When Arsenal moved to a new stadium in 1913, it became a catalyst for the modern day rivalry. This is because the stadiums are only four miles apart. The very first North London Derby occurred in 1921. For the longest time, the team on top was Arsenal but as time has progressed, Tottenham has closed that gap. This is one of the many reasons that it has become one of England’s fiercest rivalries.
In today’s society, it is common for people in groups to take part in actions that they would not usually do. The main reason this phenomenon occurs is due to Group Polarization. This term refers to the tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial decision of its members. This phenomenon was first discovered in a research project done by James Stoner in 1961. Stoner hypothesized that the group would be more cautious in nature than that of the individual. The results of the study were the complete opposit of what he had predicted. When discussing their decisions in a group setting, they decided on the more extreme behaviours. After looking at the results, it was described as the risky-shift phenomenon. The studies done following Stoner's usually fell into one of seven categories: jury decisions, judgments, …show more content…
When discussing group polarization, the critical ideas are Self-Categorization and Social Identity theory. Without these two theories, it would be very difficult to fully understand group polarization. If an individual does not identify with a particular group, they are less likely to be affected by this phenomenon. This is especially present when the group decision is more extreme than their own initial decisions. These groups can be temporary and as fading as being is a group for a study or they could be a lifelong identity. After an individual decides on a group, they may have ill feelings towards those in the outgroup. This can be seen particularly if they have strong team identification as seen in dysfunctional fans (Lee, 1985). When discussing aggression in sports fans, psychologists focused on the basics of aggression. Basic aggresion theories helped explain fan aggresion, but they did not encompass the phenomenon as a whole. The inclusion of Self-Categorization and Social Identity Theory, helped psychologists to understand what motivted fans to make certain decisions (Branscombe & Wann, 1992). These ideas affect group polarization as a whole and are not exclusive to sports fans and can affect any type of