Steven R. Bray

Transition to university and vigorous physical activity: implications for health and psychological well-being.

The authors investigated vigorous physical activity and psychological well-being during transition from high school to first-year university in a sample of 145 Canadian undergraduates. Participants completed retrospective measures assessing vigorous physical activity during their first 2 months at university and their last 2 months at high school as well as measures assessing psychological well-being. According to nationally recommended (US Department of Health and Human Services) standards, two thirds (66.2%) of students reported adequate levels of vigorous activity in high school, whereas significantly fewer (44.1%) met the standard during their first 8 weeks at university. One third of students were active in high school but became insufficiently active once at university; 33% were active at both times; 23% consistently fell short of recommended levels; and only 11% became active once at university. Students who had become insufficiently active reported higher levels of fatigue and lower levels of vigor compared with those who continued to be active.

The home advantage in sport competitions: Courneya and Carron's (1992) conceptual framework a decade later

This paper had three aims. The first was to review research carried out on the home advantage from 1992 to the present. The second was to examine the extent to which a conceptual framework proposed by Courneya and Carron (1992) was/is viable as a tool to highlight and organize an understanding of the home advantage. The final aim was to provide suggestions for future research.

Role efficacy, role clarity, and role performance effectiveness

The main purpose of the study was to examine role clarity as a moderator of the role efficacy-role performance relationship. A secondary issue was to investigate the influence of role clarity on role efficacy and role performance. On the basis of Bandura’s theorizing, it was hypothesized that role efficacy should be a good predictor of role performance effectiveness only under conditions of high role clarity. Individuals reporting higher role clarity were expected to be more efficacious and perform better than those with lower role clarity. Consistent with hypotheses, role clarity moderated the prospective relationship between role efficacy and role performance effectiveness in the predicted direction for offensive role functions. Individuals who reported higher role clarity also reported higher role efficacy and performed better than those with lower role clarity. Results are discussed in the context of self-efficacy theory. Further prospective examinations, as well as experimental designs, are recommended.

Do individual perceptions of group cohesion reflect shared beliefs? An empirical analysis

This studys primary purpose was to examine the degree to which individual perceptions of cohesiveness reflect shared beliefs in sport teams. The secondary purposes were to examine how the type of cohesion, the task interactive nature of the group, and the absolute level of cohesion relate to the index of agreement. Teams (n = 192 containing 2,107 athletes) were tested on the Group Environment Questionnaire. Index of agreement values were greater for the group integration (GI) manifestations of cohesiveness (GI-task, rwg(j) = .721; GI-social,rwg(j) = .694) than for the individual attractions to the group (ATG) manifestations (ATG-task, rwg(j) = .621; ATG-social, rwg(j) = .563). No differences were found for interactive versus coactive/independent sport teams. A positive relationship was observed between the absolute level of cohesiveness and the index of agreement. Results were discussed in terms of their implication for the aggregation of individual perceptions of cohesion to represent the group construct.

Collective Efficacy, Group Goals, and Group Performance of a Muscular Endurance Task

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships among collective efficacy, group goals, and group performance using an interdependent muscular endurance task in a controlled laboratory setting. Thirty-seven male (n = 14) and female (n = 23) triads performed two trials of maximum muscular endurance, completing measures of collective efficacy and group goals between trials. Results showed a high degree of correlation ( r range = .73 -.92) between collective efficacy, group goals, and group performance. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that collective efficacy predicted significant variance in Trial 2 performance after controlling for performance on Trial 1. Group goals mediated the relationship between collective efficacy and group performance on Trial 2. Implications for theory and group performance in naturalistic settings such as sport teams are discussed.

The effect of competition location on individual athlete performance and psychological states

Objective. To examine the performance and pre-competition psychological states of individual sport athletes in relation to competition location. It was hypothesized that skiers would perform better when competing at home. Self-reports of state anxiety were expected to be lower and self-confidence higher prior to home races compared to away. Design. Within-subjects design to examine athletes’ performance and pre-competition psychological states at home and away competitions. Methods. Junior alpine skiers (N=26) completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 approximately one-half hour prior to competitions that were held at home and away. Objective (race points) and subjective (coach ratings) measures of performance were also obtained. Results. Contrary to hypotheses, no differences between home and away performances were observed (i.e. no home advantage). Athletes reported no differences in pre-competition state anxiety or self-confidence at home compared to away. Conclusions. Results bring into question the reliability of the home advantage when examined from the perspective of individual athletes competing in individual sports and highlight the need for further research on the association between game location and competitors’ psychological states.  2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using Consensus as a Criterion for Groupness Implications for the Cohesion–Group Success Relationship

The purpose of the study was to examine how the exclusion of teams failing to meet varying statistical criteria for consensus on cohesiveness influences the magnitude of the cohesion– team success relationship. The index of agreement was calculated for 78 teams (N = 1,000 athletes) that had completed the Group Environment Questionnaire. Results showed that excluding teams because they fail to satisfy various criteria for consensus leads to changes in the magnitude of the cohesion–team success relationship. The magnitude of the relationship between team success and the individual attractions to group-task manifestation of cohesion showed progressive decreases as criteria required to demonstrate consensus became more stringent. Conversely, the magnitude of the relationship between team success and the group integration–task and group integration–social manifestations of cohesion showed progressive increases as criteria required to demonstrate consensus became more stringent. The results are discussed in terms of their relationship to group dynamics theory and practice.

Game location and aggression in rugby league.

The present study examined the relationship between aggression and game location in rugby league. We videotaped a random sample of 21 professional rugby league games played in the 2000 Super League season. Trained observers recorded the frequency of aggressive behaviours. Consistent with previous research, which used territoriality theories as a basis for prediction, we hypothesized that the home team would behave more aggressively than the away team. The results showed no significant difference in the frequency of aggressive behaviours exhibited by the home and away teams. However, the away teams engaged in substantially more aggressive behaviours in games they lost compared with games they won. No significant differences in the pattern of aggressive behaviours for home and away teams emerged as a function of game time (i.e. first or second half) or game situation (i.e. when teams were winning, losing or drawing). The findings suggest that while home and away teams do not display different levels of aggression, the cost of behaving aggressively (in terms of game outcome) may be greater for the away team.

Game Location and Officiating Bias in English Club Cricket

One potential contributing factor to the commonly observed home advantage in competitive sport is that officials may be biased in favour of the home team as a result of pressure from spectators. The present study examined officiating behaviour and home advantage, defined as home teams winning over 50% of decided games in English Club Cricket, a sport virtually devoid of spectator influence. Records of game outcomes, as well as dismissals requiring a decision by the umpire, were analysed. The relative frequency of umpiring decisions did not favour either home or away teams. However, a home advantage was found, with the home teams winning 57.1% of decided games (n =1,449) Considered together, the results suggest that in sports with little or no spectator influence teams may win more often at home for reasons other than biased umpiring decisions, such as familiarity with their home ground or a visiting teams fatigue following travel.