Results from a recent study have shown that our brains respond differently to actions from our own sporting team.

This means that we will perceive the reactions of our own team to be faster or better than that of another team, even when reactions are the same.

The studies conducted by the University of Queensland in conjunction with the Queensland Brain Institute ruled out the possibility it is a conscious decision to favour a particular team.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging technology was used to asses brain activity during the experiments. Although it was shown that there was a difference in the brain’s response it was shown to be less simple than a mere bias in opinion. Further studies are being planned.