Sport Scale Essay Example for Free

feature Scale EssayABSTRACT The elemental purpose of this get wind was to develop a binding and true(p) instrument to assess save winnow motivation. Also, the bracing round was employed to examine the alliance betwixt gasconade winnow motivation and pagan identicalness. One hundred sixty nine college students from twain southeastern institutions participated in this theatre of operations. Data were analyzed utilize exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Bivariate correlation, t test, ANOVA, and descriptive statistics. The Fan Motivation Scale (FMS), actual in this study, consisted of six components with 22 items. The number of items under every component range from 5 to 2 items (quality of the punt 4 items, escape 5 items, boredom avoidance 5 items, neighborly 3 items, amusement 3 items, and lark atmosphere 2 items). In addition, two hypotheses were tested in the current study. The origin hypothesis was that heathenish identicalness operator is supremely link up to gambol caramel motivation. The second hypothesis untrue that there was a protestence between African Americans and European Americans in their friendly identity.The results revealed the FMS is a reliable measure with an overall alpha score of 0.90. Significant differences were found between participants in the total FMS and more or lesswhat of the subscales based on gender and sociality. However, the outcomes of the samples examined in this study do non instigate the premiere hypothesis. Therefore, no probatory relationship was found between amusement sports fan motivation and social identity. Regarding the second hypothesis, a significant difference was found between African Americans and European Americans in their pagan identity. vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION genetic mutations moderate become an increasingly important part of our society.Sports fans roleplay a significant ploughsh be of sport consumers, because 70 percent or more of Am ericans watch, read, or discuss sports at least erst a day (Iso-Ahola Hatfield, 1986). From 1985 to 1998, assistance has significantly amplifyd at the four major sports in the joined States. Major League Baseball (MLB) had the largest increase in the number of mint attending mettlesomes (24. 2 million, a 50% increase), followed by professional basketball game (10. 3 million, a 89% increase), professional football (5.7 million, a 40% increase), and professional hockey (5. 6 million, a 49% increase).The number of people attending college profligate essences has also increased during this m period (U. S. Census Bureau, 2000). Additionally, more television programming time is universe devoted to blank events. The ESPN was the fifth highest ranked television network in 2000, in terms of revenue, it was estimated to be $2. 1 billion (McAvoy, 2000). With the increase of interest in sports has become an increased interest of sports fans as consumers.Sport teams and companies arg on very interested in decoying as many consumers as possible to purchase game tickets or products. Therefore, sport marketers should ac experience the factors that drive fans to follow sport by attending, ceremonial on television, or purchasing products. However, understanding the notion of sports fans is not simple because their attitudes and bearings argon not determined by a single cause or factor that quite occur for a variety of reasons (Mashiach, 1980). contestation of the Problem There has been a growing interest in the study of sport fan motivations in recent years to better understand fan behaviors (Bilyeu Wann, 2002 Funk, Mahony, Nakazawa, Hirakawa, 2001 Funk, Mahony Ridinger, 2002 Funk, Ridinger, Moorman, 2003 Gantz, 1981 Kahle, Kambara, Rose, 1996 Lee, 2002 Mahony, Nakazawa, Funk, James, Gladden, 2002 Pease Zhang, 2001 Trail James, 2001 Wann, 1995 Wann, Bilyeu, Brennan, Osborn Gambouras, 1999 Wann, Brewer, 1 Royalty, 1999 Wann, Schrader Wilson, 1999). fe w of these studies have introduced measures of different inlet motivatings of sport fans. In addition, researchers have examined the relationship between fan motivation and other variables such as team assignment, involvement, gender, and race. The measures employ in preliminary studies to assess fan motivations vary in aloofness and number of components. However, both(prenominal) of the components argon used in all or closely scales such as the entertainment component, the family component, and the friends component.They also share very similar items with regard to similar components. Items used in most previous scales oft begin with the words I like, I enjoy, or I feel which raises a validity issue for the measures because the aforementioned words repre move satisfaction and attitude rather than motivation. Fan satisfaction relates to the happiness and pleasure associated with the outcome of a sporty event while fan attitude represents the opinion and feelings an mort al has about a sport team or sporting event.On the other hand, sport fan motivation refers to the reasons that drive individuals to support sport teams, be loyal to them, subvert team/sport related products, watch and attend sporting events. The Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to assess sport fan motives. Also, the smart measure was utilized to examine the relationship between fan motivation and ethnic identity. The Conceptual Framework The abstract framework of this study