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Sex roles and stereotypes are always associated with the specifics of the regulatory system recognized in a particular socio-cultural environment, which a person assimilates and reflects in their behavior (Chalabaev, Sarrazin, Fontayne, Boich?, & Cl?ment-Guillotin, 2013). For example, sport is one of the highly specialized fields of human activities, and as an institution of socialization, it actively contributes to the formation of gender identity attributes. It is believed that the traditional male socialization process provides exercise because it brings quality and is stereotyped as a masculine more than female one (Eys et al., 2015). At the same time, a sport that ends with an achievement is not consistent with the typical image of femininity in many ways. Additionally, certain types of sports activities are characterized as more advantageous only for men or women (Chalabaev et al., 2013, p.137). The purpose of the current research reaction paper formatis to examine sex differences among basketball players in terms of team coherence and performance.
By all means, the main socio-psychological unity in sport is a team. Any sports team is a kind of a small social group, which comprises varieties of socio-psychological phenomena, namely its participants can only be a part of a team rather than individual athletes. In sports, the overall goal is to win, which largely depends on the coordinated efforts of all team members. Therefore, a group cohesion is an important factor in the success of a sports team (Eys et al., 2015). Usually, a team gets this feature in the process of formation and development. If it has a positive direction, it has a beneficial effect on the performance of sports activities (Chalabaev et al., 2013). Any team starts with training activities for development of the level of team coherence. When an atmosphere of interest and satisfaction is present, in the future, the team will be the most effective one among other.
In general, the analyzed scientific positions are not in doubt, but it should be noted that the experimental computations were made without taking into account sex differences in sports activities. In addition, the question of what kinds of sports activities are more conducive to the formation engaged in male or female basketball players’ traits is studied in fragments, leaving the representatives of this kind of sports outside the research in this area. In this context, a large-scale study of sex differentiation of highly qualified representatives of basketball, taking into account the nature of the interaction of rival athletes in a competitive struggle, is timely and relevant.
Additionally, the analysis of the literature showed, firstly, the fact that the type of interaction in sport contributes to the selection of individuals who are impressed with the nature of the sport, namely an interaction with the opponent, and incentives inherent in a particular manifestation of the individual character traits (Eys et al., 2015). Secondly, women’s interpersonal relationships that are typical for a particular type of sports activity largely influence the formation of gender roles (Chalabaev et al., 2013). Thirdly, differences in the formation of various types of gender-based sports, in part, occur due to the fact that the same situation arising in the sport associated with the nature of the interaction between rivals, women, and men often develops and is solved fundamentally in different ways (Eys et al., 2015). Therefore, the reason may be the initially different and dependable on the sex perception of team players.
Furthermore, in their study, Carron, Colman, Wheeler, & Stevens, (2002) established that female sports teams have higher-level coherence in comparison with male teams. These results indicate that female teams are able to communicate with each other; thus, they show better performance in a game. However, the research indicated that male teams are better performers in sports (Carron et al., 2002). From this perspective, the inconsistency in relationships between team coherence and game performance become obvious.
In particular, the most concentrated understanding of team coherence is defined as a group property that results from the amount and strength of mutual positive attitudes of the group members. In other words, cohesion is a form of manifestation of interpersonal liking. Moreover, Eys et al. (2015) highlighted that cohesion may include some of such psychological characteristics as a frequency of interaction of individuals or the improvement of the dynamics of the group practices because of intergroup interactions, status, behavioral characteristics of overall team members, and a variety of appearance similarities between them.
Consequently, the main purpose of the current study was to explore sex differences in team cohesion and performance among basketball players. Specifically, this research aimed to provide support for Chalabaev et al. (2013) suggestion that female basketball players perceive their role trough diverse gender stereotypes that may have a negative influence on game performance. Thus, it is predictable that male basketball team will perform gameplay more effectively than a female basketball team. A secondary purpose of the study was to explore sex differences in team coherence among basketball players. To test these hypotheses, participants played a 40-minute basketball game that consisted of two halves of 20-minutes each, and an observer recorded all the needed data. Additionally, the current study established two main hypotheses. First, female basketball players are affected by gender stereotypes that negatively influence the game performance in comparison with a male basketball team. Second, a higher degree of team coherence is observed among female basketball players, whereas male basketball players have a lesser degree of group cohesion.