Scientific Report: Fandom Biases Retrospective Judgments Not Perception
Abstract
Attitudes and motivations have been shown to affect the processing of visual input, indicating that observers may see a given situation each literally in a different way. Yet, in real-life, processing information in an unbiased manner is considered to be of high adaptive value. Attitudinal and motivational effects were found for attention, characterization, categorization, and memory. On the other hand, for dynamic real-life events, visual processing has been found to be highly synchronous among viewers. Thus, while in a seminal study fandom as a particularly strong case of attitudes did bias judgments of a sports event, it left the question open whether attitudes do bias prior processing stages. Here, we investigated influences of fandom during the live TV broadcasting of the 2013 UEFA-Champions-League Final regarding attention, event segmentation, immediate and delayed cued recall, as well as affect, memory confidence, and retrospective judgments. Even though we replicated biased retrospective judgments, we found that eye-movements, event segmentation, and cued recall were largely similar across both groups of fans. Our findings demonstrate that, while highly involving sports events are interpreted in a fan dependent way, at initial stages they are processed in an unbiased manner.
Nature.com / Markus Huff, Frank Papenmeier, Annika E. Maurer, Tino G. K. Meitz, Bärbel Garsoffky,. Stephan Schwan
Why Minecraft Movie Fans Are Getting Rowdy and Going Viral — Explore Parasocial relationships, community, and emotional contagion among Minecraft fans.
Key points
Watching "A Minecraft Movie" with other fans brings a welcome sense of community and belonging.
Parasocial relationships with fictional characters make seeing them on the big screen exciting.
A theater full of passionate fans amplifies their excitement and joy through emotional contagion.
Considering others who might be impacted can help fans decide how to express that excitement.
In the 1970s, Rocky Horror was a cult hit, inspiring a passionate fanbase. The film’s intentionally campy vibe and songs that invited singing along, in addition to a cast of characters who resonated with every teenager who felt like they didn’t fit in, made those midnight viewings my first experience of a participatory fandom. We didn’t just watch the movie, we became part of it. People dressed up as their favorite characters and danced in the aisles (to the "Time Warp," of course).
Psychology Today / Lynn Zubernis Ph.D.
Classifying and Characterizing Fandom Activities: A Focus on Superfans’ Posting and Commenting Behaviors in a Digital Fandom Community
As digital fandom communities expand and diversify, user engagement patterns increasingly shape the social and emotional fabric of online platforms. In the era of Industry 4.0, data-driven approaches are transforming how online communities understand and optimize user engagement. In this study, we examine how different forms of activity, specifically posting and commenting, characterize fandom engagement on Weverse, a global fan community platform. By applying a clustering approach to large-scale user data, we identify distinct subsets of heavy users, separating those who focus on creating posts (post-heavy users) from those who concentrate on leaving comments (comment-heavy users). A subsequent linguistic analysis using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) tool revealed that post-heavy users typically employ a structured, goal-oriented style with collective pronouns and formal tones, whereas comment-heavy users exhibit more spontaneous, emotionally rich expressions enhanced by personalized fandom-specific slang and extensive emoji use. Building on these findings, we propose design implications such as pinning community-driven content, offering contextual translations for fandom-specific slang, and introducing reaction matrices that address the unique needs of each group. Taken together, our results underscore the value of distinguishing multiple dimensions of engagement in digital fandoms, providing a foundation for more nuanced platform features that can enhance positive user experience, social cohesion, and sustained community growth.
Applied Sciences/ MDPI - Yeoreum Lee, Sangkeun Park
Can fandoms be as deep and meaningful as religion?
Most of us can say that we’re fans of something – music, sports, art, books. But what does it mean to be part of a fandom? You’ve probably seen devoted super fans participating in cos play at Comic-Con, painted in their team’s color at a football game or dressed up as their favorite characters at a midnight screening of a film series. But is there something deeper than just fun at play here? Something that aligns more with religion or even sacredness? That’s the argument of sociologist Michael Elliott, a professor at Towson University who has studied the culture of Comic-Con for 7 years. Elliott joins The Excerpt to share the results of his deep research into fandoms.
USA Today
Fandom and AI – Endless creativity or the death of originality?
Fandom is also about celebrating individuality and self-expression. In this instance, AI being used to provide audiences with tools for developing fan art and fiction, personalised merchandise, customised profiles and avatars.
72% of women are ‘avid fans’ of at least one sport
Wasserman’s The Collective also finds that 34% of female sports fans want more brands involved in women’s sports.
Sports PRO
Power of Fandom: A Special Report
VIP+ Analysis: Insights for marketers on U.S. entertainment franchise fans and how to reach them in a fragmented media landscape.…
Variety
