Celebration Beats Frustration: Emotional Cues and Alcohol Use During Soccer Matches

Abstract

Emotions significantly influence human behavior during decision-making. While lab evidence is abundant, field studies are limited, often with rough measures or temporal gaps between triggers and behavior. Using high-frequency beer sales, in-play match data, and betting odds in a soccer stadium, we study the immediate impact of emotional cues on alcohol consumption. We integrate the emotional constructs Surprise and Suspense, considering positive and negative states. Surprise consistently increases beer sales, suggesting alcohol consumption in emotionally charged situations. Suspense mainly reduces beer sales. The positive emotional state dominates over the negative one regarding effect sizes, offering evidence that “celebration beats frustration.”

Keywords: immediate emotions, alcohol consumption, in-play betting odds, reference point, surprise, suspense, emotional state, bayesian hierarchical modeling

JEL Classification: C11, D12, D91, I12