Sport Scale Essay Example for Free

Sport Scale Essay ABSTRACT The primary purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to assess sport fan motivation. Also, the new measure was employed to examine the relationship between sport fan motivation and ethnic identity. One hundred sixty nine college students from two southeastern institutions participated in this study. Data were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Bivariate correlation, t test, ANOVA, and descriptive statistics. The Fan Motivation Scale (FMS), developed in this study, consisted of six components with 22 items. The number of items under every component range from 5 to 2 items (quality of the game 4 items, escape 5 items, boredom avoidance 5 items, social 3 items, entertainment 3 items, and sport atmosphere 2 items). In addition, two hypotheses were tested in the current study. The first hypothesis was that ethnic identity is positively related to sport fan motivation. The second hypothesis assumed that there was a difference between African Americans and European Americans in their ethnic identity. The results revealed the FMS is a reliable measure with an overall alpha score of 0. 90. Significant differences were found between participants in the total FMS and some of the subscales based on gender and ethnicity. However, the outcomes of the samples examined in this study do not support the first hypothesis. Therefore, no significant relationship was found between sport fan motivation and ethnic identity. Regarding the second hypothesis, a significant difference was found between African Americans and European Americans in their ethnic identity. vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Sports have become an increasingly important part of our society. Sports fans represent a significant percentage of sport consumers, because 70 percent or more of Americans watch, read, or discuss sports at least once a day (Iso-Ahola Hatfield, 1986). From 1985 to 1998, attendance has significantly increased at the four major sports in the United States. Major League Baseball (MLB) had the largest increase in the number of people attending games (24. 2 million, a 50% increase), followed by professional basketball (10. 3 million, a 89% increase), professional football (5. 7 million, a 40% increase), and professional hockey (5. 6 million, a 49% increase). The number of people attending college sporting events has also increased during this time period (U. S. Census Bureau, 2000). Additionally, more television programming time is being devoted to sporting events. The ESPN was the fifth highest ranked television network in 2000, in terms of revenue, it was estimated to be $2. 1 billion (McAvoy, 2000). With the increase of interest in sports has become an increased interest of sports fans as consumers. Sport teams and companies are very interested in attracting as many consumers as possible to purchase game tickets or products. Therefore, sport marketers should acknowledge the factors that drive fans to follow sport by attending, watching on television, or purchasing products. However, understanding the notion of sports fans is not simple because their attitudes and behaviors are not determined by a single motive or factor but rather occur for a variety of reasons (Mashiach, 1980). Statement of the Problem There has been a growing interest in the study of sport fan motivations in recent years to better understand fan behaviors (Bilyeu Wann, 2002; Funk, Mahony, Nakazawa, Hirakawa, 2001; Funk, Mahony Ridinger, 2002; Funk, Ridinger, Moorman, 2003; Gantz, 1981; Kahle, Kambara, Rose, 1996; Lee, 2002; Mahony, Nakazawa, Funk, James, Gladden, 2002; Pease Zhang, 2001; Trail James, 2001; Wann, 1995; Wann, Bilyeu, Brennan, Osborn Gambouras, 1999; Wann, Brewer, 1 Royalty, 1999; Wann, Schrader Wilson, 1999). Some of these studies have introduced measures of different consumption motives of sport fans. In addition, researchers have examined the relationship between fan motivation and other variables such as team identification, involvement, gender, and race. The measures used in previous studies to assess fan motivations vary in length and number of components. However, some of the components are used in all or most scales such as the entertainment component, the family component, and the friends component. They also share very similar items with regard to similar components. Items used in most previous scales often begin with the words â€Å"I like†, â€Å"I enjoy†, or â€Å"I feel† which raises a validity issue for the measures because the aforementioned words represent satisfaction and attitude rather than motivation. Fan satisfaction relates to the happiness and pleasure associated with the outcome of a sporting event while fan attitude represents the opinion and feelings an individual has about a sport team or sporting event. On the other hand, sport fan motivation refers to the reasons that drive individuals to support sport teams, be loyal to them, buy team/sport related products, watch and attend sporting events. The Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to assess sport fan motives. Also, the new measure was utilized to examine the relationship between fan motivation and ethnic identity. The Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework of this study includes the discussion of two concepts. First, the Fan Motivation Scale and its content will be introduced. Second, the notion of ethnic identity and why it should be correlated with sport fan motivation will be presented. The prior research (Wann, 1995; Funk, Mahony, Nakazawa, Hirakawa, 2001; Bilyeu Wann, 2002) identified various motives that could drive fans to attend sporting events. Some of these motives are related to personal needs (entertainment