The Role of Morality and Physical Attractiveness of Athletes on Disposition Formations Firat Tuzunkan
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2007 The Role of Morality and Physical Attractiveness of Athletes on Disposition Formations Firat Tuzunkan Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION THE ROLE OF MORALITY AND PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS OF ATHLETES ON DISPOSITION FORMATIONS By FIRAT TUZUNKAN A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2007 The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Firat Tuzunkan defended on July 20, 2007. ______________________________ Arthur A. Raney Professor Directing Dissertation ______________________________ Charles Hofacker Outside Committee Member ______________________________ Gary Heald Committee Member ______________________________ Laura Arpan Committee Member Approved: ______________________________ Steven McDowell, Chair, Department of Communication ______________________________ John Mayo, Dean, College of Communication The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii For my mom and dad, who made all this possible… iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Probably the biggest lesson I learned throughout my PhD career is that big accomplishments cannot be achieved without the help and support of others. Similarly, this dissertation would not have been possible if it was not for the support of many great people around me. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Arthur Raney for being such a great professor, mentor, and most importantly a friend throughout the years I have spent at FSU. Every time I came to your office stressed, depressed and lost, I left your office with a smile on my face and full of encouragement. I feel extremely lucky to have known you and to have the opportunity of having you as my committee chair. Dr. Laura Arpan also deserves a special “thank you” for spending a great deal of time providing me guidance on the methodological and discussion-related issues. Not only a great scholar, you are also a great person who is very encouraging and approachable, so thanks a lot for that. I would also like to thank Dr. Gary Heald whose superior statistics knowledge guided me throughout the whole process. I am always amazed to see how quickly you find errors and inconsistencies in a research paper and that you are always right about them. You give me confidence that if you approve something, it must be right. I extend my appreciation to Dr. Charles Hofacker as well for accepting to be on my committee and for being very responsive and collaborative during the whole process. I also have some very special friends who deserve special recognition. Without their constant support, endurance, and great friendship, I would not be able to finish this program. Beth Bell, I will never forget all your support and friendship, especially the “survival kit” you gave me during my preliminary exams. You are a special friend and I am deeply grateful for everything you’ve done for me. Will Kinnally, you are truly a great person and a great scholar and I already miss all the lunches and discussions we had together. Dr. Jason Smith, my officemate, lunch buddy and close friend, we went through difficult times together, but thanks to your friendship and support, we now both iv made it, buddy. My sincere appreciation also goes to Dr. Kristin Barton for opening his house for me during the last stage of my dissertation, Megan Fitzgerald for being a great friend, and Dr. Xiao Wang for all the statistics and methodology discussions. Finally, with all my heart and most sincere feelings, I want to thank my parents, Utku and Akman Tüzünkan, who have made all this possible. Mom and Dad, I just don’t know how to thank you enough for your unending love, encouragement, support and always being there for me. Every time I thought of quitting the PhD program, I told myself that I would finish this program for you. And now that I’ve finished it, I hope that you see it as a symbol of a heartfelt “Thank you” for making me who I am today. Also, without my two brothers, Dr. Murat Tüzünkan and Ali Tüzünkan, I would not feel the urge and determination to finish the program. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ...................................................................................................... ix Abstract ................................................................................................................ x 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 Problem Statement ............................................................................................ 2 Significance of the Study .................................................................................. 3 Outline of the Study .......................................................................................... 5 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................... 7 Explication of Enjoyment .................................................................................. 7 Disposition Theories of Enjoyment ................................................................ 11 Overview of Disposition-Based Theories of Enjoyment ........................... 11 Disposition Theory of Drama ...................................................................... 13 Formation of Dispositions in Drama ........................................................... 14 Role of Empathy in Enjoyment .................................................................... 18 Disposition Theory of Sports Spectatorship .............................................. 20 Formation of Dispositions in Sports ........................................................... 23 Team Identification ......................................................................................... 24 Team Identification and Social Identity Theory ......................................... 24 Antecedents of Team Identification ............................................................ 28 Interpersonal Attraction Theory .................................................................... 32 Physical Attractiveness ............................................................................... 33 Person Perception and Implicit Personality Theory .................................. 34 Similarity ...................................................................................................... 40 Physical Attractiveness and Similarity ....................................................... 42 Explaining the Similarity Effect .................................................................. 43 Summary .......................................................................................................... 44 3. STUDY 1: MORAL JUDGMENT AND DISPOSITION FORMATION.............. 46 Hypotheses ...................................................................................................... 46 Methodology .................................................................................................... 47 Sample ............................................................................................................. 48 Procedure ........................................................................................................ 48 Pretest.......................................................................................................... 49 Stimulus Materials ........................................................................................... 50 Independent Measures .................................................................................... 51 Tennis Fanship ............................................................................................ 51 Sportsfanship ............................................................................................... 51 Dependent Measures ...................................................................................... 52 Enjoyment of the game ................................................................................ 52 Disposition toward the athlete .................................................................... 52 Results ............................................................................................................. 53 vi Random Assignment Check ......................................................................... 53 Manipulation Check ..................................................................................... 53 Research Questions ..................................................................................... 56 Discussion for Study I ..................................................................................... 56 4. STUDY 2: THE ROLE OF PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS IN FORMATION OF DISPOSITIONS ............................................................................................... 58 Hypotheses ...................................................................................................... 58 Methodology .................................................................................................... 60 Sample ............................................................................................................. 61 Procedure .......................................................................................................