The Emotional Game - Group Morality

 This week's blog is probably the easiest, and most relevant to football, as both papers look at emotions in terms of in-groups  out-groups and inter-group conflict. On a football field there are two groups competing over a shared goal that only one can achieve, so these intergroup conflicts and the emotions that mediate and result because of them should be even more observable.

 In Cohen, Monoya and Insko's (2006) paper, they found that group morality endorses violent behaviour, and competitive behavior towards outgroups. In terms of football, this would suggest that the stronger a team unit, and the more they differentiate themselves from the opposition, the more they may compete with opposition. This is definitely the case for the large derby games, such as the 'Super Classico' in South America where fighting often breaks out between each teams set of fans. 

Even recently thousands of riot police were drafted in to marshall this match; 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22424292

Fixing Fernando

 With these findings that group morality and a sense of group membership can increase competitiveness and aggression towards outgroup members, perhaps in order to help enhance Fernando Torres form and play-style it might be necessary to make sure he is part of the group, and feels included in the club. This hypothesis is also supported by Torres increase in form since the arrival of players from his home country of Spain, and Rafael Benitez, a spanish manager with which he already has a great relationship. Perhaps his slight improvement in form and increased competitiveness is because of a sense of group inclusion created by this familiarity. Whilst this sense of group membership could be vital and highly beneficial in fostering competitiveness, it might well be important to avoid overdoing it, as it may as the study suggested, actually lead to aggression and violence, and lead to similar incidents as those of Luis Suarez.