Neural correlates of fanhood: the role of fan identity and team brand strength

Ricardo Cayolla; Rui Biscaia; Roy F Baumeister; Hang-Yee Chan; Isabel C Duarte; Miguel Castelo-Branco

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2023.1235139

Neural correlates of fanhood: the role of fan identity and team brand strength

Front Hum Neurosci. 2024 Jan 8:17:1235139. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1235139. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Ricardo Cayolla¹, Rui Biscaia², Roy F Baumeister³, Hang-Yee Chan⁴, Isabel C Duarte⁵, Miguel Castelo-Branco⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Economics and Management, Consumer Neuroscience Lab, REMIT, Portucalense University, Porto, Portugal.
² Department for Health, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.
³ School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD, Australia.
⁴ Kings College London, London, United Kingdom.
⁵ Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.

Abstract

Introduction: We analyzed the importance of fan identity and brand strength on fans' neural reactions to different team-related stimuli.

Methods: A total of 53 fMRI scans with fans of two professional sport teams were conducted. Following up on a previous study we focused on the differences between fandom levels as well as the contrast between two team "brand" strength. Neural responses were compared among individuals based on their levels of fan identity. In sum, group comparisons between relatively high and lower identity and between weak and strong teams were made based on the notion that the latter reflects team brand strength (strong brand and weak brand).

Results: Findings indicate that brain activity in emotion regulation, memory, and cognitive control circuits is influenced by the relative level of fan identity.

Discussion: Higher-level identified fans showed increased reactivity to positive stimuli and the under-recruitment of their cognitive appraisal circuits, suggesting more vulnerability to marketers' messages. The strength of the team brand activates different neural mechanisms. Interestingly, the posterior cingulate showed larger recruitment both for weaker brands and lower fan identification, suggesting that visual memory processes are more active in these cases. Neurally processed content depends on the relative brand's strength, highlighting the importance of brand-focused communications.

Keywords: brand love; consumer neuroscience; fan identity; sport fans; team brands.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the UIDB/05105/2020 Program Contract, funded by national funds through the FCT I.P. and also supported by the BRAINTRAIN project FP7-HEALTH-2013-INNOVATION-1–602186, Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) FCT-UID/NEU/04539/2013, - 0COMPETE, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007440, Bial Foundation 132/12, 133/12 and 373/14, CENTRO-07-ST24-FEDER-00205.