preview

Is Cohesion A Strong Predictor Of A Dynamic Process?

Decent Essays

One significant topic when it comes to mental skills is cohesion. Carron, Widmeyer, and Brawley defined cohesion as “a dynamic process that is reflected in the tendency for a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of its instrumental objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member affective needs” (as cited in Gearity & Murray, 2011, p. 219). Cohesion is an extremely important aspect in sports. A study showed that cohesion is a strong predictor of a player’s view on relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Those three attributes are linked to self-determined motivation. Basically when cohesion is strong, that is a strong indication that a player is motivating himself to play, which translates into happy feelings and satisfaction in their sport (Blanchard et al., 2009). Unsatisfactory coaching can affect cohesion by dividing the team. Two themes of coaches deterring cohesion would inequity and embarrassment and ridicule. An example of inequity would be showing favoritism to a specific player or group of players. Favoritism can vary in severity. Some coaches may just be praising a certain player more than others, however it can be as significant as allowing players privileges such as getting out of practice early. This can create negative feelings not only in the unity of the team as whole, but also strong negative feelings toward the coach (Turman, 2003). Embarrassment and ridicule are more straightforward, however it affects everyone differently. For

Get Access