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1-Page Summary of This Is Your Brain On Sports
Overview
Sports brings out the best and worst in people. It’s hard to believe that professional athletes, like soccer players, have brains just like ours. And we’re also prone to rioting when our team loses or wins a game. Sports can teach us about human behavior because it shows how fans behave when their favorite teams win or lose games. In this article you will learn why underdogs are popular; how improvements should be rewarded as well as victories; and what Michael Jordan did during his famous Flu Game.
Big Idea #1: Sports can teach us about our love for underdogs and about group mentality.
Regardless of what sport you play, there will always be a winner and a loser. The team that loses is often more loved than the winning team because people like to root for underdogs.
There are several reasons why people love underdog stories. First, it’s easy to sympathize with those who seem less fortunate than others. Also, we want the unexpected to happen in life and feel excited when we see an underdog succeed despite all odds against him or her.
In a study conducted at the University of South Florida, students were presented with maps and other details about the Israel-Palestine conflict. They then had to play against each other in a sporting event.
When students were given maps that showed Israel in a positive light, they tended to root for it. However, when the map was adjusted so that Palestinian territory took up more space than Israeli land, most of those same students would then cheer for Palestine.
In an underdog situation, we can relate to the protagonist and cheer for them. We feel like they’re fighting a battle that’s similar to our own lives. This creates a sense of community among fans who want their team to win. When their team wins, it feels like a celebration between friends and family members.
The desire to belong is usually positive, but it can also turn negative. In the end, we often want to be included while excluding others.
Big Idea #2: Leaders tend to be attractive, and we value things into which we put a lot of effort.
Do you know about the Halo Effect?
Research has shown that we tend to associate successful people with other aspects of their personality. For example, if someone is considered a good leader in one area (such as sports), then we will consider them good leaders in other areas (such as business). We also tend to find attractive people more charismatic and likable overall.
According to a study done by Nick Rule, we tend to use the smallest details about someone’s appearance to determine how good of a leader they are.
For instance, football coaches might choose a quarterback based on his physical features. For example, if he has broad shoulders and large hands, the coach may think that this player will be good at leading the team. Since teammates need to look up to him as their leader, these characteristics are important in determining how well he will play.
We tend to believe that the more effort we put into something, the better it is. This can be observed in IKEA furniture, where you spend a lot of time putting your new IKEA bed together and thus value it more than when you buy a fully assembled piece of furniture.
This is also true in sports. If a manager spends a lot of time and effort on improving an underperforming player, that person will be kept on the team longer because managers don’t want to waste their efforts. Likewise, players who perform well without much help from the management are more likely to be let go.
