Skip to contentScholarGate
LibraryBookshelfDeskReview StudioAssistant
Sign in
BIRGing and CORFing Measurement/Evidence
Method evidence record

BIRGing and CORFing Measurement

BIRGing and CORFing measurement is a behavioral and self-report procedure for quantifying how people manage their public image by advertising or hiding their association with a group after that group succeeds or fails. Basking In Reflected Glory (BIRGing), documented by Robert Cialdini and colleagues in 1976, is the tendency to publicize one's connection to a winner, for example by wearing team apparel or saying 'we won' after a victory. Cutting Off Reflected Failure (CORFing), studied by Snyder, Lassegard, and Ford in 1986, is the complementary tendency to distance oneself from a loser, for example by saying 'they lost.' Wann and Branscombe's 1990 work showed that these responses depend on fan identification: die-hard, highly identified fans BIRG strongly and resist CORFing, while fair-weather, low-identification fans CORF readily. Measuring both responses against team outcomes and identification reveals how spectators use sport affiliations to maintain self-image.

Sources recorded, not reviewed

Source record

Citations copied verbatim from the method’s source record. No claim-level verification is inferred from them.

BIRGing and CORFing Measurement (Image-Management Responses to Team Outcomes)
Taxonomic method record · process-pipeline / sport-leisure-studies
  • Cialdini, R. B., Borden, R. J., Thorne, A., Walker, M. R., Freeman, S., & Sloan, L. R. (1976). Basking in Reflected Glory: Three (Football) Field Studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34(3), 366-375. · DOI 10.1037/0022-3514.34.3.366
  • Snyder, C. R., Lassegard, M., & Ford, C. E. (1986). Distancing After Group Success and Failure: Basking in Reflected Glory and Cutting Off Reflected Failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(2), 382-388. · DOI 10.1037/0022-3514.51.2.382
  • Wann, D. L., & Branscombe, N. R. (1990). Die-Hard and Fair-Weather Fans: Effects of Identification on BIRGing and CORFing Tendencies. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 14(2), 103-117. · DOI 10.1177/019372359001400203
Open full method

Curated claims

Claims persisted in the evidence ledger, each with its own assessment.

No curated claims yet

This view does not invent a claim assessment when the ledger has none.

Related methods

Generated from the method graph and shown as machine-suggested relations — no evidence claim is inferred.

Same method familyPsychological Continuum Modelmachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Used in the same domainSport Spectator Identification Scalemachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Used in the same domainTeam Identification-Social Psychological Health Modelmachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.

Evidence status

Sources recorded, not reviewed

Bibliographic sources are present. Claim-level evidence review has not been performed.

Sources

3 recorded citations, copied from the method source record.

Actions

Open method page
ScholarGate

A content-first reference library for research methods — what each one is, how it works, and where it comes from.

Open data (CC-BY)

Explore

  • Library
  • Search the library…
  • Browse by field
  • Fields
  • Journey
  • Compare
  • Which method?

Reference

  • Subjects
  • Atlas
  • Glossary
  • Methodology
  • Philosophy

Your tools

  • Bookshelf
  • Desk
  • Chat

Company

  • About
  • Pricing
  • Contact
  • Suggest a method

Entries are compiled from published sources for reference. Verifying the accuracy and suitability of any information for your own use remains your responsibility.

© 2026 ScholarGate · A research-method reference library
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Terms
  • Delete account