Preliminary Investigation of the Confidence of Sport Spectators: Importance of Time,Difficulty of the Game,and Team Identification

Three factors believed to play a role in the confidence sport spectators have in their team were examined: time until the competition began, the difficulty of the competition, and the fans' scores on identification with the team. 31 college students were asked to complete the Confidence subscale of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory–2 on five separate occasions: 3 days before, 12 hours before, 3 hours before, immediately prior to, and at half-time of two basketball contests. Subjects also completed the Sport Spectator Identification Scale during the first testing session. Analysis indicated that subjects' confidence changed significantly as the competition approached but only for the more difficult contest. Further, highly and lowly identified subjects exhibited different patterns of confidence as the difficult competition approached.