Essay Example on Unpredictable human action multiple Factors

Intro As an unpredictable human action multiple factors both internal and external are complicatedly tried to understand anticipate and enhance human performance As such it is not rational to concentrate on any one activity mechanism or variable as being responsible for all the internal and external concerns that enhance or impede human performance In any sport or discipline the terms group and cohesion are intertwined if a group exists it has to be cohesive to some extent Cohesion can be defined 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 members affective needs This definition which represent a slight modification of the one originally introduced by Carron 1982 explicitly highlights the nature of cohesiveness as it manifested in most groups Furthermore the above definition highlight that cohesion is multidimensional There are many factors that cause any group to stick together and remain united and those factors may not be present in equal weight and intensity in another apparently identical group A second property emphasized by this definition is that cohesion is dynamic that means is not as transitory a state but neither is it as stable as a trait Cohesion in a group can and does change over time so that the factor s contributing to cohesion early in a group s history may or may not be critical for example when the group is well developed A third property that the above definition is intended to highlight is the instrumental nature of cohesion that is all groups form for a purpose 

From a historical perspective the instrument that has had the most significant impact on cohesion research in sport psychology is the Martens et al 1972 Sport cohesiveness questionnaire SCQ It was the first inventory to have a specific sport orientation and the 7 item SCQ assesses team cohesion through group members ratings of friendship interpersonal attraction personal power or influence enjoyment closeness teamwork sense of belonging and perceived value of membership The 7 items have been considered independently Arnold Straub 1973 and in categories where the combinations of them were assumed to be conceptually meaningful Carron Chelladurai 1981 A strength of the SCQ is its multidimensional perspective one limitation however is that with the exception of the teamwork item the task and social bases for unity are confounded Also as Gill 1977 noted the SCQ may possess face validity but published evidence for its reliability and other forms of validity is not available