Group cohesion

Question 1

What is cohesion?

Answer 1

• The tendency for individuals to work together to achieve their goals, the forces that keep the group members on task.

Question 2

What is Co-action sports?

Answer 2

• Where you perform individually but your efforts contribute to a whole team’s performance.
• E.g. in rowing team, athletics team (Team GB).

Question 3

What is Interactive sports?

Answer 3

• When a group works together to produce results. Each player has a different role, and this role must be coordinated with other team members roles for performance success.
• E.g. a netball team, rugby team etc.

Question 4

What are the 2 types of cohesion?

Answer 4

• Task cohesion.
• Social cohesion.

Question 5

Characteristics of task cohesion

Answer 5

• Group members work in unity and are motivated to meet a common aim.
• They may not socialise away from team or shared views.
• Coordinated in a performance sense, coming together and work hard for a good result.
• Success comes as a team, e.g. well linked attack in football.

Question 6

Characteristics of social cohesion

Answer 6

• Group members get along and feel attached to others (building interpersonal connections).
• Communicate and support each other both inside and outside the sporting arena.
• More important in co-active sports, where you perform individually but your efforts contribute to team success.

Question 7

The most effective teams need both task and social cohesion because….

Answer 7

• Social will help the team be interactive, help with communication and team spirit.
• Task provides motivation, driving the team towards achieving their goals.

Question 8

Which one is more important, task or social cohesion?

Answer 8

• Social cohesion can have a negative influence on the group, it can produce sub-groups or ‘cliques’.
• This may lead to some group members not cooperating or contributing to team discussions.
• Task cohesion is seen to be important, as it can override the problems caused by social.
• The performance/ results of the team may still be good even if players don’t socialise outside of playing.
• Without task cohesion those results would be poor.

Question 9

Carron’s Antecedents

Answer 9

• Carron suggests that there are 4 main influences on team members to help them work together:
  1. Personal factors.
  2. Environmental factors.
  3. Leadership factors.
  4. Team factors.