Member diversity and cohesion and performance in walking groups

Kim M. Shapcott, Albert V. Carron, Shauna M. Burke, Michael H. Bradshaw, Paul A. Estabrooks

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

45 Scopus citations

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship of group member diversity in task-related attributes (i.e., self-efficacy, level of previous physical activity, and personal goals) and task-unrelated attributes (i.e., ethnicity and gender) to task cohesiveness and task performance in walking groups (N varied from 1,324 to 1,392 groups for the analyses). For the task-related attributes, diversity in level of previous physical activity was significantly related to both task cohesion and group performance - as diversity increased, cohesion and performance decreased. For the task-unrelated attributes, diversity in gender was related to task cohesion - as diversity increased, cohesion decreased. Gender diversity was unrelated to group performance. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the dynamics of task-oriented groups.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)701-720
Number of pages20
JournalSmall Group Research
Volume37
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2006
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Ethnicity
  • Gender
  • Goals
  • Group composition
  • Physical activity
  • Self-efficacy
  • Taskoriented groups

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Applied Psychology

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