The appeal of the underdog
Vandello, Goldschmied and Richards, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 33(12), 2007. Four studies on when and why observers side with disadvantaged competitors. Study 1, Olympic matches: more support for a competitor framed as the underdog. Study 3: participants judged a team believed to be the underdog as exerting more effort, and perceived effort accounted for liking. Study 4, hypothetical sporting event: participants backed a low-probability team and labelled it the underdog only when it lacked a resource advantage; the authors conclude expectation of losing is not enough and observers also need to feel the team deserves a positive outcome. Sample sizes not read. Study 2 not used. Reading depth: abstract.
Vandello, Goldschmied and Richards, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 33(12), 2007. Four studies on when and why observers side with disadvantaged competitors. Study 1, Olympic matches: more support for a competitor framed as the underdog. Study 3: participants judged a team believed to be the underdog as exerting more effort, and perceived effort accounted for liking. Study 4, hypothetical sporting event: participants backed a low-probability team and labelled it the underdog only when it lacked a resource advantage; the authors conclude expectation of losing is not enough and observers also need to feel the team deserves a positive outcome. Sample sizes not read. Study 2 not used. Reading depth: abstract.
Written from the abstract, 2026-11-05.
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Vandello, J. A., Goldschmied, N., & Richards, D. A. R. (2007). The appeal of the underdog. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(12), 1603-1616. doi:10.1177/0146167207307488 https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167207307488