Abstract

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the effects of different levels of collective efficacy on group performance in a muscular endurance task. Female (N=25) and male (N=26) triads were systematically assigned to either a high or low collective efficacy condition in a 2 (sex) x 2 (collective efficacy) x 2 (trials) design. The two efficacy conditions were established through the use of a pretest manipulation which involved providing feedback concerning group strength. In the test session, the low collective efficacy groups competed against a confederate group believed to have exhibited superior performance on the strength task; the high collective efficacy group competed against a confederate group believed to have exhibited inferior performance on the strength task. The muscular endurance task required the triad to hold a medicine ball aloft for as long as possible. Two trials were taken with both the preferred and nonpreferred arms. In order to test the impact of collective efficacy, the competition was manipulated so that the experimental groups consistently experienced failure against the confederate group. It was observed that the high efficacy groups improved their performance following failure whereas the low efficacy groups exhibited a decrement in performance. There were no differences between females and males. Verf.-Referat