"Team chemistry" through chemistry lenses: Interdisciplinary science or a metaphorical conundrum?

A Google search on “team chemistry” returns over 443,000 entries (October 2014) usually denoting some sort of team process, such as cohesion, shared mental models, and collective efficacy. Practitioners (e.g., athletic coaches and business managers) often emphasize the importance of team chemistry for optimal performance. For instance, former NFL quarterback and current business executive Roger Staubach noted that “In any team sport, the best teams have consistency and chemistry.” Researchers in performance psychology also allude to the notion of “team chemistry” when discussing exceptional teams (Levine, 1994; Gershgoren et al., 2013)

Shared Zones of Optimal Functioning (SZOF): A Framework to Capture Peak Performance, Momentum, Psycho-Bio-Social Synchrony and Leader-Follower Dynamics in Teams

By bridging the literature on Shared Mental Models and the Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF), I advance a new framework called the Shared Zones of Optimal Functioning (SZOF). The SZOF is a probabilistic methodology designed to (a) capture optimal and sub-optimal performance experiences in teams, (b) track team momentum through the analysis of within-team performance fluctuations, and (c) estimate within-team psycho-bio-social synchrony and leader-follower dynamics (i.e., leader-follower dichotomy; shared-leadership). To test the SZOF framework, three dyadic juggling teams were asked to juggle for 60 trials, while having their performance, arousal, pleasantness and attentional levels recorded. Ordinal logistic regression, frequency counts, and cross-correlation analyses revealed that each team showed idiosyncratic affective and attentional levels linked to optimal performance, team momentum patterns, and leader-follower dynamics. The implications of these findings for the development of high-performing teams and specific avenues of future research are discussed throughout

Profile of high-performing college soccer teams: An exploratory multi-level analysis

Purpose: To determine the profile of high-performing college soccer teams through the use of exploratory hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) based on a socio-cognitive approach. Design and Measures: A correlational design was employed in this study. The sample consisted of 340 college soccer players of both genders (178 female and 162 male), representing 17 different teams (8 female and 9 male) ranked in the top-32 of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Numerous demographic and soccer-related variables represented level-1 in the HLM model. Group Environment Questionnaire and Team Assessment Diagnostic Measure were entered as level-2 variables, representing cohesion and team mental models, respectively. Perceived performance potential (PPP) served as the dependent variable. Objective performance scores were correlated with PPP, attesting a moderate to high-level of criterion related validity (r = .78). Results: The final model suggested that: (1) International athletes perceive their performance lower than others, (2) different field positions share different covariance coefficients with PPP, and (3) perception of social cohesion from a group, rather than individual, standpoint is positively associated with perceptions of team performance. Conclusions: High performing teams have clearly defined task-related and team-related goals. Accordingly, social rather than task related factors may represent a competitive edge, further energizing the interactions and performance of top-ranked teams. International athletes perceive team performance lower than locals, perhaps due to differences in preferred game-style and acculturation experiences. Players from different field positions (i.e., goalkeepers, defensive, and offensive players) relate differently to team performance in college soccer

Vortices in a mesoscopic superconducting circular sector

In the present paper we develop an algorithm to solve the time dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) equations, by using the link variables technique, for circular geometries. In addition, we evaluate the Helmholtz and Gibbs free energy, the magnetization, and the number of vortices. This algorithm is applied to a circular sector. We evaluate the superconduting-normal magnetic field transition, the magnetization, and the superconducting density. Furthermore, we study the nucleation of giant and multi-vortex states for that geometry.Comment: One REVTeX file and 8 figure

Do psychobiosocial states mediate the relationship between perceived motivational climate and individual motivation in youngsters?

