Résumé
Self-construal—how individuals perceive their sense of self to others (Markus & Kitayama, 1991)—may play a significant role in shaping athletes’ perception of team cohesion. Independent self-construal emphasizes autonomy, personal goals, and internal attributes, while interdependent self-construal stresses social connectedness, relational roles, and group harmony (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). While much of the research on cohesion highlights external influences such as leadership, less attention has been given to how athletes’ self-perceptions influence cohesion. Carron et al.’s (1985) model of cohesion distinguishes between task and social dimensions at both the individual and group level. These dimensions may align with athletes’ dominant self-construal: those with independent self-construals may gravitate toward task-based involvement (e.g., Individual Attractions to the Group-Task), whereas those with interdependent self-construals may resonate more with social and relational aspects of cohesion (e.g., Group Integration-Social). This study examined the relationship between self-construal and cohesion in 278 athletes from various team sports. Participants completed the Self-Construal Scale (Singelis, 1994) and the Group Environment Questionnaire (Carron et al., 1985). The results showed that interdependent self-construal was a strong predictor of all four cohesion dimensions (β = .276 to .532). Independent self-construal also positively predicted cohesion, but with smaller effects (β = .073 to .206). These findings suggest that athletes who see themselves as interconnected with others are more likely to experience stronger perceptions of cohesion. Understanding self-construal may offer coaches and mental performance consultants insight into how to better foster both task and social bonds within teams.
