Anxiety is one of the most studied research topics in sport psychology literature (Guillen & Sanchez, 2009); however, even though the Olympics are considered to be one of the most pressure-filled sporting events (Birrer, Wetzel, Schmidt, & Morgan, 2012), to date there has been no research aimed specifically at investigating Olympic athletes’ competitive state anxiety and its impact on subsequent performance. Furthermore, according to Nesti (2011), in order to support athletes in dealing with their experience of anxiety, researchers must turn towards the phenomenological, real-lived experience of the athlete to uncover what might best support positive anxiety management and interpretation in competition. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to respond to the gap in Olympic athlete anxiety research by examining the phenomenological experience of competitive state anxiety for female beach volleyball players at the 2012 London Olympics. Six in-depth, phenomenological interviews were conducted with these Olympic female beach volleyball players. Results indicated that, while all athletes in this study experienced anxiety at the 2012 Olympics, it was not the reduced intensity of anxiety that positively impacted their performance but rather the athletes’ ability to recognize, manage, and positively interpret their anxiety. In addition, it was shown that self-confidence further buffered the potentially negative impacts of anxiety. It is recommended that future research focus on extending phenomenological anxiety research to other sports and genders, and to specifically examine the impact of trait anxiety, team dynamics, and the experience of flow on athletes’ anxiety interpretation.

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In the digital domain, virtual teams within organizations and corporations are becoming common. Restructuring an organization or corporation is vital because competition and globalization are increasing. In this era of globalization, distributed working groups need to develop a competitive advantage in these ever-changing environments. Historically, teams had experienced problems stemming from geographical and temporal limitations. With the increase of technology in telecommunications, organizations are increasingly forming virtual teams, which have become critical to the survival of nearly any corporate entity. Virtual teams have some of the same problems that regular teams have. One of the key challenges is the method of forming teams, while such challenge is exacerbated in digital environments. Despite the difficulties, the digital environment has made successful team development all the more challenging. The variation in people's skills makes the formation of teams even more difficult. This is why organizations cannot determine in advance if a virtual team will be a success. To evaluate the success of team formation in a virtual setting, this research study assessed the role of different computer-mediated communications (CMC) levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the success of team formation measured by the level of task performance (TP), team cohesiveness (TC), computer skills (CS) and social bond (SB), while assessing the differences on such relationships when controlled for demographic information such as gender, age, education level, academic major, as well as academic year. Empirical data was collected from students at the Medical Sciences Campus in the University of Puerto Rico with 140 usable records. Using three teams and 140 participants, the results indicated that there is a statistically significance difference in the role of CMC levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the level of perception of CS in team formation. Significant differences were also found in the role of CMC levels employed on the levels of TP, when controlled for gender. In addition, there is a significance difference in the role of CMC levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the levels of CS, when controlled for education, academic major and academic year. The outcomes of the study contributed to the body of knowledge for both practice and research, to help organizations identify ways to support effective team formations in virtual environments.

The purpose of the study was to construct a psycho-social model for team cohesion at a financial institution. The financial institution had been in existence for 127 years, and had faced significant challenges throughout its history of acquisitions and mergers to establish working teams that would give it a competitive edge in global financial markets. The research objective was to develop a psycho-social model for team cohesion by investigating the interrelationships and overall relationships amongst the independent constructs (self-worth, personality preferences and conflict resolution styles) and the relevant outcome (team cohesion). Furthermore, the study also scientifically tested the possible moderating effect of the employees’ socio-demographic characteristics (race, gender, age, level of education, job level and tenure) on the fostering of team cohesiveness. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design approach was selected and applied to a simple probability sample (N = 463) using standardised, valid and reliable measuring instruments. The population consisted of permanent employees, and the results revealed significant relationships between the construct variables. The canonical correlation indicated a significant overall relationship between the contingencies of self-worth domains, personality preferences and conflict resolution styles, and the team cohesion-related dispositions of cohesiveness and engaged. The structured equation modelling indicated a good fit of the data between the individuals’ contingencies of self-worth domains (family support, God’s love, virtues, competition, work competence, physical appearance and pleasing others), the accommodating conflict resolution style, an extraversion personality preference, and team cohesion. Hierarchical moderated regression showed that race, age, educational level and job tenure significantly moderated the relationship between the participants’ psycho-social attributes and team cohesion. Tests for significant mean differences revealed significant differences in terms of the socio-biographical variables. On a theoretical level, the study deepened understanding of the antecedent constructs (self-worth, personality preferences and conflict resolution styles) and team cohesion construct. On an empirical level, the study produced an empirically tested psycho-social model for team cohesion. This study will add significant practical, valuable knowledge to the organisation in managing the future establishment and enhancement of team cohesion, and when integrating new team members to the environment during organisational restructuring and re-alignment after acquisitions and mergers, without negatively affecting organisational effectiveness. These findings invariably provided new insight in managing and understanding inherent interpersonal conflict among employees in the workplace and the enhancement of team cohesion practices, thus adding to the existing body of knowledge in the fields of Consulting Psychology and Industrial and Organisational Psychology, more specifically in financial organisations. / Psychology / D. Phil. (Consulting Psychology)

This thesis analyses problems related to the creation of the working team coupled with the process of it’s members‘ cohesion. The theoretical part of the work contains an introduction and explanation of basic concepts related to given issues. In particular, we look at the issue of the manager's personality, the theory of social Gross, work teams, styles of leadership and management teams. The last chapter contains general recommendations of basic skills in the approach of managers and management teams. The practical part is focused on the analysis of the investigation file, the analysis of the facto. The aim of the project is to design such a manager process strategy, which leads to team cohesion thereby increasing work efficiency.