1. PSYCHOLOGY FOR SPORTS
PERFORMANCE.
Cohesion.

2. Aim & Objectives.
 Aim: By the end of this session student will
 Explain how cohesion can affect sports performance
and how the coach can create effective team climate.
 Objectives: By the end of this session students will
 Define group cohesion.
 Describe task and social cohesion.
 Explain how the coaches role in creating a effect team
climate.

3. Cohesion.
 ‘the total number of forces which act on members to
remain in the group.’
(Festinger et al, 1950)
 These forces will tend to cover to areas:
 The attractiveness of the group to the individual members.
 The extent in which the member are willing to work
together to achieve their goals.
 What are the positives to being a member of a team?
 Are there any disadvantages?

4. Task: Place the following team sports in order depending upon the level of
interaction (Cohesion) needed to be successful.
 Rowing (Eights)  Bobsleigh (Fours)
 Golf team  Cycling team
 Volleyball  4 x 100m relay team
 Synchronised  Cricket
swimming team (Batting/fielding)
 Tennis doubles  Curling.

5. Cohesion
 Athletes other report that cohesion is a form of
satisfaction in their lives. However, it has been
argued that cohesive teams are not always the
most successful. Therefore, it has suggested that
cohesion has two distinct aspects.
 Task cohesion & social cohesion.
 It is often said that task cohesion comes first.
 This is the degree to which members work together
and are committed to achieve common goals, such as
winning a match.

6. Cohesion.
 If the team is showing task cohesion frequently
then social cohesion will follow.
 Is the degree to which group members like each other
and get on well, trust and support each other.
 However, history has shown many examples where
individuals have no interpersonal attraction and
are still successful.

7. Discussion.
 In pairs discuss which if any is more important for
sporting success.
 From this discussion write down your overall
answer.

8. Cohesion.
 In summary, cohesion is important in successful
teams, and that task cohesion is more important
than social cohesion.
 The definition that can be used to explain
cohesion as a whole is
 ‘a dynamic process which is reflected in the tendency
for a group to stick together and remain united in the
pursuit of its goals and objections.
(Weinburg and Gould, (1995))

9. Creating an effective team climate.
 Team climate refers to how well the different
players in a team get on with each other.
 The key to this is how well the players perceive the
relationship with other players.
 The coach has the most important role in building
an effective team climate, but first the coach has to
assess team climate.
 The two common ways in assessing it are through
the use of sociograms and questionnaires.

10. Team climate.
Questionnaire. Sociograms
 The group  These are used to find out
who like who and to prevent
questionnaire looks at people from getting left out
how attractive the or cliques forming.
group is to member  They are done by asking
questions such as: Who do
within the same group. you get on with most when
 The more individuals not at training?
 The response from these
are attracted to the questions is then used to find
group the higher levels the more or loss popular in
of team cohesion. the group.

11. Task
Example.
 You are to come up
with different
questions that you
could ask a team in
order to come a
sociograms.  The names are linked by
arrows, with the
 Try to complete on for direction of arrows
this group. showing who likes who.

12. Re-cap
 How do we define cohesion?
 What is task cohesion?
 What is social cohesion?
 What role does the coach play when creating an
affective team climate.
 What is a sociogram?

13. Aim & Objectives.
 Aim: By the end of this session student will
 Explain how cohesion can affect sports performance
and how the coach can create effective team climate.
 Objectives: By the end of this session students will
 Define group cohesion.
 Describe task and social cohesion.
 Explain how the coaches role in creating a effect team
climate.

14. Next session.
 Cohesion:
 Factors affecting cohesion
 Relationship between cohesion and performance.