Group dynamics

• Group/team

  Two or more people who interact/work together, often with a common objective/goal , mutual awareness and a collective identity

  Normally have:

  - collective identity, easily recognised as in same kit

  - interactive, verbal and non-verbal, coded signals
• Stages of group formation (Tuckman)

  Forming: developing relationships, assess where people fit in, still need coach

  Storming: conflict, establish roles, still in need of coach

  Norming: stability and cohesive, common goal, leaders emerge, coach becomes consultant

  Performing: excellence, team becomes unit, consultations from coach

  Mourning: goals have been achieve, team disbanded
• Cohesion

  For groups to work together to achieve their goal, the force that keeps the group together

  co-action- everyone performing the same movement

  interaction- everyone has different roles
• The 4 antecedents (Carron)

  Personal factors- similarities in values, how fit they are, level of motivation shown, how satisfied you feel with the group, age, gender, ability etc.

  Leadership factors- leadership style, relationships between leader and group members, effect a captain has on the team

  Team - the stability of the group, common experiences in victory and defeat, common will to win, ultimate goal, more success=more cohesion

  Environmental factors- whether a player has a contract or scholarship, their location, age and the size of the group
• Task cohesion

  Individuals working together to achieve an end result

  positives- motivation, can override problems of social cohesion
• Social cohesion

  Individuals relating to each other to interact in the group away from the sport

  positives- improved communication, team spirit

  negatives- sub groups may form resulting in some groups not co-operating
• Steiner's Model

  Actual productivity = potential productivity − losses due to faulty group processes.

  - the best outcome does not always mean perfect performance and best players as cohesion is the most important factor
• Ringelmann Effect

  The more people that are part of a group, the less effort the players will put in

  eg. tug of war
• Social Loafing (+causes)

  Lack of motivation due to a lack of recognition for their efforts. Can occur due to:

  - lack of confidence

  - negative attitude

  - unvalued and unrecognised

  - don't understand their role

  - lack of fitness

  - lack of goal-setting
• Strategies to avoid social loafing

  - Make sure there is an equal amount of praise

  - Avoid negative feedback for different stages of learning

  - Lots of positive feedback

  - Tangible rewards given equally

  - Achievable goal setting

  - Specific role

  - Acknowledgment of all contributions

  - Video analysis feedback
• What is stage 1 of Tuckman's model ?


  Forming

  • Group members initially get together
  • Roles and responsibilities are unclear
  • Members start to work together
  • Members decide if they fit in with the team
• What is stage 2 of Tuckman's model?


  Storming:

  • many teams fail at this stage as there is conflict
  • relationships can be strained
  • competition for roles/positions
  • boundaries are pushed - positions of authority are challenged
  • goal is unclear or questioned
• What is stage 3 of Tuckman's model?


  Norming:

  • conflicts resolved
  • goal clarified
  • greater commitment to achieving goals
  • authority figures respected
  • appreciation of team mates' strengths
  • group cohesion develops - both task and social
• What is stage 4 of Tuckman's model?

  Performing:

  • players interact effectively
  • full commitment to achieving team goals
  • individual roles and responsibilities are completely understood
• Cohesion


  The tendency for individuals to work together to achieve their goals
• Co-action


  When the members of a team do the task at the same time but seperately
• Interaction


  When a team works together to produce results
• Carron's antecedents


  Environmental factors, personal Factors, leadership factors, team factors
• Environmental factors


  Size of group, time available
• The effect of group size

  Larger groups can be more productive but there is a greater chance of social loafing/reduction in motivation and the ringlemann effect occuring, mix of age and gender decreases cohesion
• The effect of personal factors

  Similarity of group in aims, opinions, value, fitness, role in the group
• The effect of leadership factors

  Choice of leadership style and how well the coach/captain get on with the group members
• The effect of team factors

  Success leads to higher cohesion, the longer the team has been together the higher their cohesion will be, a threat from another team can cause a team to bond
• Task cohesion


  Individuals working together to achieve an end result
• Social cohesion


  Individuals relating to each other to interact in the group
• Negative effect of social cohesion


  Can cause cliques to develop in the group
• Steiner's model


  Actual productivity = Potential productivity - Faulty processes
• Potential productivity


  The best performance possible, based on player ability and group resources
• Faulty processes are made up of

  Coordination problems and motivational problems
• Coordination problems


  Players failing to listen to instructions or misunderstanding roles
• Social loafing


  Individual loss of motivation due to a lack of performance identification
• Causes of social loafing

  Lack of confidence, not enjoying their role, poor leadership/lack of incentive and praise from leader, poor fitness, goals are too general
• Ringelmann effect


  As group size increase, performance decreases
• Methods to avoid social loafing

  Coaches recognise player's efforts and reward them, assigning specific roles, using statistics to praise, realistic and specific goal setting, video analysis to highlight performance, varying practice to maintain motivation, keep fitness high
• 1 = FORMING:

  ·       Group members initially get together

  ·       Roles and responsibilities are unclear

  ·       Members start to work together

  ·       Members decide if they fit in
• 2 = STORMING

  ·       Many teams fail due to conflict

  ·       Relationships can be strained

  ·       Competition for roles/positions

  ·       Boundaries are pushed – positions of authority are challenged

  ·       Goal is unclear/questioned
• 3 = NORMING

  ·       Conflicts are resolved

  ·       Goal is clarified

  ·       Greater commitment to achieving goals

  ·       Authority figures are respected

  ·       Appreciation of team mates’ strength

  ·       Group cohesion develops (task + social)
• 4 = PERFORMING

  ·       Players interact effectively

  ·       Full commitment to achieving team goals

  ·       Individual roles and responsibilities are completely understood

   
•  

  Group cohesion

  Cohesive team = unity + structure + all members pull together to reach shared aim.

  More cohesive team = more successful team so the more cohesive it becomes
• 1)     TASK COHESION – when group members work in unity to meet common aim. May not socialise away from team and may not share views. But to achieve potential in sporting arena they come together and get good results. Important in interactive sports e.g. netball, team members must work together and rely on each other’s timing + coordination to achieve.