Group and Team Dynamics Pt 2

What is cohesion?

total field of forces which act on members of the group

What are the 2 parts of cohesion for the individual?

• attractiveness of group: individual’s desire for interpersonal interactions with other group members and desire to be involved in group activities

  • do I want to be involved?

• means of control: benefits member can derive from being associated with that group

  • what am I getting out of it

What are the characteristics of cohesion?

multidemensional, dynamic, instrumental/purposeful, affective (social interactions)

What is task cohesion?

degree to which members of a group work together to achieve common goals; teammwork

What is social cohesion?

degree to which members of group like each other and enjoy one another’s company

What are the parts of the conceptual model of cohesion?

• environmental factors: normative forces holding a group together; contracts, scholarships, geographical restrictions, regulations, etc

  • not related to people - scholarship, resources, weather, etc

• personal factors: individual characteristics of group members: demographics, behaviors, thoughts and motives, individual satisfaction

• leadership factors: leadership style and behaviors and relationship established with group

  • what leader does (coach)

• team factors: group takes characteristics, group productivity norms, desire for group success, group roles, group position and team stability

• outcomes: bother group and individual

What is the conceptual model of cohesion?

• used to systematically study cohesion in sport and exercise

• personal factors, leadership factors, team factors, outcomes

What is the relationship between cohesion and performance?

positive relationships between higher cohesion and better performance

What can the relationship between cohesion and performance be influenced by?

task demands and the direction of causality

What are task demands?

• task demands: continuum from interaction to coactive

  • interaction - team members work together to coordinate their actions

  • coactive - much less, if any, interaction and coordination for achievement of goals

  • generally, find cohesion can influence both types, though higher levels of cohesiveness in interactive tasks/teams

What is the direction of causality?

• direction of causality: does cohesion influence performance or does performance influence cohesion

  • difficult to establish; likely positive feedback cycle

What are other factors associated with cohesion?

• team satisfaction: closely related to cohesion, likely circular relationship of sorts

• conformity: may see more conformity to various team norms w/ higher cohesive groups; might be productivity norms or social norms

• adherence: better adherence with higher levels of cohesion (more attendance, less attrition, positive affect and efficacy)

• stability: both turnover rate and lengths of time group members been together

• social support

• group goals

• collective efficacy: group believe can achieve goal

How can cohesion be built in exercise settings?

group name, group t-shirts or headbands etc

How can cohesion be built in sports settings?

• group norms, individual roles, distinctiveness, individual sacrifice, communication and interaction

• shared team values: identify team goals and a team mission, start with values

  • clarify path to achieving goals, build trust among players and coaches

  • examples: morality, teamwork, honesty, cooperation, communication, winning, fairness, accountability

What are the guidelines for coaches and leaders in building team cohesion?

• effective communication

  • DESC - describe situation, express feelings, specifying the changes you want to make, consequences

• explain individual roles in team success

• develop pride within subunits

• set challenging group goals

• encourage group identity

• avoid formation of social cliques

• employ transformation leadership

• avoid excessive turnover

• conduct periodic team meetings

• enhance team efficacy

• get to know others - enhance personal disclosure

How can group members increase cohesion?

• get to know other members

• help whenever possible

• give positive reinforcement

• be responsible

• communicate honestly and openly w/ coach and leader

• resolve conflicts immediately

• give full effort at all times

What are some barriers to group cohesion?

• clash of personalities in group

• conflict of task/social roles

• breakdown in communication amount members or between leader and members

• 1+ members struggling for power

• frequent turnover of group members

• disagreement on group goals and objectives