Team Cohesion and Performance Flashcards
(18 cards)
What is team cohesion?
The total field of forces which act on members to remain in the group
What characteristics does team cohesion have?
- Multidimensional
- Dynamic
- Instrumental
- Affective
What is task cohesion?
The degree to which members of a group work together to achieve common goals
What is social cohesion?
The degree to which members of a team like each other and enjoy one another company
Why should we distinguish the two types of cohesion?
It can help explain why a team needs to succeed…
For example, teams low in social cohesion and high in task cohesion
What is the conceptual model of cohesion? Carron 1998
Environmental factors
Leadership Factors
Personal Factors and Team factors affect cohesion which affects group outcomes and individual outcomes
What are the environmental factors?
The normative forces holding a group together.
Sports contracts, social pressures against quitting
What are personal factors?
The individual characteristics of group members.
Demographic attributes
Behaviour (social loafing)
Cognitions (anxiety, responsitbility)
What are leadership factors?
Clear, unambiguous communication from coaches regarding team goals, tasks and member roles can influence cohesion
What are team factors?
Group task characteristics, desire for group success.
Length of time together
Shared experience
Collective efficacy
How do we measure cohesion?
Questionnaires
What is the group environment questionnaire? Martens 1972
Group integration (task)... how group members work together to achieve goal Group integration (social)...the beliefs about the teams closeness and bonding Individual attraction to group (task)... personal motivation Individual attraction to group (social)... interpersonal attractions
Does a higher level of cohesion improve performance?
83% of studies reported a positive relationship between cohesion and performance (Widmeyer 1993)
Is the impact of cohesion always positive?
Patterson 2005, task cohesion not related to performance
How can we enhance cohesion?
Attendance rates (Paskevich 2001) Exercise classes (Spink 1993)
What happened in the walk Kansas case study?
8 week walking programme
Encourage families, co-workers, friends to come together
Showed increased in moderate PA
No significant decrease in team cohesion at 6 months still being implemented
How does team building work?
group goal setting
interpersonal relationships
individual role development
managerial grid approach
How can coaches build team cohesion?
communicate effectively develop pride subunits set challenging group goals encourage group identity avoid formation of social cliques
