A project led by Research Assistant Doğan Güneş Temli of the Department of Psychology at Ondokuz Mayıs University’s (OMU) Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences has been selected for funding under the TÜBİTAK 1002-A Programme.

The project, titled “Changing Rival Sports Fans’ Feelings toward One Another through a Video Game-Based Intervention: An Experimental Model in the Context of Competition, Superordinate Group Identity, Flow, and Enjoyment of Contact,” aims to examine the nature of intergroup contact in highly competitive social settings and develop an experimental model for making such interactions more constructive.

As part of the study, supporters of rival sports teams will be brought together in an experimental setting to explore the emotional dimensions of intergroup interaction.

The research will investigate how positive experiences during contact and the quality of interaction may influence feelings toward rival groups. The project is based on the premise that competition does not necessarily function solely as a divisive force, but may also provide a basis for constructive intergroup outcomes when managed appropriately.

Research Assistant Doğan Güneş Temli serves as the principal investigator, while Professor Leman Pınar Tosun of the Department of Psychology at Bursa Uludağ University contributes to the project as advisor.