Team Interaction and the Emergence of Leadership and Interpersonal Attraction in Field Hockey

Abstract

This study quantified the interaction channels used by intercollegiate field hockey teams and compared these to Bavelas' centrality index and the emergence of leadership/interpersonal attraction. Interaction frequencies, defined as passes to teammates, were determined for each playing position for three teams ( N = 37) using 4-3-2-1-1, 5-3-2-1, and 4-2-3-1-1 structural systems. Members of four teams for each system ( N = 177) then rated each teammate on leadership and attraction. Analyses of variance showed leadership and attraction differences among low, moderate, and high interactors ( p < .05), but these differences disappeared when goalies were eliminated from the analysis. Thus, high-interaction frequencies were not indicative of high leadership and attraction ratings. Only “leadership,” “years on the varsity,” and “attraction” were found to discriminate between captain and noncaptains. The results suggest that for highly dynamic tasks functional centrality and task independency are perhaps more important factors than spatial centrality and high interaction.