Empirical findings  

One of the most influential studies of this phenomenon was done by  Robert
Cialdini  in 1976, known as The
Three (Football) Field Study.  [9]  He discovered that the students sought to
have the success of their football team linked to them by wearing school-
identified apparel. These students associated themselves with a success, even
though they in no way affected or caused the success. Through three different
experiments, Cialdini was able to demonstrate the BIRGing phenomenon. The
first experiment demonstrated BIRGing by showing that students have a greater
tendency to wear apparel with the university's colors and name after the
football team had won a game. In the second experiment, subjects used the
pronoun "we" to associate themselves more with a positive than a negative
source.  [10]  This was shown most prominently when their public reputation
was at risk. When the subjects failed a task, they had a greater tendency to
affiliate themselves with a winner, and less of a tendency to associate
themselves with a loser. The third experiment replicated the finding that
students used the pronoun "we" more when describing a victory compared to a
non-victory by their school's football team. The researchers found that
BIRGing is an attempt to enhance one's public image. The tendency to proclaim
a connection with a positive source was strongest when one's public image was
threatened. Thus, people bask in reflected glory to boost their self-esteem by
associating themselves with a positive source.

A feeling of involvement is also necessary for BIRGing to occur. It is
frequently seen as a cognitive process that affects behavior. In Bernhardt et
al.'s study published in 1998,  [11]  researchers examined physiological
processes related to BIRGing, specifically, changes in the production of 
endocrine hormones  . Fans watched
their favorite sports teams (basketball and soccer) win or lose. The men's
testosterone levels increased while watching their team win, but decreased
while watching their team lose. Thus, this study shows that physiological
processes may be involved with BIRGing, in addition to the known changes in
self-esteem and cognition.  [8]

The opposite of BIRGing is **cutting off reflected failure** ( **CORFing** ).
[1]  [8]  This is the idea that people tend to disassociate themselves from
lower-status individuals because they do not want their reputations affected
by associating with the people who are considered failures. In 2002, Boen et
al.  [12]  demonstrate this effect in a political context. They examined
houses with at least a poster or lawn sign supporting a political candidate
days before elections in Belgium. The houses that showed support for the
winning candidate displayed their posters and lawn signs for a longer period
after the elections than did those who supported the loser. CORFing behavior
was studied in basketball fans after a defeat,  [13]  where the fans refuse to
take a team poster, removed their posters or paraphernalia, avoided other fans
and stayed in a bad mood after a defeat. Thus, the tendency for individuals to
display their association with a successful source and to conceal their
association with an unsuccessful one was empirically supported.

These empirical studies show how even in controlled situations, people
unconsciously seek acceptance by associating themselves with successful
individuals. Whether this is accomplished by wearing brand names or parents
covering their car with stickers about how talented their child is,  [5]
BIRGing has been found in both the naturalistic and experimental setting.