Moral Behavior in the Locker Room Predicts Perceptions of Task Cohesion in Youth Ice Hockey Player

Abstract

Task cohesion (i.e., perceptions of team unity towards a task goal and positive feelings towards one’s own involvement) is associated with myriad psychosocial benefits for youth athletes. Accordingly, sport researchers and youth sport stakeholders are interested in ways of fostering task cohesion. Recent work has found evidence that prosocial and antisocial behaviors among teammates are associated with athletes’ perceptions of task cohesion; however, this research has been limited to moral behavior that takes place during gameplay. Despite youth sport experiences extending well beyond practices and games, we know very little about how moral behavior between teammates, in settings outside gameplay, relates to perceptions of task cohesion. To address this knowledge gap, the current study investigated whether prosocial and antisocial behaviors in the locker room setting were associated with perceptions of task cohesion in a sample of 238 youth male ice hockey players (Mage = 10.75). Using hierarchical regression analyses, our results revealed that (a) perceptions of peer prosocial behavior was positively associated with task cohesion, (b) perceptions of peer antisocial behavior was negatively associated with task cohesion, and (c) self-reported perceptions of participants’ own moral behavior was not significantly associated with task cohesion. Given the association with perceptions of task cohesion, these findings underline the value in promoting prosocial behavior and reducing antisocial behavior in sport settings outside gameplay and hold multiple theoretical and practical implications. Notably, moral behavior that takes place outside gameplay settings may be related to perceptions of task cohesion that primarily relates to goals and interactions during gameplay.

Identifying and prioritizing the factors affecting the Iranian Sports Refereeing Ethics Code

“…Pizzi and Stanger (2019) also found out that ethical behaviors toward teammate players as well as opponent players improve team performance and efficiency. On the other hand, Graupensperger et al (2018) found out that ethical behaviors lead to greater coherence of teammate players in ice hockey players, and also reduce antisocial behaviors in them. Simon (2016) also examined ethical issues in the Turkish sports media in his research, and the research results showed that the sports media have not been loyal to ethical codes and repeatedly violated ethical codes.…”

“…Ethical behaviors also lead to greater coherence(Graupensperger and Tisak, 2018, Bermejo et al, 2018). Therefore, in general, the sports managers and sports referees in Iran are recommended to use the principles of the present code in order to improve the ethical factors in the sports environment.Another result of the present research was to observe respect as one of the pillars of the refereeing ethics regulations in sports.…”