includes the discussion of two concepts.First, the Fan Motivation Scale and its matter go out be introduced. Second, the notion of ethnic identity and why it should be correlated with sport fan motivation lead be presented. The prior research (Wann, 1995 Funk, Mahony, Nakazawa, Hirakawa, 2001 Bilyeu Wann, 2002) identified various motives that could drive fans to attend sporting events. well-nigh of these motives are related to personal take (e ntertainment and financial 2 gain), favorable needs (bonding with family and ag separate affiliation), and psychological needs (self-esteem and motion).In attempt to measure the motives of sport fans, the researchers introduced different scales. These scales comprised different number of motives ranging from 7 motives with 16 items to 18 motives with 54 items. The length of some of the scales was not the only problem. The major concern for previous scales is in the content validity, the extent to which items used in the scale accurately represent fan motives. In fact, all previous scales include items that are more related to attitude and satisfaction then motivation. The reason for this problem is the wishing of pass water definition of sport fan motivation.The current study is going to view sport fan motivation as the reasons that drive individuals to support sport teams, be loyal to them, purchase team/sport related products, watch and attend sporting events. In addition, th is study will employ a canvass of related literature and the prior effort made on fan motivation scales to develop valid and reliable measures of sport fan motivation. The proposed Fan Motivation Scale (FMS) will measure six motives societal, entertainment, escape, aesthetic, psychological, and amotivation.The social motive assesses the extent to which individuals participate in sporting events as spectators because they desire to cut down time with their families (Gantz, 1981 Wann, 1995). Also, to some individuals, base affiliation is an important motivation of being a sport fan. Sport spectating provides a fan with opportunities to share time with others who enjoy the same activities. A fan may pauperization to keep affaire with a meeting of fans and seek refuge from a feeling of alienation (Branscombe Wann, 1991 Smith, 1988 Wann, 1995).The entertainment motive includes items that represent the desire of some individuals to have a good time and enjoy the excitement associ ated with sporting events. Some fans might enjoy a sport because of its entertainment range. Sport spectating provides fans with leisure pastime activities similar to watching movies or television. One advant era of sport spectating is that few special skills, if any, are required (Zillmann, Bryant Sapolsky, 1989 Wann, 1995).The escape motive of sport fans assesses the desire of sport fans to escape or diverge from their everyday lives. Attending a sporting event gives many people an 3 opportunity to temporarily forget about their troubling, dissatisfying, or long-winded lives (Smith, 1988 Lever Wheeler, 1984 Wann, Schrader Wilson, 1999). The aesthetic motive of sport fans appeals to those that are motivated by the aesthetic value of the sport. Some fans enjoy sports because of the competition between highly skilled athletes. The beauty, grace, and other artistic characteristics make some people enjoy sporting events (Milne McDonald, 1999 Wann, 1995).The psychological motive i s a factor that motivates sports fans and gives them a feeling of accomplishment and achievement when the fans favorite team or player is successful. Sports fans tend to associate themselves with a successful team or player in order to create and sustain a positive self-concept (Branscombe Wann, 1991 Milne McDonald, 1999 Sloan, 1989). Amotivation refers to the state of lacking an heading to act. When amotivated, individuals action lacks intentionality and a sense of personal causation (Ryan Deci, 2000).Amotivation results from not valuing an activity (Ryan, 1995), not feeling competent to do it (Deci, 1975), or not believing it will yield a craved outcome (Seligman, 1975). Some individuals might go to sport events and watch sport games because they have nothing else to do, bored, and want to kill time. These types of reasons had been neglected in previous studies of sport fan motivation. As mentioned earlier, prior research has examined the relationship between fan motivations a nd other variables such as sport involvement, team identification, and some demographic factors of selected sport fans.However, the ethnic identity of sport fans has been ignored in the literature. It might be assumed by some researchers that the race factor is enough representation of an individuals ethnic background. It is, however, only part of the concept. social identity is defined as a process of coming to terms with ones ethnic-racial rank and file group as a salient reference group (Smith, 1991, p. 182). Smith (1991) defined an ethnic group as a reference group called upon by people who share a prevalent history and culture (p. 181).According to Gordon (1985), culture deflects our social standards, values, cognitions, social perceptions, attributions, feelings, and sources of motivation. Individuals develop their ethnic identity through their social interaction with others. Through their interactions they begin to view themselves as others view them 4 (Stryker, 1980). heathen identity is viewed as part of social identity