Motivation and emotion/Book/2024/Underdog versus favourite motivation

Underdog versus favourite motivation:
How do motivation dynamics differ between underdogs and favourites?

Overview

Tennis match scenario

Figure 1. The winner and the loser

You are sitting in the crowd of a tennis match final, watching the ball go back and forth between the two competitors. One must win and one must lose. The first player holds multiple grand slam titles and has been the champion of many matches. They are a very loved and popular figure within the world of tennis. They are expected to win this game. The second player is new to tennis and this is their first finals that they have competed in. Not much is known about them but they are currently holding up against the first player. The second player is expected to lose. Which tennis player are you cheering for? The underdog or the favourite?

The terms underdog and favourite (sometimes known as the "top dog") have largely been and are most popularly used within the context of competition and their respective expectations of what the outcome will be. To commonly define what is meant by the underdog versus the favourite, the underdog is expected to lose while the favourite is expected to win (Kim et al., 2008).

Little research has been done on the internal and underlying motivations and experiences of the underdog and the favourite. Most research done on the underdog versus favourite is about the expectations of third parties, such as consumers of content, and what motivates the third party to align or cheer for the underdog or favourite.

There is many a news article which expresses admiration for the underdog or the potential defeat of the favourite. The way in which news articles speak about the underdog and the favourite is very sensationalised with the differences between them often exaggerated.

The label of underdog or favourite is not determined by the individual's actual skills or talents but by how they are perceived in comparison to other competitors in the specific scenario (Pettit et al., 2024).

Focus questions:

What are the motivations of the underdog and favourite?
What are some risks to motivating the underdog?
What can lead to demotivation of the favourite?
What are the similarities and differences between the motivations of the underdog and favourite?

The underdog's motivation

The underdog is the individual or group that consumers or third parties expect to lose in a competitive environment. In relation to betting, the underdog will have the highest odds because of the expectation of the underdog losing. The payout of the underdog winning is usually larger than the favourite's because fewer third parties bet on the underdog. Without the involvement of money, third parties are more likely to root for or support the underdog (Kim et al., 2008). This is thought to be because of the desire to see the underdog win as the third party may self-identify with the underdog.

What motivates the underdog?

With the expectation that the underdog is going to lose, the underdog does not have much to lose when that expectation is fulfilled. Underdogs do however have much to gain if they were to win, especially if the win is against the favourite. The underdog is not pressured to meet expectations but instead to exceed them to gain more opportunities and advancements in social standing or in their career. To relate to Higgins' work in 1987 on self-discrepancy, winning is the ultimate goal and highest standard that the underdog will be motivated or aspired to achieve to gain a better standing within society. The underdog is striving for a positive outcome and it is suggested by Higgins (1987) that the aspiration of winning in competitors becomes an obligation or ideal. The underdog will have a promotion focus on their motivation.

Motivating the underdog

Creativity. Because the underdog does not have a history of winning, they usually do not have a strategy that is known to consistently work when striving for the achievement of winning. This leads to the stimulation of the underdog’s creative thinking skills to reach their goal (Boytos et al., 2017). Many ideas and solutions are able to be created to react to different scenarios and discover new strategies that have not been used before or the favourite may have seen.
Third-party support. Consumers or observers of the underdog and favourite usually tend to support or root for the underdog out of sympathy or emotional alignment. This support motivates the underdog to increase their performance (Goldschmeid, 2005).
Comparison. Underdogs show increased performance when competing against the favourite out of motivation to show that they are also just as capable as the out-group (Lount & Phillips, 2007).
Experience with disadvantage. Many an underdog usually has faced trials of discrimination and disadvantages. The self-narrative of an individual who has faced prior discrimination and disadvantages shows an improvement in performance and efficacy through built-up resilience that drives motivation (Nurmohamed et al., 2021). Having already experienced being seen as disadvantaged, being seen as disadvantaged in a competitive environment is not a deterrent.
Acceptance. Embracing the label underdog helps provide an effective psychological buffer (Cramer, 2005). This means that accepting the label of underdog reduces the impact of stress when not reaching their goal of winning. If the underdog were to lose, there would be no large repercussions as the underdog was predicted to lose anyway (Pettit et al., 2024). This in turn helps the underdog keep being motivated as they are not disappointed in the results which could lead to performance loss.
Resources. Lack of resources such as access to opportunities to improve skills or economic resources that become available through popularity and winning may motivate the underdog to try harder to reach the same social standing as the more favoured other (Nurmohamed, 2014).

Risks to motivating the underdog

Figure 2. Displaying unethical behaviour by cheating to ensure better results.

