group and team dynamics in sport

group

a number of people who communicate with eachother and work towards a common goal or objective

stages of group development

1. forming

2. storming

3. norming

4. performing

forming

a group gets together to start to test their relationships and work out their roles

storming

heightened tension because rebels may emerge against the leader and competitions for status or roles begin

norming

norms, rules and behavioural standards are established, cooperation starts to replace conflict and there is group cohesion

performing

groups have matured and relationships are established, group can work as a team with the primary goal being group success

group cohesion

a group that sticks together and remains united in order to achieve its goals

what is one of a coaches most important jobs in group formation

the creation of team spirit and building of a successful team

steiner model of group cohesion

actual productivity = potential productivity - losses due to faulty processes

steiner model potential productivity

best performance of the group taking into account resources available and abilities of individuals within the group

steiner model faulty processes

group fail to fulfill their potential because of process faults such as coordination or motivation problems

affect of team size on motivation

increasing the team size decreases motivation

the ringelmann effect

• he measured the amount of effort exerted by individuals in a tug of war event with increasingly large numbers of up to 8 team members

• as team size increased, effort decreased

social loafing

when a performer attempts to hide in a group situation

often the player will “coast” through the game and not perform to their maximum potential

social loafing reduction

• identify situations that allow social loafing to occur

• identifying individuals contribution to the team effort

  • e.g team statistics

• increasing peer pressure

• giving more responsibility/setting individual roles and targets

• ensuring individuals recognise the role of others

• using extrinsic motiviation

  • player of the match awards

• goal setting