Sport team cohesion : goal orientation as a function of level of sport involvement

This study was done in an effort to identify team cohesion factor patterns. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which a relationship exists between the level of sport involvement of a team sport participant and the type of goal orientation (task or social) exhibited by that participant. Twenty-six male and female varsity (high level of involvement) basketball players and twenty-three male and female intramural (low level of involvement) players were administered two sport team cohesion questionnaires: the Multidimensional Sport Cohesion Instrument (Yukelson, 1982) and the Group Environment Questionnaire (Carron, Brawley and Widmeyer, 1983). Both of these tests are designed to assess one's perception of team cohesion and provide a means to measure and differentiate task and social elements.

A total task score and a total social score were obtained for each subject on each test. Mean task and social cohesion scores were tabulated for the varsity group and the intramural group on each test. A t-test for independent samples was performed. No significant group differences were found within the task dimension on either the MSCI or the GEQ. For the social dimension, no significant difference was found on the MSCI, but a-significantly higher social orientation among intramural participants was found on the GEQ. It was concluded that there is very little relationship between the level of sport involvement of a team sport participant and the type of goal orientation exhibited by that individual.