ABSTRACT
The social environment within sport often entails small groups, as athletes and others involved in sport are commonly structured into tight-knit, interactive, and interdependent groups such as teams and training groups. The spectrum of terms used to describe teams comprising rich bonds and cooperation among members underpins the variability in ways to view cohesion and the importance of using a clear empirical definition. The pivotal role of the conceptual growth during the process of developing the Group Environment Questionnaire is evident when the historical timeline of cohesion research in sport is considered. When considering the associations between cohesion and sport experiences, it is first important to recognize that groups are complex. The complexity of groups is reflected in the conceptual framework employed by Carron and Eys to characterize the role of cohesion within broader group ecologies. Considering the outcomes of cohesion, there is substantial interest in understanding its antecedents and in developing strategies to build cohesion.
