The effect of winning and losing records on team cohesion and attentional focus.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if winning and losing records influence team cohesion and attentional focus. Three questionnaires were used in the study. These questionnaires included: The Baseball Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style (BTAIS), The Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ) and The Sport Cognitive Interference Questionnaire (SCIQ). Thirty-one subjects participated in the study, twelve from losing teams and nineteen from winning teams. Two teams with losing records from the previous season and two teams with winning records from the previous season were used in the study. Each group contained one fast pitch softball team and one baseball team. Subjects were tested in the preseason or before any games were played. A one-way analysis of variance was used to determine if there was a significant difference between winning and losing teams. The following hypotheses served as a basis for this investigation: 1.There is no significant difference between the GEQ scores of winning teams and losing teams. 2. There is no significant difference between the B-TAIS scores of winning and losing teams. 3. There is no significant difference between the SCIQ scores of winning and losing teams.This study found a significant difference on certain subscales of the B-TAIS and the GEQ. Hypothesis one was rejected for the BETA, BITA, NARA and INFPA subscales of the B-TAIS. Hypothesis two was rejected for the IAGT and GIT subscales of the GEQ. There was a significant difference on these subscales. Hypothesis three was not rejected for the SCIQ. There was no significant difference between the winning and losing teams.