Grounded in achievement goal theory and self-determination theory, this cross-sectional study examined the relationship between perceived motivational climate and individuals’ motivation as well as the mediation effect of psychobiosocial states as conceptualized within the individual zones of optimal functioning (IZOF) model. Young students (N = 167, age range 14-15 years) taking part in physical education classes completed measures of teacher-initiated motivational climate, task and ego orientation, motivation, and psychobiosocial states. Simple and serial mediation analyses indicated that a perceived mastery climate and individuals’ task orientation were related to intrinsic motivation and identified regulation through the mediation of pleasant/functional psychobiosocial states. In contrast, a perceived performance climate was related to external regulation and amotivation through the mediation of unpleasant/dysfunctional psychobiosocial states. Regression analysis results also showed that discrete psychobiosocial states accounted for a significant proportion of variance in motivational variables. Taken together, findings highlight the role of psychobiosocial states as mediators of the relationship between motivational climate and an individual’s motivation, and suggest that educators should consider a wide range of individual’s functional and dysfunctional reactions deriving from their instructional activity

The effects of motivational climate interventions on psychobiosocial states in high school physical education

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of task- and ego-involving climate manipulations on students’ climate perception and psychobiosocial (PBS) states in a physical education setting. Method: Two subsamples of female students (N = 108, 14-15 years of age) participated for 12 lessons on either a task- or an ego-involving climate intervention as grounded in the TARGET model. Results: At the end of the treatment, the participants of the ego-involved group reported lower scores in perceived task-involving climate and higher scores in perceived ego-involving climate than their peers in the task-involved group. Lower scores in pleasant/functional PBS states and higher scores in unpleasant/dysfunctional PBS states were also observed in the ego-involved group as a consequence of the intervention. Conclusion(s): Findings suggested that teacher’s induced achievement motivational climates can influence students’ perceptions and prompt PBS states consistent with the motivational atmosphere

Recovery-Stress Balance in Professional and U-21 Soccer: Differences between Starters and Substitutes

Soccer players at the U-21 level are in the challenging process of transitioning to the professional level. Accordingly, we examined whether U-21 soccer players would show a similar recovery-stress balance profile as professional soccer players. Furthermore, we explored differences in recovery-stress balance by playing status (i.e., starter or substitute). Twenty-nine players from a League One (UK) soccer club (15 professional players and 14 U-21 players) participated in the study. The players completed a demographic form and the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-Sport). A series of 2 (team: professional or U-21) × 2 (player status: starter or substitute) ANOVAs were performed on all sub-dimensions of the RESTQ-Sport. Starters showed significantly higher levels of general well-being, being in shape, and self-efficacy. Furthermore, analysis of the interaction terms suggested that players who were professional and substitutes showed the least healthy recovery-stress balance profile among all groups of players. Accordingly, coaches and applied sport psychologists should pay special attention to the recovery-stress balance of substitute players who might be at a higher risk of overtraining and burnout

Onipresença nos conselhos editoriais : prestigio e cerimonialismo na atividade cientifica

O presente artigo analisou os conselhos editoriais de periódicos brasileiros a partir da noção de prestígio e da hipótese da onipresença subjacente às características de estratificação no campo científico. A amostra compreendeu 41 periódicos da área de Administração listados no sistema brasileiro de classificação de periódicos (Qualis/Capes). Assim, considerando-se as múltiplas afiliações de pesquisadores em conselhos editoriais, construímos a rede de relações entre periódicos e analisamos sua associação com indicadores de impacto e de qualidade atestada pelo sistema Qualis. Os resultados evidenciaram que periódicos com conselhos editoriais centralmente posicionados na estrutura de rede tenderam a ser mais bem avaliados no sistema Qualis e apresentaram maior percentual de citação. Concluímos o artigo discutindo aspectos ligados ao cerimonialismo presente na atividade do conselho editorial, tendo em vista o fato de que seu papel extrapola a atividade técnica de editoria, vinculando-se ao controle interno da ciência quanto à disseminação e certificação do conhecimento científico.This paper investigates the notion of prestige in editorial boards of Brazilian academic journals. It considers the ubiquity underlying the stratification characteristics of the scientific field. The sample included 41 journals in the business area, listed on the Brazilian system of journal classification (Qualis/Capes). We consider researchers' multiple memberships on editorial boards in order to map out the network among journals. Hence, by the means of network indicators we explore their relations with journal impact factor and quality certified by the Qualis system. The results showed a significant relationship between the position of editorial boards in the network structure and the ranking classification as measured by impact factor and Qualis systems. We conclude discussing the ceremonial aspects of editorial board. We argue that the role they played by editorial boards goes beyond the technical function of publishing, to be linked to their action as science gatekeepers