and financial 2 gain), social needs (bonding with family and group affiliation), and psychological needs (self-esteem and achievement). In attempt to measure the motives of sport fans, the researchers introduced different scales. These scales comprised different number of motives ranging from 7 motives with 16 items to 18 motives with 54 items. The length of some of the scales was not the only problem. The major concern for previous scales is in the content validity, the extent to which items used in the scale accurately represent fan motives. In fact, all previous scales included items that are more related to attitude and satisfaction then motivation. The reason for this problem is the lack of clear definition of sport fan motivation. The current study is going to view sport fan motivation as the reasons that drive individuals to support sport teams, be loyal to them, purchase team/sport related products, watch and attend sporting events. In addition, this study will employ a review of related literature and the prior effort made on fan motivation scales to develop valid and reliable measures of sport fan motivation. The proposed Fan Motivation Scale (FMS) will measure six motives: social, entertainment, escape, aesthetic, psychological, and amotivation. The social motive assesses the extent to which individuals participate in sporting events as spectators because they desire to spend time with their families (Gantz, 1981; Wann, 1995). Also, to some individuals, group affiliation is an important motivation of being a sport fan. Sport spectating provides a fan with opportunities to share time with others who enjoy the same activities. A fan may want to keep contact with a group of fans and seek refuge from a feeling of alienation (Branscombe Wann, 1991; Smith, 1988; Wann, 1995). The entertainment motive includes items that represent the desire of some individuals to have a good time and enjoy the excitement associated with sporting events. Some fans might enjoy a sport because of its entertainment value. Sport spectating provides fans with leisure pastime activities similar to watching movies or television. One advantage of sport spectating is that few special skills, if any, are required (Zillmann, Bryant Sapolsky, 1989; Wann, 1995). The escape motive of sport fans assesses the desire of sport fans to escape or diverge from their everyday lives. Attending a sporting event gives many people an 3 opportunity to temporarily forget about their troubling, dissatisfying, or boring lives (Smith, 1988; Lever Wheeler, 1984; Wann, Schrader Wilson, 1999). The aesthetic motive of sport fans appeals to those that are motivated by the aesthetic value of the sport. Some fans enjoy sports because of the competition between highly skilled athletes. The beauty, grace, and other artistic characteristics make some people enjoy sporting events (Milne McDonald, 1999; Wann, 1995). The psychological motive is a factor that motivates sports fans and gives them a feeling of accomplishment and achievement when the fans’ favorite team or player is successful. Sports fans tend to associate themselves with a successful team or player in order to create and sustain a positive self-concept (Branscombe Wann, 1991; Milne McDonald, 1999; Sloan, 1989). Amotivation refers to the state of lacking an intention to act. When amotivated, individual’s action lacks intentionality and a sense of personal causation (Ryan Deci, 2000). Amotivation results from not valuing an activity (Ryan, 1995), not feeling competent to do it (Deci, 1975), or not believing it will yield a desired outcome (Seligman, 1975). Some individuals might go to sport events and watch sport games because they have nothing else to do, bored, and want to kill time. These types of reasons had been neglected in previous studies of sport fan motivation. As mentioned earlier, prior research has examined the relationship between fan motivations and other variables such as sport involvement, team identification, and some demographic factors of selected sport fans. However, the ethnic identity of sport fans has been ignored in the literature. It might be assumed by some researchers that the race factor is enough representation of an individual’s ethnic background. It is, however, only part of the concept. Ethnic identity is defined as â€Å"a process of coming to terms with one’s ethnic-racial membership group as a salient reference group† (Smith, 1991, p. 182). Smith (1991) defined an ethnic group as â€Å"a reference group called upon by people who share a common history and culture† (p. 181). According to Gordon (1985), culture influences our social standards, values, cognitions, social perceptions, attributions, feelings, and sources of motivation. Individuals develop their ethnic identity through their social interaction with others. Through their interactions they begin to view themselves as others view them 4 (Stryker, 1980). Ethnic identity is viewed as part of social identity and it was defined by Tajfel (1981) as â€Å"that part of an individual’s self-concept which derives from his knowledge of his membership of a social group (or groups) together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership† (p.255). An ethnic group is composed of a number of individuals who share a sense of group identity based on their unique culture, which include values, morals, and various customs, as well as shared origins. In the larger society, ethnic groups tend to maintain a sense of peoplehood (Dublin, 1996; Kornblum Janowitz, 1974; Portes, 1996). Forty years ago, Tumin (1964) defined an ethnic group as â€Å"a social group which, within a large cultural and social system, claims or is accorded special status in terms of complexity of traits which it exhibits or is