1. Collective emotions influence the perception of
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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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, % of variance explained (χ2 = .775, df = 2, p = .679 ; CFI= ; 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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= (ns)
Collective emotions influence the perception of nation-related symbols
Marta Kozłowska, Manuela Beyer, Christian von Scheve, Sven Ismer

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. Thank you.