Lecture 20: Group Dynamics Flashcards
Exercise is often a…
Group activity (e.g. group fitness classes, running group)
What is a group?
a collation of individuals who have a relationship to one another that make them interdependent to some significant degree (dependent on each other to help accomplish goals set for ourselves)
What are the 4 key requirements for a grouo?
- Interaction
- Mutual awareness
- Interdependence
- Continuity over time
What do we need to do to understand group performance?
Need to consider the group processes as well as individual ability
What are two group processes?
Team cohesion and leadership
What is Steiners model of group performance?
Actual performance = Potential performance (productivity) - losses due to poor/lack or team work/spirit
What is actual productivity? (Steiners)
What the group actually does i.e. performance
What is potential productivity? (Steiners)
Groups best possible performance given the resources relevant to the task and the demands of that task
What is the process? (Steiners)
Everything the group does while transforming its resources into a product i.e. performance
What is a faulty process? (Steiners)
The ineffective use of available resources to meet task demands
What two losses cause a faulty process?
- Motivation losses
- Coordination losses
What are motivation losses?
Occur when some or all members of the team don’t give 100% effort for 100% of the time (e.g. social loafing)
What are coordination losses?
poor timing, teamwork or strategy
What is a coach or leaders role to reduce faulty process?
develop and practice organisational strategies that reduce concentration losses and maintain optimal motivation levels
What is the ringelmann effect?
Average individual performance decreases with increases in group size
What were the results when ringelmann tested his effect?
Average individual performance decreased with increased group size = “harder to reach potential”
1 person = 100% of avg. individual force
2 people = 93%
3 people = 85%
8 people = 49%
What did Ingham et al (1974) find in a replication and extension of Ringelmann’s study?
Average individual performance decreased to 85% in 3-person groups, 78% in 6-person groups.
Concluded that this was due to: ===» “ Motivational Losses”
Although coordination links increase as group size increases….
Ringelmann is not due to coordination losses.
What is the overall conclusion that decreases in individual average performance are due to?
motivational losses -> social loafing
What is social loafing?
Reduced individual effort when performing as part of a group - deals with motivational losses in groups
What happens when “identifiability” of individual performances is lost in a group performance?
performances decrease because of the diffusion of responsibility and lack of accountability
What can decrease social loafing?
Monitoring individual performances
What can increase individual effort in groups?
Social initiatives
What are social initiatives?
Can be peer pressure from teammates, praise/recognition, social approval and social support.
What happened in the Everett et al. (1992) Swim Study?
- Individual lap times were announced (high identifiability) -> Individuals swam faster in relays than in individual races
- Lap times not announced (low identifiability) -> Individuals swam faster in the individual races than relays
What is Carron’s model of Cohesion?
A dynamic process which reflects the tendency for a group to stick together while pursuing common goals
What is the dynamic of cohesion? (Carron’s model)
it is constantly changing in response to group goals and in response to both individual and group conflict, and the resolution of those conflicts
What are the two distinct and independent dimensions associated with team cohesion?
Social and Task Cohesion
What is social cohesion?
“interpersonal attraction” Reflects the degree to which the members of a team like each other and enjoy each others company.
==> TEAM SPIRIT
What is task cohesion?
Reflects the degree to which members of a team work together to achieve a specific and identifiable task e.g. strategy, game plan etc. ==> TEAM WORK
What is the traditional assumption about cohesiveness?
cohesiveness is directly related to team success
What is a positive social cohesion relationship?
More social cohesion leads to performance being better
What is a negative social cohesion relationship?
More social cohesion leads to performance being worse
What are the different sport types? (4)
- Independence
- Co-active Dependence
- Reactive and Proactive Dependence
- Interactive Dependence
What is the independence sport type?
coordinated action of individuals is not required for performance success (e.g., archery, rifle shooting, triathlon)
What is co-active dependence?
members perform similar tasks simultaneously for team effectiveness. (e.g., rowing, tug-of-war, team cycling)
What is reactive and proactive dependence?
one member initiates action; another completes the action (e.g., softball pitcher & catcher, cricket bowler & wicketkeeper)
What is interactive dependence?
members mutually dependent on each other for successful performance (e.g., basketball, hockey, soccer)
For what 3 sport types do social cohesion and performance appear to be largely unrelated?
- Independence
- Co-active Dependence
- Reactive and Pro-active Dependence
For what sport type are social and task cohesion an performance positively related?
Interactive dependent sports
