Team Member Hormone Profiles and Group Cohesion

Group cohesion in sport is associated with many positive outcomes for the team as a whole, as well as for the individuals. Hence, it is important to understand the antecedents of cohesion in various contexts, including sport. One antecedent that has yet to be examined in a sports context pertains to biological factors; specifically, the interaction of testosterone and cortisol levels. The dual-hormone hypothesis posits that testosterone levels are associated with status attainment for both individuals and groups, but only amongst those with low cortisol levels. Based on previous literature, a high testosterone-low cortisol hormonal profile should be associated with perceptions of group cohesion. However, other evidence has suggested that greater variability in hormonal profiles would be associated with group cohesion. As such, it was the purpose of this project to examine the relationship between hormonal profiles and perceptions of group cohesion in a sports context. Eighty-one university intramural athletes from 19 different teams were recruited for this project. The hypotheses for this project were not supported, in that the interaction of testosterone and cortisol was not associated with perceptions of group cohesion. Potential methodological limitations are discussed so that future projects can better understand the relationship between hormonal profiles and group cohesion. Despite the lack of statistically significant findings to support the hypotheses, this project offers a unique perspective on group dynamics by combining psychological and physiological measures