PSY FPX 8842 Assessment 3

PSY FPX 8842 Assessment 3:Working with Diverse Populations on Social Cohesion

The success of a team, amateur or professional, largely hinges on social cohesion. Cohesion, as Eys and Kim (2017) explain, is when players believe in togetherness and personal devotion to the work and social aims of the team. Achieving such cohesion might be challenging, particularly for National Football League (NFL) teams, which undergo over 200 transactions per season (Spotrac, 2019). When paired with far-reaching social issues such as police brutality and racial injustice in the United States, the attainment of cohesion becomes even more elusive. While there were initial hesitations, the NFL formally embraced social justice initiatives, especially through the Inspire Change Program (NFL, 2020), following a kneeling protest by a former player during the National Anthem in 2016.

The demographic composition of NFL players also presents a challenge in attaining cohesion. 70.1% of the NFL players are non-white, according to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (2019), which is relatively different from the 39.9% of the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019) population that is non-white. But until this time, the league had taken a while to publicly show its support for its non-white players. Creating cohesion thus demands tailor-made approaches to various groups of players, depending on their histories and backgrounds.

PSY FPX 8842 Assessment 3: Working with Diverse Populations on Social Cohesion 

Awareness of racial inequality and its impact on their non-white counterparts is most important for white players. This entails simple but powerful exercises on the basis of personal experience, such as remembering times when one experienced unfair treatment due to arbitrary differences, such as offensive versus defensive stances (NFL Communications, 2020). Non-white players, on the other hand, need to have spaces where open communication can take place, and this demands patience from white players, who might take time to understand strange ideas influenced by their different upbringings (Crace & Hardy, 1997).

Similarly, gender dynamics must be controlled by coaching staff if social integration is to be achieved. Despite greater numbers of women entering football, coaching remains a man’s domain. The gender disparity highlighted by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (2019) brings attention to attempts to reverse gender-based genderism and microaggressions in the world of coaching (Yang & Carroll, 2018).

For male coaches, acknowledging and rectifying unconscious biases, such as microaggressions, is important. Empowering female coaches involves providing them with assertiveness and conflict resolution skills to manage inevitable tensions due to differences in their coaching styles (Hanrahan & Andersen, 2010).

From a broader perspective, direct intervention remains the most powerful tool for accomplishing social cohesion among coaches and athletes. Yukelson’s (1997) four-component model of intervention, including assessment, education, brainstorming, and implementation, is a scientific approach to organizing team-building events. By allowing participants’ active involvement, the model facilitates openness and diminishes the influence of preconceived ideas, thereby promoting inclusive spaces that are amenable to cohesion (Eys & Kim, 2017).

But although cohesion efforts are commendable, cultural and individual differences pose recurring problems. Avoidance is necessary in order not to shy away from exclusionary tendencies so that there can be social intimacy and constructive criticism side by side in order to have incessant progress of task cohesion in sporting teams.

PSY FPX 8842 Assessment 3: Working with Diverse Populations on Social Cohesion 

Spotrac. (2019). NFL Transactions. Spotrac.Com. https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/xbqfviillqpzixhy6cz1.pdf

Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES). (2019). 2019 Racial and Gender Report Card.

https://43530132-36e9-4f52-811a182c7a91933b.filesusr.com/ugd/7d86e5_517e71c07bdc45e4b9a5c053dcbe3108.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau. (2019). U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States. Census Bureau QuickFacts.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219#qf-headnote-b 

Yang, Y., & Carroll, D. W. (2018). Gendered microaggressions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Leadership and Research in Education, 4, 28-45 https://nflcommunications.com/Pages/Houston,-Florida,-Saint-Thomas-Aquinas-produce-most-NFL-players.aspx