bandwagon, don’t worry -  everyone will be back to normal in a couple of weeks (unless England win of course).

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