Cohesiveness as a Factor in Sport Performance

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Abstract
The factors influencing the effects that cohesiveness has upon performance success in athletic situations were examined. Two principal issues were discussed: the nature of the sport task (i.e., inherent differences among various sports in terms of task demands influence the type of coordinative activity required of group mem bers and this, in turn, is related to cohesiveness); and, the construct of cohesiveness itself with specific reference to those factors which contribute to improved coor dinative activity. It was proposed that only in those sports which are comprised of tasks characterized by interactive dependence (where maximum coordination can only be obtained through mutual adjustment by individual team members) that cohesiveness is related to team success. It was also proposed that cohesiveness, as a multidimensional construct, is comprised of three general categories of forces: normative, task and social. The normative forces (which arise as a result of tra ditional, cultural and practical considerations) prevent group dissolution and/or maintain individual participation within the team. Since these normative forces are constant across teams, they are unrelated to performance effectiveness. Task forces (resulting from task and self needs) lead to the development of coalitions while the social forces (arising from affiliative needs) are manifested in clique formation. The enhanced coordination contributing to performance success is a result of coalitions formed on the basis of maximum resources.

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