I’m One of the Good Ones
An Investigation into Dysfunctional Fandom, the Dark Triad, Perspective Taking, and Restrictive Emotionality
Keywords:
Dysfunctional fandom, Fandom, Sport fandom, SportAbstract
Sport fandom has been associated with greater social psychological health, increased life structure, and the satisfaction of the needs for belonging and distinctiveness. However, sport fandom is also linked to interpersonal violence, aggressive tendencies, and overconsumption of alcohol. These negative outcomes often occur in tandem with higher levels of dysfunctional fandom, or sport identification and spectatorship with an emphasis on toxic and aggressive fan culture. In the current paper, a trio of studies are utilized to investigate the association between dysfunctional fandom and Dark Triad traits (study one), perspective taking (study two), and restrictive emotionality (study three) to build upon past research and provide greater clarity regarding the nature of the construct.
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