RESUMO
Two studies investigated the effects of manipulating team membership on the evaluation of a football player. We hypothesized that the evaluations of the same football player, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, would vary as a function of the categorization process. For study 1, participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Manchester United, Mexican National team or control. Results showed that "Chicharito" obtained better evaluations when his membership to Manchester United was made salient. In study 2, participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: Manchester United and Mexican National team condition. We found support for the mediating role of team evaluation on the relationship between team membership and the evaluations of Chicharito. The theoretical and applied implications were discussed.