Unethical conduct. Sometimes, when wanting to win by any means necessary, the motivation to win can lead to very unethical behaviour (Ordóñez et al, 2009). In order to win or gain new opportunities, the underdog may cheat or lie about their performance. This may motivate the underdog to not try as hard through reputable means or to actually apply themself to engage in training or practices that would enhance their own skills (See Figure 2).
Intrinsic motivation. From pressures of social interaction and the potential gain of rewards, the underdog may lose the original intrinsic motivation to win for themself. The underdog's motivation may move away from intrinsic needs and towards extrinsic rewards such as recognition and financial gain (Weinberg & Jackson, 1979).

Quiz

The favourite's motivation

The favourite is the individual or group that consumers or third parties expect to win in a competition. The favourite will usually have the lowest odds because of the expectation of winning, and therefore a smaller payout when said favourite wins. When gambling, individuals usually favour the favourite as it is thought of as the safe or trusted choice concerning the chance of losing or gaining money (Paul & Weinbach, 2005).

What motivates the favourite?

From defining what is commonly meant when an individual is labelled as the favourite, it would not be surprising if it was assumed the motivation of the favourite is to win. However, it has already been established that the favourite was expected to win. From this, it can be understood that favourites actually have little to gain by winning, especially against the underdog. This outcome of winning would not be surprising or change the opinion of the third party about the favourite's abilities or prowess. However, there is a lot to lose if the favourites were to lose against the underdog. This can be translated to that the favourite is not necessarily motivated to win, but instead motivated to not lose. The favourite's goal is not to win a positive outcome but to eliminate a negative outcome by losing (Molden et al., 2008) (see Figure 3). The goal of winning is a prevention focus of security which derives from the perspective of Regulatory Focus Theory by Higgins in 1998.

Figure 3. The pressure of not losing being shown in behaviour from negative outcome.

Motivating the favourite

Resources. The favourite has access to external advantages of resources such as access to training opportunities and monetary resources (Nurmohamed, 2014). The favourite will be motivated to keep not losing to retain these opportunities. The favourite will also be motivated to not lose so that monetary value is also not lost. Winning maintains the financial value of rewards from extrinsic motivation.
Comparison. When in a competitive environment and facing an underdog, the effort of the favourite will largely increase in order to avoid potential negative comparisons (Lount & Phillips, 2007). That is to say, the favourite does not want their favour to lower by being outperformed by the underdog.
Expectations. The increased pressure to live up to the high expectations of the favourite that was set up by previous accomplishments motivates the favourite to maintain the position of winner (Doyle et al., 2022). This is to avoid the embarrassment of losing to the underdog who is predicted to lose.

Demotivating or the complacency of the favourite

Success syndrome. The favourite may develop 'success syndrome' (Tushman & O’Reilly, 1996) if a false sense of security in winning develops, which leads to the favourite overlooking or underestimating the underdog. This is because the favourite can become complacent with being at the top.
Creative disadvantage. If the favourite becomes comfortable in their position at the top, they may lack creative advantage, at least in comparison to the underdog. The favourite lacks creative thinking as they already have established methods that have secured them success (Boytos et al., 2017). Relying on old tricks and strategies does not motivate the favourite to try something new.
Third-party satisfaction. The audience may at times express the want for the favourite to lose as the experience of watching the favourite is pleasurable or self-satisfactory. This is known as schadenfreude. It can be emotionally stressful and demotivating for the favourite when people are rooting for their failure (Goldschmeid, 2005). The favourite may stop wanting to try from third-party demand.
Performance anxiety. The favourite may have increased feelings of performance anxiety and fear of losing because of the expectations of winning. This in turn will affect the motivation of the favourite negatively (Marr & Thau, 2014).

Quiz

The dynamic between underdogs and favourites

Five studies done by Lount et al. (2008) examine the motivations and efforts of underdogs and favourites within intergroup settings. These studies highlight the effects of regulatory fit and task or message matching when motivating the underdog or favourite.

Similarities of the underdog and the favourite

Third-party effects. Both the underdog and the favourite are affected by the thoughts and opinions of consumers or the audience. Neither the underdog nor the favourite want to disappoint the audience and are motivated to keep the audience's favour. Not having the support of the audience can demotivate the individual and stop them from trying (Goldschmeid, 2005).
Regulatory fit. The underdog and the favourite's motivation strength and performance increase when supportive tasks match regulatory fit (Spiegel et al., 2004). The best fit for the underdog is promotion which is described as eager. The underdog strives to gain rewards. To combine these points, the underdog is trying to promote the gain of a win through eager strategies. In comparison, the best fit for the favourite is the preventative which is described as vigilant. They aim for the reward of 'loss'. In other words, the favourite is trying to prevent the loss of the win through vigilant strategies (Lount et al., 2017).


