Similarly, overshadowing plays a major role in professional sports teams that have multiple superstars. For instance, the Los Angeles Lakers in the early 2000s had two of the best players in basketball on the same team: Shaquille O'Neil and Kobe Bryant. By 2003, the Lakers had won three straight championships. It is worth noting that Shaq, a seasoned veteran at this point in his career, was the Finals MVP in all of those championships; his legacy in Los Angeles as a dominant player was cemented. To explain it psychologically, achieving victory (US) brings out positive emotions (UR) in people. Since Shaq was the Finals MVP for three straight years, it is reasonable to assume that Shaq (NS #1) received more accolades from Lakers fans than Kobe (NS #2). Therefore, Shaq is the more salient member of the two players and now becomes a conditioned stimulus for positive emotions in Lakers fans. In other words, Shaq receives more attention than Kobe. The negative effects of this overshadowing situation became more apparent as their time together continued; both Shaq and Kobe were highly critical of each other's playstyle and leadership. Kobe, for example, ventured to say that "leaders (referring to Shaq) don't beg for a contract extension and negotiate some 30 million per year...and would not demand the ball every time down the floor..." Evidently, overshadowing and its side effects are prominent in professional sports.
Link to details about the Shaq-Kobe feud: http://espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1648431
Powell, R., Honey, P., Symbaluk, D. (2013). Introduction to learning and behavior. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Powell, R., Honey, P., Symbaluk, D. (2013). Introduction to learning and behavior. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
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