What did we do?

• We conducted three studies with a total of 904 basketball fans and current/former players.

• In each study, participants read scenarios about athletes who had achieved important milestones in their sport. Some participants read that the athletes had been reminiscing about the milestone successes in the lead up to a next competition.

What did we find?

• Participants who read that the athletes had been reminiscing about the milestone successes predicted that the athletes would perform worse in a subsequent competition compared to participants who did not learn about the athletes' reminiscing behaviour.

• Follow-up analyses showed that participants believed reminiscing hurts future performance because it indicates that athletes are less prepared for future competition and less committed toward future goals.

Why is this important?

• As in our previous research, these results show that people believe that too much savouring of milestone successes is detrimental to future performance. They also help us understand why people may have this belief.

Want to learn more?

• We are currently preparing these results for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

What did we do?

• We conducted one study with 125 basketball fans.

• Fans read a scenario about a basketball team that had just won an important competition. They then reported how long they believed the team should savour the win over the next 7 days prior to a next competition.

What did we find?

• On average, fans reported that savouring the win for about 2 days would help the team's performance in the next competition, but that savouring for about 5 days would hurt the team's performance in the next competition.

Why is this important?

• These results show that people believe that too much savouring of milestone successes is detrimental to future performance. This may be one explanation for why athletes often do not savour milestones successes in sport.

Want to learn more?

• We are currently preparing these results for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

What did we do?

• We conducted two studies involving 721 sports fans.

• Fans completed online surveys measuring team identification and social connections stemming from team fandom.

What did we find?

• Highly identifying with a favourite sports team was associated with more feelings of social connectedness, which was associated with a greater satisfaction with social life.

• The relationship between team identification and social connectedness was not moderated by whether or not a team was a local team.

Why is this important?

• These results show the social benefits of being a highly identified sports fan and that these benefits are not limited to fans of local teams - even fans of teams based in faraway locations can feel connected to others due to their fandom.

Want to learn more?

• This study was published in Journal of Sport Management. You can read the published version here, and a freely accessible pre-print version can be read here.

What did we do?

• We recruited 395 university students to complete online surveys about apologizing behaviour.

• The surveys asked participants to read a hypothetical scenario describing an interpersonal transgression, and to report how (and if) they would apologize.

What did we find?

• We found that harmonious passion predicted a higher likelihood of apologizing while obsessive passion predicted a lower likelihood of apologizing.

• Harmonious passion was associated with endorsing a more comprehensive apology while obsessive passion was associated with endorsing a more defensive apology.

Why is this important?

• These results help us understand how and when harmonious and obsessive passion impact our relationships and apologizing behaviours.

Want to learn more?

• This study was published in Cogent Psychology. The published version (open-access) is available here.

What did we do?

• Across three studies, we recruited a total of 911 participants who completed online surveys.

• The surveys asked participants to report ideal levels of obsessive passion to maximize performance in different work-related scenarios. 

What did we find?

• Participants believed that employees with high obsessive passion were more likely to succeed in workplaces with bottom-line mentalities.

Why is this important?

• These results mean that people’s lay beliefs about passion may be promoting and sustaining obsessive passion in bottom-line focused workplaces.

Want to learn more?

• This study was published in Personality and Individual Differences. The published version is available here, and a freely accessible pre-print version is available here.

What did we do?

• In December 2022, we recruited 176 combat sport athletes to complete an online survey.

• The survey asked questions about self-compassion and how likely the athletes would be to comply with certain concussion recovery protocols.

What did we find?

• We found that combat sport athletes with higher levels of self-compassion were more likely to report that they would comply with concussion recovery protocols.

Why is this important?

• These results show that self-compassion can play a key role in an athlete’s recovery after a concussion. They will help guide coaches and medical staff as they support athletes recovering from concussions. 

What did we do?

• In May 2021, we recruited 244 fans of Chelsea F.C. immediately after Chelsea had won the prestigious UEFA Champions League.

• Fans answered questions about their levels of self-compassion and reactions to the Champions League victory.

What did we find?

• A key finding was that fans who were highly self-compassionate (i.e., they are kind and understanding to themselves when facing difficulties) reported responding to the Champions League victory by engaging in savouring (i.e., attempting to maintain, enhance, or prolong positive emotions). 

Why is this important?

• This finding is important because self-compassion is thought of as a resources that helps people cope with difficulties.  This study showed that self-compassion can also impact how people respond to positive experiences. 

Want to learn more?

• This study was published in Personality and Individual Differences. The published version is available here, and a freely accessible pre-print version is available here.

What did we do?

• In March 2020, we recruited 395 National Basketball Association (NBA) fans to complete surveys during a time when the NBA season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Fans answered questions about their passion, fan motives, and their attitudes and responses toward the suspension.

What did we find?

• The way fans responded and felt about the suspension were related to their passion and motives for being a fan.

• Specifically, fans who reported higher levels of obsessive passion for being an NBA fan reported greater levels of distress during the season suspension, were less supportive of the decision to suspend the NBA season, and reported more negative attitudes toward the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Why is this important?

• These results demonstrate how levels of obsessive passion toward an activity (e.g., being an NBA fan) can spill over into other life domains, including feelings about a global health crisis.

Want to learn more?

• This study was published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise. The published version is available here, and a freely accessible pre-print version is available here.

What did we do?

• We asked 334 Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans to complete an online survey several days after the Bombers won the Grey Cup championship game in 2020.

  • Fans answered questions that asked about their passion for being a Bombers fan and how they reacted immediately after the Grey Cup victory.

What did we find?

• We found that the way fans responded to the Grey Cup victory depended on their levels of harmonious and obsessive passion for being a Bombers fan.

  • • Fans with high levels of harmonious passion reported that they savoured the victory by trying to maintain or enhance their positive emotional experiences.

    • On the other hand, fans with high levels of obsessive passion reported that they not only savoured the victory, but also dampened their positive emotions and tried to keep their positive feelings from getting out of hand.

Why is this important?

• These results show that when passionate fans experience positive events such as a championship victory, their reactions are related to their levels of harmonious and obsessive passion.

Want to learn more?

• This study was published in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology. The published version is available here, and a freely accessible pre-print version is available here.

What did we do?

• We administered a survey to 57 Winnipeg Jets fans prior to the first round of the 2019 NHL playoffs, as well as surveys the day after each Jets Round 1 playoff game against the St. Louis Blues. 

• Each survey asked questions about fan passion and post-game emotions, perceptions, and experiences.

What did we find?

• We found that fan emotions the day after a game were directly linked with the outcome of the playoff game. Specifically, fans felt more positive feelings the day after a win, but more negative feelings the day after a loss.

• We also found that the impact of team performance on fan feelings was amplified for fans with high levels of obsessive passion.

Why is this important?

• These findings show that the highs and lows of sport are higher and lower for fans with elevated levels of obsessive passion.

Want to learn more?

• This study was published in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology. The published version is available here, and a freely accessible pre-print version is available here.