Group cohesion Flashcards
Define cohesion
The tendency for individuals to work together to achieve their goals, the forces that keep the group members on task
What is believed about cohesion?
Some believe that a team must be cohesive to achieve any success, whereas others think cohesion will develop as the team becomes successful
What are co-action sports?
Where you perform individually but your efforts contribute to a whole team’s performance
What are examples of co-action sports?
A rowing team, athletics team (GB), golf (Ryder Cup)
What are interaction sports?
When a group works together to produce results. Each player has a different role, and this role must be coordinated with other team member roles for performance success
What are examples of interaction sports?
A netball team, football team, rugby team
What are the 2 types of cohesion?
Task cohesion and social cohesion
What is task cohesion?
Group members work in unity and are motivated to meet a common aim
- They may not socialise away from team or share views
What is social cohesion?
Group members get along and feel attached to others (building interpersonal connections)
- Communicate and support each other both inside and outside the sporting arena
When is task cohesion vital?
In interactive sports
When is social cohesion most important?
In co-active sports
Why do the most effective teams need both task and social cohesion?
- Social will help the team be interactive, help with communication and team spirit
- Task provides motivation, driving the team towards achieving their goals
What is a problem with social cohesion?
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
Why can task cohesion be seen as more important than social cohesion?
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
What are the 4 main influences on team members to help them work together that Carron suggested?
- Personal factors
- Environmental factors
- Leadership factors
- Team factors
What are personal factors?
- Similarity of group members in terms of aspirations, opinions, values, age, gender, fitness and ability
- Levels of motivation shown
- Are they happy with their role (satisfaction)
- How they fit in
What are environmental factors?
- Size of group – the larger the group, the better the chance of more productivity. But there is also more chance of social loafing and the Ringelmann effect developing. Motivation may also be lost in a larger group. Mixtures of age and gender may reduce cohesion. If a group is too large ‘cliques’ can form
- Time available – the longer the group has been together, the more time they will have to learn each other’s roles
- Facilities / £ – better facilities better players, scholarships, contracts…
- Mix of age may reduce cohesion and desire to reach goal
What are leadership factors?
- Leadership style chosen by coach/captain is important (motivation)
- As is how the coach/captain gets on with the others in the team
- Personality & behaviour
- Relationship with group
What are team factors?
- Ability of group
- Shared experience in both victory and defeat
- Common will to win
- The longer the team have been together, the more chance of cohesion (stability)
- Motivation to get better for the benefit of your teams’ success
