A team fares well with a fair coach: Predictors of social loafing in interactive female sport teams

Abstract

The present research aimed to develop and test a theoretical model that links players' perceived justice of the coach to a more optimal motivational climate, which in turn increases players' team identification and cohesion, and results in lower levels of social loafing in female sport teams. Belgian elite female basketball, volleyball, and football players (study 1; N = 259; M(age) = 22.6) and Norwegian world-class female handball players (study 2; N = 110; M(age) = 22.8) completed questionnaires assessing players' perceived justice (distributive and procedural), motivational climate, team identification, team cohesion (task and social), and social loafing (perceived and self-reported). In both studies, confirmatory and exploratory path analyses indicated that perceived justice was positively related to a mastery climate (P < 0.05) and negatively to a performance climate (P < 0.05). In turn, a mastery climate was linked to increased levels of team identification (P < 0.05) and task cohesion (P < 0.05). Consequently, players' perceived and self-reported social loafing decreased (P < 0.05). The findings of both independent studies demonstrated the impact of coaches' fairness, and consequently, the motivational climate created by the coach on the optimal functioning of female sport teams.

Do coaching style and game circumstances predict athletes' perceived justice of their coach? A longitudinal study in elite handball and volleyball teams

“…Recent research in the team sport context has shown that need support of the coach is positively related to athletes’ perceived justice of the coach, which in turn plays an important role in optimizing the team’s functioning [ 5 ]. Despite these promising results, sport scientists have neglected the fact that players’ perception of justice probably fluctuates from week to week.…”

“…Previous research have been indicating substantially links between athletes’ perceived justice and higher levels of team commitment, team identification, and team cohesion and lower levels of social loafing [ 3 , 5 ]. Therefore, we concluded that coaches should attempt to keep athletes’ justice perception high and limit its fluctuations across the season in order to optimize the functioning of elite sport teams.…”

“…Being perceived as fair is crucial for coaches in order to obtain optimal team functioning [ 3 , 5 ]. Previous studies already related need support from the coach to perceived justice in a cross-sectional design [ 4 ].…”

“…Recent studies support this assumed relationship between athletes’ perceived justice of their coach and the quality of athletes’ functioning. For example, it has been indicated that the extent to which athletes feel treated in a fair manner positively predicts: (a) their commitment to the team [ 3 ], (b) group dynamic processes such as team identification, cohesion, and social loafing [ 4 , 5 ], and (c) the level of athletes’ self-reported progression[ 6 ]. Taking into account the importance of perceived justice, the current study aimed to explore how justice unfolds over time.…”

Coaching is teamwork! the role of need‐supportive coaching and the motivational climate in stimulating proactivity in volleyball teams

“…AGT has been able to predict individual outcomes such as well‐being, performance anxiety, and motivational indices . Importantly, AGT has also been a valuable framework in predicting team outcomes such as task and social cohesion eg . and interindividual behavior within sports teams such as cooperation and conflict …”