Good Sports and Sore Losers: How Watching Sports Increases Acceptance of Election Losses
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Abstract:
What makes people more likely to view electoral defeats as legitimate? In this paper I examine the influence of legitimating rituals, public behavior from competitors that signal that a competition was conducted fairly. Building on social learning theory, I predict that observing legitimating rituals in even ostensibly apolitical competitions increases perceptions of election legitimacy. I test my theory using televised team sports, a popular type of competition with frequent legitimating rituals. Two studies test the theory; a panel from before and after the 2020 election, and an experiment manipulating whether respondents are exposed to legitimating rituals. Panel evidence shows that sports watching predicted greater acceptance of election defeat in 2020. In my experiment I find exposing respondents to a legitimating ritual in the context of sports increases perceptions that an unrelated election loss was legitimate. I conclude by discussing the importance of rituals for perceptions of election legitimacy.