Brain on Sports Podcast: Fandom and self-identification

Psychology professor Ed Hirt discusses how and why fans allow the outcomes of games to reflect on their own self-image.

“This is Your Brain on Sports” is a weekly podcast from Sports Illustrated in which SI executive editor Jon Wertheim and Tufts University psychology professor Sam Sommers explore the intersection of sports and human nature—what the world of sports has to teach us about who we are, what we care about and the forces that shape our behavior.

This week’s episode features a conversation about how fans self-identify with Ed Hirt, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Indiana University. Hirt has studied how wins and losses affect fans’ perception of their own abilities and why the attachment to a sports team can create a more powerful group experience than almost any other movement or event.

Listen below and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher, and check back every week for a new episode.