Week 5: Group dynamics and cohesion

What defines a group?

A collection of interacting individuals who have a sense of shared purpose/common goals and mutual influence.

What is a team?

Any group of people who must interact with each other to accomplish shared objectives.

(Carron and Hausenblaus, 1998)

List the four characteristics that separate teams from groups.

1. Collective sense of identity

2. Distinctive roles

3. Structured modes of communication

4. Norms

What are the 3 theories of group development?

1. Linear theory

2. Cyclical theory

3. Pendular theory

What is the linear theory of group development? What are the 4 stages?

Groups develop in stages or in a linear fashion.

1. Forming

2. Storming

3. Norming

4. Performing

What occurs during the 'forming' stage of group development?

Familiarisation, social comparisons, and identification of strengths/weaknesses.

What characterises the 'storming' stage of group development?

Resistance to leader, interpersonal conflicts, infighting, communication and establishing role/status

What happens in the 'norming' stage of group development?

Conflicts are resolved, solidarity and cooperation increase, and a sense of unity/goals develops.

What is the focus during the 'performing' stage of group development?

Togetherness, team success, problem-solving, roles are defined and testing new ideas.

What are group roles?

The specific functions individuals perform within a group.

Name some of the 11 informal roles (Cope et al, 2011)

• Comedian

• Spark plug   

• Cancer

• Enforcer

• Mentor

• Informal leader (nonverbal)

• Informal leader (verbal)

• Team player

• Star player

• Malingerer

• Social convener

What is role clarity?

The degree to which an athlete is clear about their role.

Define role acceptance.

The degree to which athletes accept their purpose on the team.

What is role satisfaction?

The degree to which athletes are satisfied with their role in relation to their skill utilisation and significance for the team.

What is role conflict?

The situation where individuals have conflicting expectations from different roles.

What are group norms?

The standards of behaviour that are accepted and expected within a group.

→ morality and social norms

→ norm for productivity

What are morality and social norms?

Promoting an environment where prosocial behaviour is encouraged and antisocial behaviour is discouraged

What is the norm for productivity?

The standard effort and performance accepted by the team

Name some factors important for team climate

1. Social support

2. Proximity

3. Distinctiveness

4. Fairness

5. Similarity

6. Task interdependence

Outline Steiner’s model of actual productivity *

Actual productivity = potential productivity - group process losses

What is the Ringelmann effect?

The tendency for individual members of a group to become less productive as the size of the group increases.

Outline Ringelmann’s (1913) task

• ask involved groups of 2, 3 and 8 people pulling a rope

• Performance off each individual progressively declined as the number of people in the group increased

• Ringelmann effect: tendency for individual members of a group to become increasingly less productive as the size of the group increases

• Individual abilities do not neatly sum up to group or team performance

• 1 person = 100%, 2 pps = 93%, 3pps = 85%, 8pps = 49% effort

Outline Ingham et al’s (1974) replication study

• Attempted to replicate Ringelmann's findings

• Groups of 2 performed at 91% of their potential and groups of 3 at 82% of their potential

• Different to Ringelmann - 'levelling off occurred' - groups of 6 pulled at an average of 78% of their potential

• Decreased coordination and motivation: social loafing

What is social loafing?

The phenomenon where individuals in a group put forth less than 100% effort due to a diffusion of responsibility.

• Occurs in tasks which are:

• Physical

• Cognitive

• Perceptual

• Evaluative

List some causes of social loafing.

• Free rider - perception that their effort is unimportant for the outcome

• Minimising strategy - motivated to get by doing as little as possible

• Allocation strategy - save best effort for when most beneficial to self

How can social loafing be counteracted?

By increasing accountability and communicating the importance of individual contributions.

Define team cohesion.

A dynamic process reflected in the tendency for a group to stick together and remain united in pursuit of its objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member affective needs (Carron et al, 1998)

What are the characteristics of cohesion?

1. Multidimensional

2. Dynamic

3. Instrumental

4. Affective

Outline Carron’s (1982) conceptual model of cohesion

What is social cohesion?

Degree to which members of a group like each other and enjoy one another's company

What is task cohesion?

Degree to which members of a group work together to achieve common goals

What factors influence team climate?

Social support, proximity, distinctiveness, fairness, similarity, and task interdependence.

What is the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ)?

A tool that assesses team cohesion by focusing on how attractive the group is to individual members.

Example:

• Group integration - task: 'our team is united in trying to reach its goals for performance' (GI-T)

• Group integration - social: 'members of our team do not stick together outside of practices and games' (GI-S)

• Individual attraction to group - task: 'I do not like the style of play on this team' (ATG-T)

• Individual attraction to group - social: 'some of my best friends are on the team' (ATG-S)

What did Mullen and Cooper (1994) discover about the relationship between cohesion and performance?

Review of 66 empirical studies assessing the cohesion-performance relationship in a variety of settings showed positive relationships in 92% of the studies; the strongest relationships were found in sport teams

What did Carron et al (2002) discover about the cohesion-performance relationship?

found moderate to large cohesion-performance effects and found that the strongest effects were in sport teams

What did Filho et al (2014) discover about the cohesion-performance relationship?

using sport teams, they found a moderate relationship between cohesion and performance, with a stronger relationship between task cohesion and performance than social cohesion and performance

How can group cohesion be enhanced?

Through team structure, role clarity, leadership, conformity to standards, and team environment.

What role do coaches play in enhancing group cohesion?

They communicate effectively, explain roles, develop pride, set goals, and encourage group identity.

What are group dynamics?

The actions, processes, and changes that occur within and between groups.

What are the key components of group dynamics?

Formation of groups, functioning of groups, roles within groups, group vs individual performance, cohesion, and cyclical group development.

What are some roles of coaches and leaders in enhancing group cohesion?

• Communicate effectively

• Explain individual roles in team success

• Develop pride within sub-units

• Set challenging group goals

• Encourage group identity

• Avoid formation of social cliques

• Avoid excessive turnover

• Get to know others - enhance personal disclosure: doesn't need to be overly formal

What does cyclical group development entail?

It includes formation, performance, and dissolution, with psychological preparation for dissolution occurring as the group develops.

• As a group develops, psychological preparation for dissolution occurs

→ most relevant for fixed/short-term groups

What is pendular group development? List the stages involved

Only Dogs Run Together

A model that focuses on the shifts in interpersonal relationships that occur in a group.

• Orientation

• Differentiation and conflict

• Resolution and cohesion

• Termination

What are group roles?

A set of behaviours required or expected of the person occupying certain positions within a group.

What is the difference between role clarity and role ambiguity?

Role clarity refers to clear expectations of a role, while role ambiguity indicates uncertainty about those expectations.

What are the four conditions that influence role acceptance?

1. Opportunity to use specialised skills

2. Feedback and role recognition

3. Role significance

4. Autonomy.

What is role conflict?

It occurs when the occupant lacks the ability, motivation, or other factors that impede their ability to fulfill responsibilities.

What are the causes of social loafing?

Perceived individual effort is unimportant, minimising strategy, allocation strategy, and belief that increased effort will not be recognised or rewarded.