Spectator emotions in predicting psychological vigor: emotional meta experience and affect valuation perspectives

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigated the causal influence that game situations-dependent spectator emotions exert on psychological vigor. Four distinctive game situations that evoked four types of spectators’ emotional states – happiness, sadness, anger, and fear – were identified. Virtual reality technology was utilized to replicate sport spectators’ emotional experiences. The results of the laboratory experiments revealed that states of vigor generally corresponded to the winner-loser effect, wherein victories (or losses) are associated with positive (or negative) emotions. Notably, the close victories condition exerted emotional ambivalence, resulting in mixed outcomes on vigor. Moreover, anger evoked through close losses had a positive impact on vigor. This study advances current understandings of sport fans’ emotional ambivalence and negative affect valuation tendencies. The findings provide significant implications for strategies through which marketers, stakeholders, and health managers can facilitate consumer well-being via sport spectatorship.