and it was defined by Tajfel (1981) as that part of an individuals self-concept which derives from his knowledge of his rank of a social group (or groups) together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership (p.255).An ethnic group is composed of a number of individuals who share a sense of group identity based on their unique culture, which include values, morals, and various customs, as well as shared origins. In the larger society, ethnic groups tend to maintain a sense of peoplehood (Dublin, 1996 Kornblum Janowitz, 1974 Portes, 1996). Forty years ago, Tumin (1964) defined an ethnic group as a social group which, within a large heathen and social system, claims or is accorded special status in terms of complexity of traits which it exhibits or is believed to exhibit (p.123).Distinguishing between ethnic groups is not always simple. Some ethnic minorities, such as African Americans, may have taken for granted(predicate) sensible differences that set them apart from other ethnic groups within the United States, but many racial individuals present an ambiguity because they belong to two or more ethnic groups, which makes ethnicity a subjective become (Root, 1992). Studying ethnic identity is very important because it is the foundation for what an individual believes about himself or herself. addicted the significance of ethnic identity, many researchers have been studying this fix. Phinney (1990) reviewed 70 studies of ethnic identity published between 1972 and 1990. She found that most of the studies have used one of trine theoretical frameworks to examine ethnic identity. The counterbalance framework is the social identity theory which ethnic identity is considered a component of social identity. societal theory refers to the need for an individual to be a member of a group that provides him or her with a sense of belonging that contributes to a positive self-concept.T he second framework is the acculturation prospective. The concept of acculturation refers to changes in the ethnical attitudes, value, and behaviors that result from interactions between two distinct cultures (Berry, Trimble, Olmedo, 1986). These kinds of changes are normally the concern of a group of individuals, and how it relates to the dominant or host society. Ethnic identity can be an aspect of acculturation in which the focus is on the individuals and how they relate to their testify group as a subgroup of the larger society (Phinney, 1990).The triplet framework is developmental framework, where ethnic identity is viewed as a process by which people construct their ethnicity. 5 Erikson (1968) indicated that identity is the outcome of a period of exploration and experimentation that normally takes place during adolescence and leads to a decision of cargo in various areas, such as occupation, and religion. This view of ethnic identity suggests age as a factor is strongly re lated to developing ones ethnic identity (Phinney, 1990). Phinney (1990) mentioned that most studies have focused on certain(prenominal) components of ethnic identity.These components include self-identification as a group member, a sense of belonging to the group, attitudes about ones group membership, and ethnic involvement (social participation, heathen practices and attitudes). Self-identification represents the ethnic label that one uses for oneself. The ability of children to label themselves with the right ethnic group was the addressed in a study by Aboud (187). Another issue was the relationship between incorrect labeling and poor self-concept (Cross, 1978). Adults are expected to know their ethnicity but the issue is what label one chooses to use for himself or herself.However, some ethnic groups have a little choice in what ethnic title they can use for themselves often because of their distinctive skin color or culture (language, dresses, customs, etc. ) which distingu ishes them from other groups. Additionally, some individuals have two or more ethnic backgrounds and they come out themselves as members of more than one group. Ethnic self-identification is an important but complex component of ethnic identity (Phinney, 1990). The feeling of belonging to ones own group is an important element of ethnic identity.Some researchers have tried to assess the sense of belonging by either asking people how strong was their relationship with their groups or how separate they feel from other groups (Driedger, 1976). Members of every ethnic group can have positive or veto attitudes toward their own group. Some of the positive attitudes related were pride in and pleasure, satisfaction, and contentment with ones group (Phinney, 1990). Negative attitudes include dissatisfaction, displeasure, discontentment, and a desire to hide ones identity (Driedger, 1976).People who display no positive attitudes or express negative attitudes can be seen as denying their eth nic identity (Phinney, 1990). In addition, the involvement in the social support and cultural practices of ones ethnic group is considered a strong indicator of ones ethnic identity. The social and cultural practices 6 that represent the involvement component include language, friendship, social organizations, religion, cultural traditions, and politics (Phinney, 1990). Phinney (1992) developed the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) with the purpose of assessing ethnic identity among various ethnic groups.The scale was designed to