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.