1. Group Dynamics and Sporting Performance

2. What is a group?
People behave differently individually than when they are in a group.
What is a group?

3. What makes a successful team?
2000 Men's Coxless Four
2003 England Rugby World Cup
2008 England Football Team
2008 Men's Coxless Four
2012 Cycling Team

4. What is a Group?
The key to a group is that the members must be interacting in some way.
“Groups are those social aggregates that involve mutual awareness and potential interaction”
(J.E.MacGrath, 1984)
“A groups is… two or more people who are interacting with one another in such a manner that each person influences and is influenced by each other person.”
(M.E. Shaw, 1976)

5. The sum is greater than the parts
FA cup finals
Ryder cup
Can you think of an example from your sport?

6. Bootcamp
It takes people from all backgrounds, and from different parts of the country who may have nothing in common.
They are given the same appearance, which identifies them as the same.
The instructor gives them a shared negative experience that will give them something in common.
In one quick experience they become a group.

7. Distinguish a group from a collection of individuals
Collective identity
Shared norms/values
Shared sense of purpose/common goals
Interaction between members/efforts of one affect the other
Hierarchy of communication
Task cohesion- working together
Social cohesion
Independence from others

8. Groups- Teams Groups of individuals are not necessarily a team.
Teams need in depth interaction in order to share common goals.
A coach will take a long time to build a good team and maximise performance.
Very strong group

9. The Research
Tuckman (1965) suggested that all groups go through the same progressive stages of development to create a team.
Stage1- Forming
Stage 2-Storming
Stage 3-Norming
Stage 4- Performing

10. Stage 1- Forming Familiarisation Assess strengths and weaknesses
Find roles within the group
Do they belong?
Can they accept and identify with perceived and expected roles and relationships?

11. Stage 1- Forming Get to know each other
Find out about the task of objective
Show respect for each other (but not working together)
Coach tells them what to do

12. Stage 2- Storming
Individuals or cliques within start to question structure
Leader challenged
Open hostility – Compete for power
Coach needs to reduce effects, usually by open, objective communication

13. Stage 2- Storming Team members compete with each other
May be power struggles
Different types of leader emerge
Less experienced members will not compromise
Team may fail
Coach must help them through this stage
(Even elite teams can go back to this stage)

14. Stage 3- Norming Instability disappears Displays of cohesion
Needs for common goal recognised
Respect for each others contributions
Satisfaction from achievement

15. Stage 3- Norming
Team members agree how to work together, rules develop
Development of trust, ability to accept criticism
Leaders emerge
Coach becomes more of a consultant

16. Stage 4 - Performing Members identify with the team
Aware of each others roles
Feel they all contribute to success
Psychological security
Energies channelled to achieve group success

17. Stage 4 - Performing
Team works as a unit, high levels of motivation and interdependence
Experienced members of the team make decisions independently
Consultation is expected and leadership devolved, but authority and directed are accepted in times of stress.
Evaluation of performance

18. Mourning
Occurs after a team breaks up because the task has been completed
2003 World Cup team

19. Activity Imagine you are a coach of a newly formed team.
What strategies might you employ to try to reduce the effects encountered in the storming stage?

20. Structures & Roles in a Group
In the forming stage the structure of the group will begin to develop
Begin to adopt roles both informally and formally
A role is ‘the specific behaviour expected of a person occupying a certain position in the groups structure’

21. Types of Roles Formal Roles Teacher, coach, captain
Formal task/performance roles
Goalkeeper, Penalty taker, Goal kicker
Informal roles
Team diplomat, joker, team hard man

22. Roles within a team… Only have meaning within the group
Can be expected, perceived and acted out
Are assessed and evaluated against expected behaviour
Level of status attached
Lead to role conflict (Too many hats)

23. Roles within a team…
Players need to be aware of their role and accept it
Members adopt certain patterns of behaviour/beliefs- group norms
E.g. Way of celebrating, dress, style of play

24. The Coaches Role
Coaches have different ways to enforce the beliefs and ensure members conform to the norm
Formal- fines, suspensions
Informal- made fun of
Clear expectations needed

25. Activity
How would you distinguish a group from a collection of individuals? (4)
Name and explain the stages that lead to group formation (4)

26. Team Success Success of a team (Actual Productivity)
is equal to the best it can do (Potential Productivity)
minus Faulty Processes
(When things go pear shaped!)

27. Steiner’s Model
ACTUAL = POTENTIAL LOSSES DUE TO
PRODUCTIVITY PRODUCTIVITY FAULTY PROCESSES
(AP) (PP) (FP)
The maximum capability of the group when cohesiveness is strongest
Factors that go wrong in team performance which impede/ prevent group cohesion e.g. co-ordination losses & motivational losses
The team performance at any given time (due to successful interaction)
GROUP COHESION IS THE FORCE THAT BINDS A GROUP TOGETHER, HELPING TO PREVENT FAULTY PROCESSES.

28. Faulty Processes Co-ordination Losses Motivation Losses
These occur when the ‘operational effectiveness’ of the group cannot be sustained for the whole match.
Planned strategies/tactics may go wrong due to positional error or bad timing, e.g. Line out in rugby.
Motivation Losses
This may occur if the task is too difficult.
Also an individual might suffer loss of motivation causing them to withdraw effort and coast through that part of the game.
A motivation loss that leads to a reduction in effort is called SOCIAL LOAFING. This is called when an individuals efforts go unnoticed or when someone feels like the others on their team are not trying hard enough. People with low SC tend to be loafers.
A co-ordination loss that leads to a breakdown in team work is called the RINGLEMANN EFFECT. Problems with team co-ordination are more likely to increase as the number of team members increase.

29. The Ringlemann Effect & social Loafing
Group performance decreases with group size.
Ringlemann studied rope pulling & found that a group of 8 did not pull their rope 8 times as hard as 1 person.
There is less effort exerted when working with others.
Some individuals performed only at 50% effort when in a group.

30. Social loafing
Social loafing is the tendency of individuals to drop their effort & hide within the group.
It is an individual motivation loss due to lack of performance identification.

31. Social loafing Social loafing is caused by:
A belief that you effort won’t change the result
A perception that others are not trying, so why should you?
A belief that others will cover for your lack of effort
Individual effort not being recognised

32. Causes of social loafing cont…
Lack of reinforcement from others
Low confidence
Perceived low ability
Low arousal/motivation
Poor leadership
Negative attitudes

33. Preventing Social loafing (Reducing motivational losses)
To stop the players feeling a lack of motivation towards the team, the coach should try:
Highlighting individual performances
Monitoring individuals with feedback
Using positive reinforcement when possible
Rewards
Promoting task cohesion within the team
Setting individual goals
Effective captain