believed to exhibit† (p.123). Distinguishing between ethnic groups is not always simple. Some ethnic minorities, such as African Americans, may have obvious physical differences that set them apart from other ethnic groups within the United States, but many biracial individuals present an ambiguity because they belong to two or more ethnic groups, which makes ethnicity a subjective construct (Root, 1992). Studying ethnic identity is very important because it is the foundation for what an individual believes about himself or herself. Given the significance of ethnic identity, many researchers have been studying this construct. Phinney (1990) reviewed 70 studies of ethnic identity published between 1972 and 1990. She found that most of the studies have used one of three theoretical frameworks to examine ethnic identity. The first framework is the social identity theory which ethnic identity is considered a component of social identity. Social theory refers to the need for an individual to be a member of a group that provides him or her with a sense of belonging that contributes to a positive self-concept. The second framework is the acculturation prospective. The concept of acculturation refers to changes in the cultural attitudes, value, and behaviors that result from interactions between two distinct cultures (Berry, Trimble, Olmedo, 1986). These kinds of changes are normally the concern of a group of individuals, and how it relates to the dominant or host society. Ethnic identity can be an aspect of acculturation in which the focus is on the individuals and how they relate to their own group as a subgroup of the larger society (Phinney, 1990). The third framework is developmental framework, where ethnic identity is viewed as a process by which people construct their ethnicity. 5 Erikson (1968) indicated that identity is the outcome of a period of exploration and experimentation that normally takes place during adolescence and leads to a decision of commitment in various areas, such as occupation, and religion. This view of ethnic identity suggests age as a factor is strongly related to developing one’s ethnic identity (Phinney, 1990). Phinney (1990) mentioned that most studies have focused on certain components of ethnic identity. These components include self-identification as a group member, a sense of belonging to the group, attitudes about one’s group membership, and ethnic involvement (social participation, cultural practices and attitudes). Self-identification represents the ethnic label that one uses for oneself. The ability of children to label themselves with the right ethnic group was the addressed in a study by Aboud (187). Another issue was the relationship between incorrect labeling and poor self-concept (Cross, 1978). Adults are expected to know their ethnicity but the issue is what label one chooses to use for himself or herself. However, some ethnic groups have a little choice in what ethnic title they can use for themselves often because of their distinctive skin color or culture (language, dresses, customs, etc. ) which distinguishes them from other groups. Additionally, some individuals have two or more ethnic backgrounds and they identify themselves as members of more than one group. Ethnic self-identification is an important but complex component of ethnic identity (Phinney, 1990). The feeling of belonging to one’s own group is an important element of ethnic identity. Some researchers have tried to assess the sense of belonging by either asking people how strong was their relationship with their groups or how separate they feel from other groups (Driedger, 1976). Members of every ethnic group can have positive or negative attitudes toward their own group. Some of the positive attitudes related were pride in and pleasure, satisfaction, and contentment with one’s group (Phinney, 1990). Negative attitudes include dissatisfaction, displeasure, discontentment, and a desire to hide ones identity (Driedger, 1976). People who display no positive attitudes or express negative attitudes can be seen as denying their ethnic identity (Phinney, 1990). In addition, the involvement in the social life and cultural practices of one’s ethnic group is considered a strong indicator of one’s ethnic identity. The social and cultural practices 6 that represent the involvement component include language, friendship, social organizations, religion, cultural traditions, and politics (Phinney, 1990). Phinney (1992) developed the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) with the purpose of assessing ethnic identity among various ethnic groups. The scale was designed to measure three components of ethnic identity: affirmation and belonging, ethnic identity achievement, and ethnic behaviors. Roberts, Phinney, Masse, Chen, Roberts, and Romero (1999) examined the validity of the MEIM and conducted factor analysis with a large sample. The outcomes suggest that the scale measures two components of ethnic identity: ethnic identity search and affirmation, belonging, and commitment. Ethnic identity search refers to a developmental and cognitive component. Affirmation, belonging, and commitment represent the affective component. However, the scale has been proven to be a valid and reliable measurement and it will be used in the context of this study. More discussion of the scale is provided in the method section. Researchers have indicated that positive relationships do exist between ethnic identity and self-esteem, self-concept, psychological well-being, achievement, and satisfaction (Phinney, 1992; Roberts et al. , 1999; Delworth, 1989). However, it is the purpose of this study to examine the relationship between ethnic identity and motivations of sport fans. According to Phinney (1990) some.