measure three components of ethnic identity affirmation and belonging, ethnic identity achievement, and ethnic behaviors. Roberts, Phinney, Masse, Chen, Roberts, and Romero (1999) examined the validity of the MEIM and conducted factor analysis with a large sample. The outcomes suggest that the scale measures two components of ethnic identity ethnic identity search and affirmation, belonging, and commitment. Ethnic identity search refers to a develo pmental and cognitive component. Affirmation, belonging, and commitment represent the affective component.However, the scale has been proven to be a valid and reliable measurement and it will be used in the context of this study. More discussion of the scale is provided in the method voice. Researchers have indicated that positive relationships do exist between ethnic identity and self-esteem, self-concept, psychological well-being, achievement, and satisfaction (Phinney, 1992 Roberts et al. , 1999 Delworth, 1989). However, it is the purpose of this study to examine the relationship between ethnic identity and motivations of sport fans.According to Phinney (1990) some studies have used sport as a cultural item to measure ethnic identity. Pons, Laroche, Nyeck, and Perreault (2001) indicated that the choice of a crabbed sporting event represents a strong cultural meaning for the individual. Some ethnic groups tend to identify with a specific sport, for example, soccer in the Italian community and hockey among the French Canadian. Pons et al. , (2001) declared ethnic groups do not all react to sporting events in the same way they differ in the means and the pace of their integration into the host culture (p.238).African American consumers tend to attend historically dumb college/university sports more frequently than they did any other sport. The level of ethnic identification of African American fans has significant affect on their attendance oftenness to historically Black college/university sports (Armstrong, 2002). Moreover, previous studies showed differences in motivation between African American and European American sport fans based on ethnicity (Wann, Bilyeu, Brennan, Osborn, Gambouras, 1999 Bilyeu Wann, 2002 Armstrong, 2002). 7Therefore, it is expected that there is a relationship between sport fans motivation and ethnic identity. Research Hypotheses H1 Ethnic identity is positively related to sport fan motivations. H2 There is a difference betwee n African American and European American in their ethnic identity. Operational Definitions Ethnic Identity part of an individuals self-concept that derives from his or her knowledge of membership in a social group (or groups) together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership (Phinney, 1992, p.156).Sport fan refers to someone who is enthusiastic about a particular sport team or athlete (Wann, 1995). Sport fan motivation refers to the reasons that drive individuals to support sport teams, be loyal to them, buy team/sport related products, watch and attend sporting events. Delimitations This study is delimitated to 1. Investigate the ethnic identity and motivations of sport fans in general. For that reason, no specific group of fans (i. e. , basketball fans, football fans) was examined. 2.The student at Florida State University (FSU) and Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University (FAMU), therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to commonwealths oth er than the population from which the sample was drawn. 8 Limitations This study is limited to the following 1. The outcome of this study depends on the participants honesty and cooperation in answering the questions. 2. Due to the nature of this study as self-administrated surveys, the researchers access is limited to the classes gained via consent to attend and meet. Assumptions This study is based on the following assumptions 1.The surveys used in this study are clear and understandable for the participants. 2. The participants will answer the questions honestly and accurately. 3. The surveys are valid and reliable. Significance of the Study The sport marketers are in a high competition within the sport industry and also with outside competitors. teenage generations are attracted through technology to new types of entertainment such as computer/video games and the X-Games. These new entertainment options have already attracted a significant amount of attention from the so -call ed X-generation (Kwon Trail, 2003, p. 1).Therefore, sport marketers should be concern about the future of the sport industry. In order for sport marketers to maintain their consumer base and to attract young generation, they should explore and examine the consuming behavior of sport fans and the factors that might influence their behavior. According to Gramann and Allison (1999), the increase in the ethnic diversity of North America is one of the most powerful demographic forces cause U. S. and Canadian society (p. 283). Therefore, studying ethnic identity as an important social characteristic of sport fans is important to sport marketers.The importance of studying ethnic groups among sport fans is reflected by the increasing percentage of minority participation in professional sport, especially African American. African American athletes represent 25 to 75 percent of athletes on the rosters for the three popular sports (baseball, basketball, football) (Gano-Overway Duda, 2001). 