The social psychology of alcohol use and violent behavior among sports spectators

To most people it seems perfectly obvious that alcohol use is one of the main reasons why sports spectators exhibit violent behavior. However, most drinking among sports spectators does not result in violent behavior. Thus, the link between alcohol use and violent behavior among sports spectators is more complex than it seems. This paper organizes and reviews the literature on alcohol use and violent behavior among sports spectators. It is quite apparent that any attempt to understand alcohol use and violent behavior among sports spectators must consider a variety of social psychological factors. This paper examines nine such factors: thrill seeking/quest for excitement, impulsivity, frustration, anger, psychopathy, the false consensus effect, the Bedouin syndrome, team identification, and alcohol expectancies.