A recent study from Northwestern University explores the psychological parallels between sports rivalries and political elections, focusing on how people react to undesired outcomes. The research suggests that individuals who preferred Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, primarily due to opposition against Donald Trump rather than support for Harris herself, may experience stronger negative reactions to the election results.
Jacob Teeny, lead author and assistant professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, explains: “For every presidential election between 2020 — Biden and Trump — back to 2000, we see this same pattern of effects: opposers are more upset than supporters.” He adds that this trend is evident in the latest datasets for the 2024 election.
The study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, highlights how framing preferences—whether supporting a candidate or opposing another—can significantly impact reactions to undesired outcomes. Teeny notes: “In contexts with only two options, we tend to view our preference in one of two ways: who we support or who we oppose.”
This framing effect extends beyond politics into sports fandom. Researchers examined undesirable Super Bowl outcomes from past NFL Championship games. For instance, during the 2019 Super Bowl, fans rooting for the Los Angeles Rams out of disdain for the New England Patriots likely felt worse about the Patriots' victory than those who supported the Rams out of genuine affection.
Teeny refers to this phenomenon as “the opposer’s loss effect,” an extension of negativity bias research. “In general, bad things weigh more heavily upon people’s minds than good things,” he says.
The implications of this research suggest that politicians using opposition-based messaging might face consequences if their candidate loses. However, such strategies can also boost political engagement temporarily. Teeny advises focusing on supportive reasons rather than oppositional ones when dealing with undesired outcomes: “Focusing on the support side could help reduce some of those negative feelings you have.”
The study is titled "Reactions to Undesired Outcomes: Evidence for the Opposer’s Loss Effect." Co-authors include Richard Petty from The Ohio State University. For interviews with Professor Teeny, contact Shanice Harris at shanice.harris@northwestern.edu.