9 The goal of this study was to introduce a new measure of fan motivation which will assist practitioners in the sport industry to understanding the driving factors for sport fans to attend sporting events, support sport teams, or buy team/sport related products.Also, the relationship between motivations and ethnic identity of sport fans was examined. The outcome of the study should provide practitioners with valuable nurture to assist them in understanding the various motives of sport fans based on their ethnic identity. Therefore, sport marketers should be able to improve their plans and strategies to maintain their fan base and fulfill the desires for their target market. 10 CHAPTER 2 lit REVIEW The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature on ethnic identity and motivation of sport fans.It should be noted that to date, no research has combined and analyzed the interaction of the two identified variables. As such, the first section of this chapter focuses on the rese arch that has been done on the ethnic identity of sport fans. The second section discusses motives of sport fans as well as scales that have been used to assess these motives. Ethnic Identity and Sport Fans Ethnicity as social and cultural characteristic of sport fans has been ignored in the literature although the race factor, which is the physical aspect of ethnicity, has been utilized for comparison between ethnic groups.However, Armstrong (2002) examined the influence of ethnic identification on Black consumers attendance at historically Black college/university (HBCU) sports. To assess ethnic identification, Armstrong used a self-report measure in which participants were asked to identify their ethnic group based on ethnic categories (Black/African American, Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, and other) and to rate the rapture of their identification with their ethnic group on a scale from 1 (weak) to 5 (very strong).The hypothesis was that the identification of Black consumers with their ethnic group would have a significant influence on their attendance frequency at HBCU sport events. The findings offered support for the hypothesis indicating a positive relationship between ethnic identification and attendance frequency. In another study, Armstrong (2000) examined the influence of ethnic identification on African American students touch of persuasive sport communications (i. e. , advertisement, promotional messages, developmental campaigns, and promulgations).The ethnic identification of the respondents was measured using a 13-item scale developed by Whittler, Calatone, and Young (1991). The scale assesses two major factors of ethnic identification (cross-race charity and political and social 11 relations among Blacks). The outcome of the study revealed that ethnic identification has an effect on participants reaction to racial heuristics in the communication. African American consumers are more likely to have a positive reaction to a persuasive communicat ion if the message were culturally relevant and delivered by a Black spokesperson. Pons et al.(2001) looked at the impact ethnic identity could have on the consumption behavior and orientation of sport consumers. They measured language (3 items), religion (3 items), and social participation with ones own ethnic group (6 items) as three symmetrys of ethnic identity. The orientation of sport consumers has three attributes. The first dimension refers to sporting events as a provider of sensations in which consumers have an emotional attachment to the event or the product. The second dimension represents individuals need to understand the sporting event, which lead to better appreciation for the event.The third dimension of orientation toward sporting event refers to the socialization opportunities presented for sport consumers. The consumption behaviors include purchase of sporting good, tickets, and time devoted to sporting events. The results offered support for the idea that ethnic identity has a positive impact on the consumption and orientation of sport consumers. In regard to the race of sport consumers as part of their ethnicity, researchers have found a difference between Blacks and Whites concerning their sport involvement (Spreitzer Snyder, 1990).Sport involvement included seven dimensions watching sports on television, listening to sport on the radio, reading the sport pages of the newspaper, watching/listening to sports news on radio/television, reading sports books, reading sports magazines, and talking about sports with friends (Spreitzer Snyder, 1990, p. 51). The findings revealed significant effect of race on sport involvement regardless of respondents social background characteristics (i. e. , age, sex, education, income, town size).Blacks tend to be more elusive in sport than Whites. The authors argued that the findings reflect a distinctive subculture within the black community. Rudman (1986) examined the relationship between race, social structure, and sport orientations. The main goal of the study was to see whether factors that affect sport orientations are race-dependant. The results showed Blacks to be more likely than Whites to become vicariously involved in sport outcomes and to incorporate sport into their daily 12 lives.Based on the overall analyses, the author argued that social and economic conditions provide a better news report of differences in sport orientations. He used the term culture of