LE3 .A278 2020

2020

Shields, Chris

Acadia University

Bachelor of Kinesiology

Honours

Kinesiology

Kinesiology

The abundance of research into team cohesion reflects its importance for both performance and providing psychological benefits within sports teams. Although it is widely accepted that various variables affect overall team cohesion, not all variables have gained equal attention. The presence of cliques and isolates within teams are two of such variables which have been acknowledge as having potential impact on overall team environment but have received little attention. This is concerning as cliques have been identified in the literature as being inevitable and having the potential to negatively impact the overall environment of the team. Furthermore, social isolation within a team has been shown to have a negative impact on the emotional state of those isolated. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of clique members and isolates within varsity athletic teams. A sample of 76 male and female varsity athletes from football, soccer, rugby and hockey teams completed a one-time questionnaire where athletes gave perceptions of their team environments and clique environments within their team. A sample of 6 athletes was for a one-time semi-structured interview related to their perceptions as clique members and isolates within sports teams. Results showed significant correlations between ingroup ties and ingroup affect, and other positive group variables. Clique members, compared to non-members, had significantly higher perceptions of ATG-S, ATG-T, social identity and ingroup affect. Cliques were described as resulting from athletes’ time as a member of a team and common interests between team members. Social isolation was primarily seen to occur from personal characteristics of team members which were perceived to not fit with those of other members of the team. The findings point to the need to manage cliques so that they may positively contribute to team environment.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3428