Date of Award

5-2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Scott Allison

Second Advisor

Dr. Dafna Eylon

Third Advisor

Dr. Catherine Bagwell

Abstract

While people tend to root unabashedly for underdogs in the domain of athletics, underdogs do not generally receive the same tremendous support in matters of business. This may occur for a variety of reasons, but of particular interest is the fact that an individual's perception of a situation as both self-relevant and of high consequences may prove detrimental to his or her willingness to support an underdog. Two studies were conducted to explore these hypotheses. Study 1 (N=48) required participants to read a brief scenario depicting a situation of varied self-relevance and consequences, and then select a company to complete the task described in the scenario. Study 2 (N=45) sought to obtain a behavioral measure of rooting for the underdog. Study 1 demonstrated clear support for consequences hypothesis, while Study 2 showed both consequences and self-relevance as being powerful influences on individuals' willingness to root for an underdog.

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS