Collective emotions influence the perception of 06.12.10 06.12.10 06.12.10 06.12.10 Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols: Evidence from a German survey around the FIFA WorldCup 2010 Marta Kozłowska Manuela Beyer Sven Ismer Christian von Scheve Presented by Marta Kozłowska at the 4th Midterm Conference of the ESA RN Sociology of Emotions 1 1 1 1

Introduction Social constructivism depicts nations as “imagined communities“ (Anderson)  cognitive emphasis  neglect of emotional mechanisms Questions that need further exploration:  How do nations become part of one’s identity?  What role do emotions play for national belonging? Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Theoretical background Rituals are key to establishing, updating and reinforcing of group belonging (Durkheim, 1912) Central mechanism is emotional: collective effervescence Rituals: concentration of individuals standardized sequences of events Collective effervescence: collective emotional arousal, shared emotions Social consequences: identification, group solidarity, emotional charging of group symbols (see Rimé, 2008; Collins, 2004; Salmela, 2009; v. Scheve, 2010) Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Hypothesis The more intense the experience of nation-related collective emotions, the higher the identification with Germany. Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Methodological Approach: Quasi-natural Experiment Problem Nation-related collective emotions are hard to induce under laboratory conditions Solution Using the FIFA World Cup 2010 as a ritual situation that produces collective emotions related to the nation: Quasi-natural experiment Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Natural Experiment Assessment time 1 World Cup 2010 Assessment time 2 Identification with Germany with other nations Identification with Germany with other nations Collective emotions during the World Cup Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Operationalisation The more intense the experience of collective emotions during the FIFA World Cup, the higher the attachment to Germany. Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Operationalisation I: Collective Emotions Scale 4 Items loading on one single factor: Has watching the game been the main activity? How much emotional interest did you take into the games of the German team? How much have you been carried away by the mood of other fans? How much have you been carried away by the excitement of the World Cup in general? (German originals translated) Cronbach‘s Alpha: 0.817 Confirmatory Factor Analysis: single-factor, 65.173% of variance explained (χ2 = .775, df = 2, p = .679 ; CFI= 1.000 ; TLI= 1.026) Collective Emotions Scale (CE): Mean Score of the 4 Items Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Operationalisation II: Symbolic Attachment To measure national attachment: focus on attachment towards national symbols  rituals “recharge“ collective symbols  feelings of belonging are projected onto symbols  symbols are crucial for “storing” the attachment  symbolic attachment may capture that part of identity that is not in every respect subject to conscious cognitive processes Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Operationalisation II: Symbolic Attachment Out of a pool of 99 potential German national symbols: Extraction of 20 that have been rated as best representing Germany (N=34) Questionnaire: How positive or negative do you perceive this picture? (1-9) Exploratory factor analysis of these 20 symbols  reduction to 18 symbols loading on one single factor Cronbach‘s Alpha: 0,895 Scale of Symbols by Mean Similar procedure with symbols of diverse other nations (pool of 69) Result: 16 Items loading on one factor, Cronbach‘s Alpha: 0,876 Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Design Assessment time 1 World Cup 2010 Assessment time 2 Rating of German symbols: Mean Score Rating of other nations’ symbols Rating of German symbols: Mean Score Rating of other nations’ symbols Collective emotions Mean Score CE 1-14 days 4-16 days Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Sample Online Study Recruitment via a variety of mailing lists, adverts within the local daily press and internet forums within differing targets Incentive: opportunity of winning one out of two Amazon vouchers worth 40 € N = 98 Gender: 36 females, 62 males mean age = 28,36 (SD= 11,38) Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Results (I) Influence of the experience of collective emotions during the World Cup on rating of national symbols Correlations Collective emotions and pre/post-difference of German symbols rating, r= 0.234* (p= 0.02) Collective emotions and pre/post-difference of symbols of other nations rating, r= 0.001 (ns) Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Results (II) Multiple linear regression: independent variables:  pre-value Rating German symbols  CE Scale (centralized by mean)  Sex  Age dependent variable:  Post Values German Symbols Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Independent Variables Results (II) Regression Model: Independent Variables Regression- coefficient B Standard error T Sig. (2-sided) Constant 1.315*** 0.340 3.863 0.000 CE Scale 0.383*** 0.078 4.975 Sex -0.042 0.113 -0.376 0.708 Age 0.009 0.005 1.961 0.053 German Symbols Pre 0.735*** 13.963 R²= 0,787 N= 98 (unstandardized coefficients) (no influence of CE on other nation’s symbols) Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Discussion Results confirm our hypothesis  Collective emotions during the FIFA World Cup increased the attachment to German symbols Controlling for effects of collective emotions on rating of other nation’s symbols shows that this refers indeed only to symbols of one’s own national community Future research:  effects of conflicting identity frames within ritual context  measurement of the experience of collective emotions including physiological components (heart rate, skin conductance…)  measurement of national identification using questionnaire-based assessment  measurement of other collecitve identifications, e.g. European Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

Thank you.