Group Cohesion Flashcards
Why study group?
-Human’s have an innate need to belong
-Desire for inclusion might be the most important human characteristic
What a team is not
-A statistical grouping (e.g., 20-yr. olds)
-Unorganized collections (e.g., a football crowd)
-Subculture (e.g., French-Canadians)
-Organizations (e.g., the United Way)
-Associations (e.g., Basketball Canada)
*Defining a team in terms of… Common goals, accidental interaction, or organization is not adequate
Group dynamics definition
The study of the nature of groups and their development, and the interrelationships of groups with individuals, other groups, and larger institutions.
Team/true group 5 factors
-Common fate
-Mutual benefit
-Social structure
-Quality interaction
-Self-categorization
Team model
-Team environment and member attributes correlate with team structure
-Individual outcomes and team outcomes correlate with team processes
*emergent states correlate with both
Member attributes (2 factors)
- Team composition: Characteristics of individuals who compose the group (personality, age, gender, ethnicity, etc.)
- Team resources: include psychological characteristics and members’ ability (skill, experience, etc.)
Team environment (2 factors)
- Team features: team size, sport type, competition level.
- Team territory: physical space as a variable that can contribute to group and individual satisfaction and performance (home, away, etc.)
Team structure (4 factors)
- Roles: Ensure roles are defined, clear, and accepted
- Norms: Standards for behaviours that are expected of group members
- Leadership: formal and informal leaders
- Subgroups: positive and negative
Team processes (3)
- Cooperation and competition: the dynamics of cooperation and competition between team members
- Interaction and communication: essential process for the team to come to an understanding about itself and where it is going.
- Leadership (can be structure or processes)
Emergent states (3)
- Cohesion
- Social identity
- Team resilience
Cohesion
“Dynamic process reflected in the tendency for a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of its instrumental objectives and/or the satisfaction of member affective needs”.
Characteristics of Cohesion (4)
- Multidimensional
-Factors that hold groups together are varied and numerous. - Dynamic
-Reasons for cohesion can change over time. - Instrumental
-All groups form for a reason. - Affective
-Sometimes groups stay together because there are strong emotional ties.
Concept model of group cohesion
Multidimensional construct that includes:
- Group integration: Beliefs members hold about the group as a collective.
*split into task and social cohesion
task= “our team is united trying to achieve its performance goals
social= “our team wants to spend time together in off-season”
- Individual attractions to group: Beliefs group members hold about personal benefits.
*split into task and social cohesion
task= “I am happy with my team’s desire to win”
social= “this team is one of the most important social groups I belong to”
Task vs. social cohesion
Task= orientation towards achieving group’s objectives
Social= orientation towards developing and maintaining social relations
Correlates of group cohesion (4)
-Environmental correlates
-Personal correlates
-Leadership correlates
-Team correlates
Environmental correlates of group cohesion
*group size
-Inverse relationship between cohesion and group size
-The smaller the group, the greater the level of cohesion
-Documented in both sport and exercise
Personal correlates of group cohesion
*effort and sacrifices
-Perceptions of a team’s cohesiveness are associated with an individual’s actual or perceived level of effort in a team-sport setting.
-Individual and teammates’ sacrifices contribute to team task and social cohesion
-There is a reduction in individual effort when individuals work collectively compared to when they work alone.
-Social loafing of group
Social loafing
When individuals in groups give less than 100% effort
Ex. Rope pulling task (as the # of people increased, the effort per person decreased)
Increased under the following conditions:
1. Individual output cannot be evaluated.
2. Task perceived as low in meaningfulness.
3. Individual personal involvement is low.
4. Individuals are strangers to each other.
5. Teammates are seen as high ability.
6. Competing against weaker opponent.
Leadership correlates
Transformational leadership/coaching increase cohesion on teams.
Team correlates
*success and efficacy
-Recent meta-analyses have indicated a moderate to large positive relationship between cohesion and performance.
-Teams high in collective efficacy rated task and social cohesion higher than teams lower in collective efficacy.
Mediation model of group cohesion and leadership
Leadership behaviour, when increasing attributes of cohesion, increases intention to return to sport
*cohesion= mediator
Team building
Programs promoting an increased sense of unity and cohesiveness within a team.
4 Stage team building model
Introduction stage: coaches or leaders are presented with a brief overview of the benefits of cohesion to their specific setting.
Conceptual stage: provides a frame of reference for the participants. Introduces a conceptual model where cohesion within the group is viewed as a product of conditions that arise from 3 different categories of group characteristics (group environment, group structure and group processes)
Practical stage: coaches and exercise leaders start developing their own practical strategies they will use
Intervention stage: coaches and exercise leaders take the team-building protocols they have developed at the workshop and introduce them into their groups.
