AS / A Level Sport and Physical Education Group Dynamics

In the context of interactive sports it is said that a champion team will defeat a team of individual champions and therefore the study of how groups operate as a unit is important Can you think of an example of when this has happened? 2006 – Ryder Cup, Europe had one player in the top ten rankings yet won against America!

So what is a group? Although a group can be described as comprising three or more individuals, this is not an adequate definition. The important factor in the formation of a group is that individuals interact. Group members should be aware and relate to each other by having a shared objective, which will bring about interaction. “Groups are those social aggregates that involve mutual awareness and the potential for interaction” (McGrath) -

What makes a good Group? Watch the following clips of these teams, write down what you think makes them so successful?

What makes a successful group/team? have a strong collective identity members have an opportunity to socialise have members who share goals and ambitions and share ownership of ideas have members who are able to communicate effectively (on the same wavelength) have strong cohesion (see later slides) have members who value relationships within the group have a successful coach or leader (see later slides) who ensures that members’ contributions to the group are valued

GROUP COHESION According to Carron, a group will form a “bond” if the following characteristics are in place: A collective identity A sense of shared purpose A clear structure for communication The term given to describe the degree of successful bonding or the strength of a collective group co-operation is called GROUP COHESION

Group cohesion: two dimensions TASK COHESION Relates to the way in which team members work with each other to successfully complete a task. 2. SOCIAL COHESION Involves personal relationships within the group And relies on individuals enjoying social interaction

TASK COHESION To develop task cohesion the group will be given an overall team goal which is accepted and valued by all team members. To achieve the long-term goal there must be a collective affiliation to team tactics and strategies of play. e.g. A football team may set out to win the league by adopting an attacking policy at home and away matches. Task cohesion is most important in interactive games, e.g hockey

SOCIAL COHESION To develop social cohesion the group leader would create opportunities for social development. An environment would be created where players could interact positively by relaxing and making friends. e.g. A touring team often develops strong social bonds. Social cohesion is most important in Co-active sports, e.g track and field

TASK - Identify a successful sports team or organisation By applying the terms of McGrath and Carron, discuss in pairs how well the team operates as a unit Identify outstanding individuals, key pairings or sub-groups that operate in the context of the whole group Identify an occasion when the cohesiveness of the unit had broken down and suggest reasons for this Discuss how cohesiveness was restored

CARRON’s MODEL FOUR factors affect the development of cohesion ENVIRONMENTAL factors binding members to a team contracts, location, age, eligibility avoid star system, provide opportunities for socialising PERSONAL factors which members believe are important motives for taking part develop ownership feelings and social groupings within the team LEADERSHIP the behaviour of leaders and coaches TEAM factors relating to the group team identity, targets, member ability and role creation of team short and long-term goals rewarding of individual and team efforts

SOCIO-GRAM One way to gather information about the dynamics of a group is to compile a socio-gram. In a socio-gram, each player nominates players with whom they could best work within a team situation

TASK - identify the following: Who is the most popular and would possibly be captain? Who is an exclusive group. The term given to a sub-group. Who are reciprocal pairs. Friends who vote for each other. Who would be a reject? Making nominations but receiving none back. Who is an Isolate, someone who made and received no nominations.

SOCIO-GRAM C K L E J H D I F B G A

COHESION - Breakdown Most team sports rely on units within a team working closely together and individuals performing tasks that may remain unnoticed by spectators. The potential of the team to function as a cohesive unit is affected when co- ordination between team players fails and motivation of the individual drops.

STEINER’S MODEL Actual Potential Losses due Productivity = Productivity – to Faulty Process (AP=PP-FP) Actual productivity is the team performance at a given time during the game. Potential productivity Is the maximum capability of the group when cohesiveness is strongest. Faulty processes relate to the factors that can go wrong in team performance, which will affect the group cohesion and collective potential.

There are two faulty processes that bring about losses in potential productivity: Co-ordination losses These losses occur because the effectiveness of the group as a unit cannot be sustained for the duration of a match. Even the most carefully planned and rehearsed strategies may fail occasionally because of a positional error or an ill timed move. Any breakdown in teamwork is regarded as a co-ordination loss and is termed the RINGLEMAN effect.

Ringleman effect: Ringleman stated that problems in team co-ordination are more likely to occur as the team numbers increase. Research was done where a team of eight in a tug of war did not pull eight times as hard as solo performers!! 2. MOTIVATION LOSSES These relate to an individual who suffers a reduction of motivation during performance causing the player to withdraw effort and coast through a game. This relaxation of effort is called “social Loafing”

TASK – Analyse a game you last played for the school, Identify the following: Situations when group cohesion facilitated good play. Circumstances when team play broke down due to the onset of faulty processes The faulty processes How could a coach prevent the Ringlemann effect and Social loafing from occurring?