Kevin S. Spink

This study examined the effect of descriptive norm messaging information on the relationship between haptic input and balance control. Participants were randomly assigned to either a message group where they balanced with haptic input after receiving a descriptive norm message about the positive effect of haptic input or a control group. Findings from an analysis of covariance revealed a significant difference between the two groups. Those in the descriptive norm message group had better balance control than those in the control group. These findings suggest that efforts designed to improve balance control through haptic input may be enhanced through normative messaging.

Correcting mistakes is a key component in sport performance. Typically, the coach is tasked with providing this feedback. While teammates could serve this role, it is not the norm for teammates to provide this feedback (Goldsmith & Fitch, 1997). The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of coach and player sources of social influence on increasing player intention to intervene with teammates following a technical mistake. Adult soccer players (N = 170) read one of five hypothetical soccer team vignettes where the description differed in the levels of coach and player social influence about intervening with teammates. Participants rated their intention to intervene with teammates who made a technical mistake during a game. ANCOVA results indicated that the overall model was significant (p < .002). Post hoc analyses revealed that intention to intervene was higher when teams were described as having a coach that encouraged players to intervene and the team norm was for players to intervene. However, this was not the case when coach and teammate social influences were at cross purposes. This provides initial support that aligned social influences from the coach and players increase soccer players’ intentions to intervene when their teammates make technical mistakes.

The positive benefits for youth participating in sport have been well documented. Yet, keeping athletes returning to sport has been a concern. While various factors have been examined to explain this attrition, facets of the sport group experience have started to emerge. From a group perspective, it has been established that athlete intentions to return to a sport team the following season are positively associated with perceived team cohesion. While cohesion is a key group construct, other group factors are worthy of examination. The purpose of the current study was to build upon the research base by examining whether the relationship between cohesion and intention to return would be moderated by another group factor—the level of groupness ascribed to the team. At the end of a competitive season, youth soccer athletes (N = 156) completed measures of task cohesion, groupness, and intention to return to their team in the future. Results revealed that the task cohesion-intention to return relationship was significantly moderated by groupness, p = .03. Simple slopes analysis revealed that the strongest relationship between task cohesion and intention to return occurred under conditions of lower groupness. These initial results indicated that intention to return was highest when the team was perceived as higher in task cohesion, regardless of groupness perceptions. However, when the team was perceived to be lower in task cohesion, those who perceived their team as being more like a group indicated a greater willingness to return to the team in the future.

The relationship between attributional dimensions women assign to the cause of their perceived success or failure at meeting the recommended physical activity dose and self-regulatory efficacy for future physical activity was examined among women with arthritis. Women (N = 117) aged 18–84 years, with self-reported medically-diagnosed arthritis, completed on-line questions in the fall of 2013 assessing endurance physical activity, perceived outcome for meeting the recommended levels of endurance activity, attributions for one’s success or failure in meeting the recommendations, and self-regulatory efficacy to schedule/plan endurance activity over the next month. The main theoretically-driven finding revealed that the interaction of the stability dimension with perceived success/failure was significantly related to self-regulatory efficacy for scheduling and planning future physical activity (β = 0.35, p = .002). Outcomes attributed to more versus less stable factors accentuated differences in self-regulatory efficacy beliefs following perceived success and failure at being active. It appears that attributional dimensions were associated with self-regulatory efficacy in women with arthritis. This suggests that rather than objectively observed past mastery experience, women’s subjective perceptions and explanations of their past experiences were related to efficacy beliefs, especially following a failure experience.