The NCAA basketball tournament has the power to change behavioral patterns, according to Charles Clotfelter, a Duke University professor who released his findings in a new study last week.

Clotfelter studied work habits before, during and after "Selection Sunday," the day NCAA tournament competitors are determined.

He studied activity in 78 research libraries between 2006 and 2008.

Clotfelter found that the number of articles viewed through online academic journals increased by 5 percent each week leading up to "Selection Sunday."

The number of articles viewed fell 6 percent right after the field was announced.

"This drop in research activity in these libraries is quantitative evidence of the NCAA tournament's power to influence patterns of work," Clotfelter said in a press release.

"The post-selection dip occurred both in libraries not connected to universities with Division I teams as well as those with them," he added.

In 2008, an estimated 37 million workers participated in "March Madness" office pools, according to the study.

And it might be in a person's best interest to have their teams lose, Clotfelter said.

"By all appearances, fans of losing teams shook off the disappointment and returned to work in greater numbers or with greater diligence, while the fans of winning teams continued to follow their team into the next round," he said.

"Such an effect would imply an ironic sort of 'winner's curse,' where students and researchers at universities whose teams win unexpectedly do less work than those whose favorite teams are also-rans."

Staff writer Sadia Latifi