Cohesion and Sport Team Effectiveness: The Benefit of a Common Group Identity

Abstract

This research examines the idea that the salience of a common group or team identity will have positive consequences on performance within a coacting sport (football) team. Ninety-four high school football players from four eastern regional schools completed a survey that measured strength of identification with the team as a whole, as offensive versus defensive units, or as individual players. Results from discriminant analysis revealed a single team unity factor that predicted membership in offensive and defensive units. Analysis of variance using this team unity construct indicated that players on winning teams (as determined by season win-loss record) emphasized team unity significantly more than players on teams with losing records. Implications for the applicability of a team identification to previous notions of team cohesion are discussed.