Watching high-risk sports on television: the reversal theory’s concept of protective frame

Abstract

The study explored the psychological links that may exist between the feeling of being threatened and the perceived risk of sports situations, the interest for television sports programs, and the interest for conversations about these television sports reports. One hundred ninety-nine participants were presented with a series of questionnaires to assess: a) the degree of threat, the perceived risk as well as the amount of personal experience associated with certain sports situations, b) the degree of interest and the viewing habits associated with the same sports situations, c) the degree of interest shown for participating in conversations about these sports programs. The more the sports were considered threatening and perceived as risky, the more the participants were interested in watching these sports on television and to talk about these television programs. The concept of protective frame explained this finding.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Neil Rowlandson for his help.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.