Athlete perceptions of the nature, antecedents, and consequences of intragroup conflict in sport

Abstract

Conflict can be defined as "a dynamic process that occurs between interdependent parties as they experience negative emotional reactions to perceived disagreements and interference with the attainment of their goals" (Barki & Hartwick, 2004, p. 234). The construct of conflict has been the subject of wide research interest in the organizational literature (e.g., Jehn, 1995). However, in the sport setting, intragroup conflict has received little research attention with few exceptions (e.g., Holt et al., 2012). As Lavoi (2007) pointed out, a subject search through prominent sport psychology textbooks fails to yield the term conflict. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to better understand athletes' perceptions of the nature, antecedents, and consequences of conflict in sport teams. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with five male and five female varsity athletes. Results yielded a total of 347 meaning units. As for the nature of conflict, athletes perceived typical manifestations were disagreements, negative emotions, and interference which occurred in both task and social situations. Common antecedents for task conflict surrounded leadership, roles, and status. Common antecedents for social conflict referenced cohesion, group size, and cliques. Consequences for task conflict included performance, commitment, and communication. Consequences for social conflict included alienation, negative affect, and dropout. Implications and future directions are discussed.