- Being prompted with a cultural ideology DID NOT lead to greater teamcohesion: F (2,161) = 1.63, p = .199
- Being prompted with a cultural ideology DID lead to better performance!
oField goal %: F (2,161) = 10.85, p < .001
oDropped passes: F (2,161) = 7.19, p = .001
oCompletion time: F (2,161) = 12.015, p < .001
- Meanwhile, greater team cohesion was related to fewer dropped passes (r = -.30, p < .001), and better completion time (r = -.24, p = .002), regardless ofideology
Discussion• Was the control group just accidentally filled with inexperienced basketballplayers?
o It appears not. 46% of control group participants reported that theycurrently play basketball at least once/month, compared to 47% in thecolorblind condition and 62% in the multicultural condition
• Did the ideology manipulation work?
oMaybe – results of a manipulation check suggested that afterward, mosteveryone endorsed having a cultural ideology – including control groupparticipants
Conclusion• Should more participants be run before finalizing our conclusions?
o Likely yes.
• Meanwhile, evidence suggests that having a stated cultural ideology may behelpful for team performance – especially among diverse groups ofperformers such as ours
• Thus, a coach or general manager might aim to build a team around itscultural diversity
ReferencesJansen, W., Vos, M.W., Otten, S. Podsiadlowski, A. & van der Zee, K.I. (2016). Colorblind or
colorful? How diversity approaches affect cultural majority and minority employees. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 46(2), 81-93. doi:10.1111/jasp.12332
Rattan, A. & Ambaby, N. (2013). Diversity ideologies and intergroup relations: An examination of colorblindness and multiculturalism. European Journal of Social Psychology, 43(1), 12-21.
Stevens, F. G., Plaut, V. C., & Sanchez-Burks, J. (2008). Unlocking the benefits of diversity: All-inclusive multiculturalism and positive organizational change. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44(1), 116-133.
Widmeyer, N., Brawley, L., & Carron, A. (1985). The measurement of cohesion in sports teams: the Group Environment Questionnaire. London, Ontario, Canada: Sports Dynamics.
For further information…Please contact Mark P. [email protected]
Results
Mark P. Otten, Alfredo Leon, Monique Griffiths, and Komeno OgbenemeCalifornia State University, Northridge, USA
Method•Participantso 164 undergraduate students from a four-year university in the USAo92 were female, 72 were male; mean age = 19.70 (SD = 2.35)o77 were Latino/a, 32 were white/Caucasian, 20 were Asian/Asian American,
18 were African/African American, 17 were of other cultural background
•MeasuresoCohesion▻Modified Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ; Widmeyer, Brawley &
Carron, 1985)oPerformance▻Field goal percentage▻Dropped passes (i.e., turnovers)▻Task completion time
•ProcedureoParticipants were randomly assigned to one of three team building
conditions (colorblind, multicultural, and control) and asked to read acorresponding prompt regarding said ideology (ASK ME TO READ THESE!)
oFollowing this, participants were asked to introduce themselves and formtogether as a team
oAfterward, participants were instructed to complete a basketball shootingtask (see the above diagram), which involved passing the ball to teammateswithout dropping the ball and/or missing a shot. Players rotated positionsuntil each made two baskets
oFollowing this, participants filled out the GEQ and were then debriefed
Introduction• Cultural ideologies (i.e., colorblindness and multiculturalism) are beliefs about how to approach diversity (Rattan & Ambady, 2013)○Colorblindness is an ideology that ignores and deemphasizes cultural differences (Rattan & Ambady, 2013)▻Tends to favor majority group members, as individuality is embraced; thus, members are individually compared to the norm, which is often set by said majority
group○Multiculturalism is an ideology that acknowledges and embraces cultural differences (Jansen et al., 2015; Rattan & Ambady, 2013; Stevens et al., 2008)▻Tends to receive more support from minority group members, as they feel included, as opposed to neglected; by comparison, majority group members may feel left
out as they do not believe they are culturally diverse (Jansen et al., 2015)• The purpose of the current study is to compare these diversity approaches via ideology, and their subsequent effects on team performance and cohesion
Hypotheses• A team prompted with a cultural ideology (either colorblind or multicultural) would be more cohesive and perform better than one not prompted with an ideology• Team cohesion and performance would in turn correlate, regardless of ideology
Cultural Ideologies in Sport and Their Effects on Team Cohesion and Performance
Condition CohesionMulticultural prompt (n = 58) 68.57 (SD = 15.01)Colorblind prompt (n = 58) 72.45 (SD = 12.96)Control prompt (n = 48) 68.00 (SD = 14.32)
Performance
Condition Field Goal % Dropped passes (per player)
Completion time (per player)
Multicultural prompt(n = 58)
41.4%(SD = 1.5%)
0.27(SD = 0.56)
65.37 sec(SD = 38.84)
Colorblind prompt(n = 58)
41.6%(SD = 1.5%)
0.60(SD = 1.04)
65.72 sec(SD = 21.14)
Control prompt(n = 48)
29.9%(SD = 1.3%)
0.96(SD = 1.12)
95.81 sec(SD = 45.41)
