Perceptions of Sport Fans: An Exploratory Investigation Based on Aggressive and Cheating Propensities

Abstract

This exploratory investigation examined female non sport fans’ (NSFs) impressions of male and female sport fans (SFs) who were supporting either a male or female sextyped sport. Based on the basic tenets of contemporary models of person perception (Bodenhausen et al., 2007; Brewer, 1988; Devine, 1989; Fiske & Neuberg, 1990), we predicted that processes of stereotyping would take place amongst our sample of female NSFs so that masculine elements (i.e., gender and sex‐typing) would foster negative perceptions of SFs, whereas feminine elements would yield positive perceptions. To this end, 176 female students (Mage = 20.31 years) completed scales assessing their perceptions of a sport fan described in one of four hypothetical scenarios (i.e., female SF supporting a female or male sport and male SF supporting a male or female sport). As expected, the results of a MANOVA indicated that female SFs supporting a female sport were perceived more positively (i.e., as less likely to engage in deviant behaviors such as aggression and cheating). In addition, participants identified themselves more strongly with female SFs supporting a female sport than with SFs of the other three groups. These findings are discussed in terms of the literature on sports stereotypes and literature on the media.