Abstract

The global sporting industry is a multi-trillion-dollar enterprise where even minor competitive advantages can be valuable. The objective of the proposed study is to investigate the impact of team cohesion and performance anxiety on athletes on-field performance. This proposal outlines the methodology of the envisioned study, including the studys design, participant selection, and variables of interest. In addition, a description of the proposed study data analysis approach as well as its guiding hypotheses and corresponding null hypotheses are followed by a preliminary review of the relevant literature.

Keywords: Team cohesion, performance anxiety, social cohesion, group cohesion

How Team Cohesion and Performance Anxiety Affect Athletic Performance

Team cohesion is a crucial element in bringing the group together. Team cohesion is the engine that drives the progression of a sports team and it plays a crucial part in boosting the teams confidence and overall performance. -- Maozhu Jin et al., 2023

Today, amateur and professional sports are big business around the world, and sports teams of all ilk are on the constant lookout for strategies that can give them a competitive edge on the playing field. Indeed, the total value of the global sporting industry is estimated between about half a trillion and a trillion and a half dollars at present, and current trends indicate that these figures will continue to increase well into the foreseeable future (Best & Howard, 2024). As the epigraph above makes clear, factors such as team cohesion and performance anxiety have assumed new importance and relevance for the sporting industry and these issues therefore require additional research to learn how they translate into victories on the field. To this end, the purpose of the proposed study is to determine how team cohesion and performance anxiety affect performance in athletes. This proposal describes the envisioned studys methods, including the study design, subjects and the variables of interest, followed by a description of the data analysis strategy. Finally, the proposed studys guiding hypotheses and corresponding null hypotheses are followed by a preliminary review of the relevant literature.

Methods

Study Design

The proposed study will employ a cross-sectional design to investigate the relationship between team cohesion, performance anxiety, and athletic performance. This design is appropriate for examining the variables of interest at a specific point in time and allows for the exploration of associations between the variables. The study will involve the participation of various sports teams from different competitive levels using the subjects described further below.

Subjects

The study will recruit a diverse sample of athletes from sport teams using the following inclusion criteria:

Participants must be actively engaged in competitive sports at the time of the study.

Participants must be between the ages of 18 and 35 years old.

Participants must have been part of their respective teams for at least one competitive season.

In addition, in order to ensure a representative sample, the study will aim to include athletes from a range of sports, competitive levels (e.g., amateur, collegiate, and professional), and geographical regions. Likewise, efforts will be made to recruit an equal number of male and female athletes to examine potential gender differences.

Variables and how they are operationalized

Dependent variable: Performance/competition anxiety

Independent variable: Team cohesion

For the purposes of the study proposed herein, these variables are operationalized as follows:

Team cohesion is the degree of closeness, unity, and commitment among members of a sports team (Ramrez Muoz et al., 2023).

Performance anxiety was operationalized as the various feelings of tension, apprehension, and nervousness experienced by athletes with respect to competitive performance situations (Ramrez Muoz et al., 2023).

Data Analysis

The data collected in this study will be analyzed using a combination of descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Descriptive...

In the Ramrez Muoz et al. (2023) study, team cohesion was conceptualized as the degree of closeness, unity, and dedication shared among members of a sports team. Performance anxiety was operationalized as the feelings of tension, worry, and apprehension experienced by athletes in relation to competitive performance contexts that demand successful execution of skills. By examining the manner in which team cohesion intersects with mental skillsets and pressure management, this study aimed to inform strategies for optimizing athletic achievement across diverse competitive domains.

The study involved 146 talented athletes from the Sports Talent Development program of the Provincial Council of Guipzcoa (Spain), with an average age of 20.08 years (SD = 4.68), who completed the Psychological Characteristics Related to Sports Performance (CPRD) questionnaire. Cluster analysis of these data identified three distinct profiles based on team cohesion:

a) One with low cohesion;

b) Another with average cohesion; and,

c) A third with high cohesion.

Data analysis also identified significant differences in mental abilities, particularly positive self-talk, and marginally significant differences in self-confidence among the profiles. The authors report that, Positive self-talk is the internal conversation that a person can do aloud or silently (before, during, or after the competition) and through which the person strengthens him/herself (Ramrez Muoz et al., 2023, p. 638). Profile (b) above exhibited the highest scores that were associated with high athletic performance levels.

Taken together, the findings that emerged from the Ramrez Muoz et al. (2023) study suggest that a combination of low individualism, high social cohesion, and moderate team spirit is optimal for enhancing mental abilities and self-confidence in athletes in ways that promote on-field performance. These results also underscore the importance of team cohesion in sporting teams mental skills training progams and competition management…