Do individual perceptions of group cohesion reflect shared beliefs? An empirical analysis

Albert V. Carron, Lawrence R. Brawley, Mark A. Eys, Steven Bray, Kim Dorsch, Paul Estabrooks, Craig R. Hall, James Hardy, Heather Hausenblas, Ralph Madison, David Paskevich, Michelle M. Patterson, Harry Prapavessis, Kevin S. Spink, Peter C. Terry

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

49 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study's primary purpose was to examine the degree to which individual perceptions of cohesiveness reflect shared beliefs in sport teams. The secondary purposes were to examine how the type of cohesion, the task interactive nature of the group, and the absolute level of cohesion relate to the index of agreement. Teams (n = 192 containing 2, 107 athletes) were tested on the Group Environment Questionnaire. Index of agreement values were greater for the group integration (GI) manifestations of cohesiveness (GI-task, rwg(j)) = .721; GI-social, rwg(j) = .694) than for the individual attractions to the group (ATG) manifestations (ATG-task, rwg(j) = .621; ATG-social, rwg(j) = .563). No differences were found for interactive versus coactive/independent sport teams. A positive relationship was observed between the absolute level of cohesiveness and the index of agreement. Results were discussed in terms of their implication for the aggregation of individual perceptions of cohesion to represent the group construct.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)468-496
Number of pages29
JournalSmall Group Research
Volume34
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2003
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Consensus
  • Group Environment Questionnaire
  • Sport teams
  • Task type

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Applied Psychology

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