poverty to indicate that socioeconomic positions are more likely to make boor blacks and boor whites see sport as an opportunity to erect social prestige and economic position. At the college level, Armstrong (2001) examined ethnic minority students consumption of college sport events. The ethnic minorities included African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and Others.She looked at the degree of ethnic minority students interest in sport spectating, the frequency in which they attend university sponsored sport events , and the factors that influence their decision to attend campus sport events. Eight factors were tested to see their influence on the students attendance. The factors are the price of the tickets, academic commitment, significant others, friends, watching the event on television, the option to spend money on other things, not knowing when tickets are available, the quality of the opponent.The factors identified had no significant influence on students attendance. The findings indicate that ethnic minority students generally had a favorable attitude towards sport spectating. However, about 44% of the student tell that they never attend a campus sport event, 41% stated that they seldom attended, and 15% have attended often. The author contended that minority students had a favorable attitude toward sport spectating but they never or seldom attend sport events on campus because they view these events as say to a specific group (i.e. , dominant ethnic group).For minority students to be motivated to attend, the sport event has to be socially and culturally relevant to the students ethnic background. In professional sport, Zhang, Pease, Hui, Michaud (1995) and Zhang, Pease, Smith, Lee, Lam, Jambor (1997) indicated that factors such as game promotions, amenities, and schedule convenience influenced ethnic minorities attendance differently and more significantly than they did Whites.Therefore, sport marketers should emphasize the sociocultural factors (i. e., offering different ethnic foods at the concession stands, playing different ethnic music, making announcement in different languages) in promoting sport consumption of ethnic minority consumers (Armstrong, 2001 Hofacre Burman, 1992 McCarthy Stillman, 1998). 13 In a direct connection to the current investigation, previous studies have found differences on the motivations of sport fans based on ethnicity. Wann, Bilyeu, Brennan, Osborn, Gambouras (1999) investigated the relationship between sport fans motiva tion and race. A sample of 65 Euro-Americans and 32 African Americans absolute the Sport Fan Motivation Scale (SFMS).The SFMS, developed by Wann (1995), includes eight motivational factors (eustress, self-esteem benefit, warp from everyday life, entertainment value, economic value, aesthetic value, need for affiliation, and family needs). The findings indicated that Euro-Americans reported higher motivation than African Americans. The authors argued that certain motives might be applicable to only a subset of races. In a recent study, Bilyeu and Wann (2002) examined the racial differences in sport fan motivation between African Americans and European Americans.First, 50 African American participants stainless a demographic questionnaire and an interview with the researcher to discuss their motives for being a sport fan. Second, the motives discovered from the interviews were sent to African American psychologists and sociologists for validation. Third, the new motives were added to the SFMS, then the African American and European American participants were asked to complete the SFMS.The findings suggested that three new factors be added to the SFMS representation (e. g. , people of the same background), similarity (e. g., people they have things in common with), and support/perceived greater equality (e. g. , people they want to succeed) (Bilyeu Wann, 2002, p. 93). Armstrong (2002) indicated that previous investigations of motivation for sport consumption were not applicable to Black consumers because the samples used in these investigations were predominantly White. Therefore, she added a cultural affiliation motive to the SFMS, developed by Wann (1995), and administered it to a sample of only Black consumers of sport. The findings supported the hypotheses that cultural affiliation is a viable motive for Blacks sport consumption.In addition, the factor structure of the SFMS with the inclusion of the cultural affiliation motive differed from previous studi es (Wann, 1995 Wann, Schrader, Wilson, 1999). Therefore, the Black Consumer Sport Motivation Scale (BCSMS) was introduced including the following factors eustress, group recreation, aesthetics, cultural affiliation, group entertainment, escape, and 14 personal (economic/psychological) investment. At the conclusion of the study, the author stated, behaviors and motives related to sport consumption may also be influenced by the social and psychological manifestations of culture (Armstrong, 2002, p.329).In summary, although research on ethnic identity for sport fans is very limited, a strong relationship was found between sport consumers ethnic identity and sport consumption and orientation. Also, the differences found on the motivations for sport fans based on ethnicity, should indicate a strong relationship between sport fans motivation and ethnic identity. However, it is the goal of this investigation to examine this relationship.