1. The Sport Team As an Effective Group
Chapter 7
The Sport Team As an Effective Group
Mark A. Eys, Shauna M. Burke, Paul Dennis,
and Blair Evans
“I can tell you one thing, and this is the great thing about this team: no matter how many good players we’ve got, the team spirit is unbelievable. We are like a family and every time we come here, we are not even thinking about who is going to play the game. It’s all about whoever is on the pitch just giving everything.”
Belgian fullback Vincent Kompany
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2. Introduction
Membership and involvement in a group is a fundamental characteristic of our society
Each of us interacts daily with numerous other people in group settings
Family, work, social situations, sport teams
We exert influence on other people in groups and, in turn, those groups and their members have an influence on us
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3. Nature of Sport Groups
“Every group is like all other groups, like some other groups, and like no other group.”
- Carron & Hausenblas
Groups are simultaneously common and unique
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4. Definition of Sport Groups (Teams)
“A collection of two or more individuals who possess a common identity, have common goals and objectives, share a common fate, exhibit structured patterns of interaction and modes of communication, hold common perceptions about group structure, are personally and instrumentally interdependent, reciprocate interpersonal attraction, and consider themselves to be a group.”
- Carron & Eys (1998)
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5. Definitional Categories for Groups
Common identity
Common goals or objectives
Common fate
Structured pattern of interaction
Group structure
Personal and task interdependence
Interpersonal attraction
GROUPNESS
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6. Group Cohesion Cohesion is the most important small group variable
Need a sense of “we”
It is multidimensional
Why a group sticks together and remains “united in the pursuit of its instrumental objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member affective needs” – Carron, Brawley, and Widmeyer
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7. Cohesion Depends on Perception
Perception can come from a group’s members or other groups
Unity within a group manifests in two principal ways: in relation to the group’s task and in terms of the social aspects of the unit
Additionally, cohesion for individuals depends on:
Group integration – Each individual’s perceptions of the group as a total unit, set, or collection
Individual attractions to the group – Each individual's personal attractions to the group
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8. Attractions to the Group
Group Cohesion
Task
Social
Group
Integration
Individual
Attractions to the Group
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9. Correlates of Cohesiveness
Environmental Factors
Leadership Factors
Cohesion in
Sport Teams
Team Factors
Personal Factors
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10. Environmental Factors
Proximity
Individuals physically closer tend to bond together (locker room, dorm, travel, classes, etc.)
Size
Moderate sized groups show greatest cohesion, and larger and smaller groups exhibited the least (Inverted-U relationship)
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11. Personal Factors
Characteristics, beliefs, or behaviors of group members
Satisfaction
Comes from feeling valued and competent, social relations, recognition from others, relationship with coach, etc.
Competitive state anxiety
Athletes who perceive their teams to be higher in task cohesion experience less cognitive anxiety
Social loafing
Individuals tend to decrease the amount of effort they expend when completing a group task compared to the amount of effort expended when alone
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12. Leadership factors Decision style
Interrelationships among the coach, the athlete, cohesiveness, and performance are complex
Some coaching factors can influence the level of cohesion:
Decision style
Stronger cohesion when team members are allowed to participate in decision making
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13. Team Factors Cohesion is influenced by: Structural characteristics
Roles and norms
Processes that take place between group members
Group goals, communication
Group performance outcomes
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Education.

14. Team Factors: Roles
A set of behaviors that are expected from the occupants of specific positions within the group
Formal roles
Explicitly set up by the group, individuals are trained for these roles
Coach, team captain, and manager
Informal roles
The result of the interactions that take place among group members, not assigned
Leader, task booster, enforcer, mentor, team clown, etc.
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15. Role Clarity vs. Ambiguity
Role ambiguity
Lack of clear consistent information regarding one’s role
To prevent ambiguity, athletes must understand the major aspects of their role:
Scope of responsibilities
Behaviors necessary to successfully fulfill role responsibilities
How role performance will be evaluated
Consequences of unfulfilled role responsibilities
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16. Role Acceptance
The whole team needs to be on the same page with respect to their collective goal
The individual athlete will better understand their role responsibilities
Everyone on the team needs to fulfill their role so they team can succeed
To encourage role acceptance, coaches should minimize the status differences among roles
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17. Other Role Elements
Elements of role involvement that are important to group environment and contributors to cohesiveness
Role efficacy
Athlete’s beliefs about capabilities to carry out role responsibilities
Role conflict
Athlete’s perceptions of incongruent expectations
Role overload
Athlete has too many role expectations
Role satisfaction
How happy the athlete is with their given role(s)
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18. Team Factors: Norms
Standard for behavior that is expected of members of the group
May be task irrelevant or task relevant
Reflects the group's consensus about behaviors that are considered acceptable
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19. Norms (cont.) Four contexts in which norms exist
Competition
Practice
Off-season
Socially
Important norms within those contexts:
Put maximum effort toward task
Support each other
Continue training and maintain contact
Attend social events
Respect for each other
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20. Relationship Between Group Norms and Group Cohesiveness
Development of cohesiveness
STABILITY
Development of norms
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21. Team Factors: Group Processes
Establish group goals and rewards
Communication
Circular relationship to cohesiveness
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22. Team Factor: Performance Outcome
Cohesiveness contributes to performance success, and performance success increases cohesiveness
Task cohesion AND social cohesion
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23. Team Building
Strategies to help members work together more effectively
Provides meaningful experiences that lead to a greater sense of unity
Use team building for both task and social purposes
Might be direct or indirect
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24. Team Building Approach
The Spink and Carron approach
An indirect intervention process
Introductory stage
Conceptual stage
Practical stage
Intervention stage
Steps 1-3 occur during coach-sport psychology specialist interactions
Coach learns about group dynamics and preps strategies to develop cohesion within his or her team
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25. Stages of Team Building
Introduction stage
Sport psychologist provides a brief overview of the general benefits of group cohesion
Conceptual stage
Sport psychologist teaches coach about the various components of the team building protocol
Helps coach identify key areas to focus efforts
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26. Stages of Team Building (cont.)
Practical stage
Coaches engage in an interactive brainstorming session
Generate specific team building strategies
Coach must be involved because:
Personality and preference
What is effective with one group may be ineffective with another group
Controls protocol, which increases investment
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27. Additional Team Building Approaches
Personal-Disclosure Mutual-Sharing intervention (PDMS)
Sport psychology specialists ask team members to write a passage that answers a personal question about their sport involvement
The specialist leads a team meeting where members read their passage aloud
Demands a high level of responsibility to ensure that the statements remain confidential
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28. Additional Team Building Approaches
Mastery Approach to Coaching (MAC)
Ideal for youth sport settings
MAC protocol for team building is based on the expectation that positive and task-oriented coaching behaviors enable positive group environments
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29. Additional Team Building Approaches
Sport psychology specialists might include athletes as active contributors to team building strategies
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