The Many Faces of Fandom
[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 3, No. 5
14 July - 10 August 2008 ]
Fans will be under the spotlight. England’s ‘Barmy Army’ and Australia’s ‘Fanatics’ are just two of the more well-known groups guaranteed to be a presence at Olympic venues.
If Australian supporters have their way, the refrain of “Aussie Aussie Aussie” will echo triumphantly around Beijing’s Water Cube Aquatic Centre when our Olympic swimmers take the plunge next month. Should a Chinese swimmer win gold, the Chinese will be just as excited – but they will show it in a different way.
University of Melbourne PhD student Louisa Budzinski (Behavioral Science) is completing a PhD on cross-cultural differences in the display of emotions in Eastern and Western cultures. “From a group of American or Australian spectators you could expect lots of expressive behaviour, they might be jumping up and down and screaming,’’ she says.
“The Chinese spectators may be smiling and waving flags but the noise factor might be a bit lower.”
Ms Budzinski says that while there are always differences between individuals within and across cultures, research shows that generally Westerners value “high-arousal positive states” such as feeling excited or elated.
In contrast those from Western cultures value “low-arousal positive states” creating peaceful and calm feelings.
The way many from East Asian cultures view the consequences of single events – known as the ‘ripple effect’ – also has an impact.
“In the Olympic context this means Australians may focus on immediate effects such as how the win adds to Australia’s medal count,’’ she says.
“At the same time, a Chinese supporter may consider how winning a medal will impact on China’s political and economic dealings with other countries, how happy the win will make the competitor’s family or how it will affect the athlete’s future.”
Ms Budzinski says this also relates to the East Asian tendency to consider positive and negative consequences from all events and how they affect their relationships with others.
“Pride, in particular, is considered to be a negative thing as it is focused on the self and separates the self from others,” Ms Budzinski says. “There is a Chinese saying that the arrogant army will lose the battle for sure.”
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