System	Reward	Combination of system and reward	Who uses this match?
Promotion	Gain	Regulatory Fit	Best supportive match for the underdog
Promotion	Loss	Regulatory Mismatch	N/A
Prevention	Gain	Regulatory Mismatch	N/A
Prevention	Loss	Regulatory Fit	Best supportive match for the favourite

The differences between the underdog and the favourite

Figure 4. Wrestlers giving it their all to win and avoid loss

Regulatory focus. The underdog and the favourite differ in regulatory focus (Higgins, 1998). The underdog is promotion-focused while the favourite being preventative.
Strategies. The underdog is best suited to eager strategies while the favourite is best suited for vigilant.
Goal. The goal of the underdog in a competitive environment is to win while the favourite's goal is to not lose (See Figure 4).

Conclusion

While the goal of winning may look the same on the outside, the motivations behind winning are different. The goal of the underdog is to win while the goal of the favourite is to not lose. The underdog partakes in promotional activities where they seek gains while the favourite prefers to be preventative by ensuring they do not suffer loss.

The motivation of the underdog or the favourite is not better than the other, they are simply just different. While the underdog's motivations seem to be more favourable by the amount of points listed in the motivating section compared to the risks, it does not necessarily mean it is easier. A lot of the achievements of the underdogs and the continuation of being motivated are heavily reliant on the underdog's resilience (Yu et al., 2022). In contrast, the favourite may seem unfavourable from the amount of demotivating points made about being the favourite but a lot of that relies on the favourite becoming complacent. Not all favourites become complacent from being at the top. Many favourites were once underdogs and have experienced being on the side that does not have access to as may resources or as much recognition.

Embracing the label of favourite or underdog is more beneficial than trying to change it. This is to avoid the psychological stress of not being able to compare or if the underdog or favourite was to fail, rather then achieve their goals.

References

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Doyle, S. P., Pettit, N. C., Kim, S., To, C., & Lount, R. B. (2022). Surging underdogs and slumping favorites: How recent streaks and future expectations drive competitive transgressions. Academy of Management Journal, 65(5), 1507–1540. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2019.1008

Goldschmied, N. (2005). The underdog effect: Definition, limitations, and motivations. why do we support those at a competitive disadvantage? https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-underdog-effect%3A-Definition%2C-limitations%2C-and-a-Goldschmied/cb76346c39a213359004281fd4e92412e551e1ab

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Kim, J., Allison, S. T., Eylon, D., Goethals, G. R., Markus, M. J., Hindle, S. M., & McGuire, H. A. (2008). Rooting for (and then abandoning) the underdog. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38(10), 2550–2573. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008.00403.x

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Marr, J. C., & Thau, S. (2014). Falling from Great (and Not-So-Great) Heights: How Initial Status Position Influences Performance after Status Loss. Academy of Management Journal, 57(1), 223–248. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0909

Molden, D. C., Lee, A. Y., & Higgins, E. T. (2008). Motivations for promotion and prevention. Handbook of Motivation Science, 169–187. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316422250.066

Nurmohamed, S. (2014). Over or under? the motivational implications of an underdog image. https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/107335

Nurmohamed, S., Kundro, T. G., & Myers, C. G. (2021). Against the odds: Developing underdog versus favorite narratives to offset prior experiences of discrimination. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 167, 206–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2021.04.008

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Pettit, N. C., Doyle, S. P., & Lount, R. B. (2024). Underdogs and favorites: Past, present, and future. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 18(6). https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12973

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Spiegel, S., Grant‐Pillow, H., & Higgins, E. T. (2004). How regulatory fit enhances motivational strength during goal pursuit. European Journal of Social Psychology, 34(1), 39–54. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.180

Weinberg, R. S., & Jackson, A. (1979). Competition and extrinsic Rewards: effect on intrinsic motivation and attribution. Research Quarterly American Alliance for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance, 50(3), 494–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/00345377.1979.10615636

Yu, W., Zhu, F., Foo, M. D., & Wiklund, J. (2022). What does not kill you makes you stronger: Entrepreneurs’ childhood adversity, resilience, and career success. Journal of Business Research, 151, 40–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.06.035

External links

The competitive edge and curse of the underdog (Forbes)
The underdog's surprising appeal (BBC)
Why an underdog mindset can be a good thing (The Canberra Times)
Why we love an underdog (ABC Listen)
UFC favorites vs underdogs betting statistics compared (MMA Hive)