A2 Psychology at Spalding Grammar School

World champion Kimi Raikkonen believes he won his first Formula One title in 2007 because of Ferrari's superb teamwork. Trailing Lewis Hamilton by 26 points at one stage, Raikkonen clinched the title after winning the Brazilian Grand Prix. "We weren't in the strongest position at some points, but we always believed we could recover," said Raikkonen. "Even in the hard times we stuck together," the Finn added. "I need to thank the team because we always worked hard to improve the situation."

Lewis Hamilton's challenge was scuppered when problems with his McLaren saw him drop to the back of the field early in the race. And former world champion Alonso's hopes were dashed as he finished third behind Raikkonen's team-mate Felipe Massa. Brazilian Massa, who had led for most of the first 50 laps, was overtaken by Raikkonen during the second round of pitstops who held onto the lead to secure victory and the championship. Raikkonen was quick to praise Massa's contribution to his title success. "It is great to win both championships," said Raikkonen, referring to Ferrari's constructors' championship success. "I thank the whole team for that, for all their hard work, and Felipe too. It was perfect teamwork."

The chemistry that turns a group of individuals into a successful team is known as SYNERGY. This third unit in Psychology of Sport & Exercise looks at teamwork and the pressure of performing in front of an audience.

WHAT DO WE KNOW FROM AS?

Several studies or theories from AS Psychology explain performance from the viewpoint of Social Psychology:

• BANDURA (1961) demonstrated the importance of role models. In any group situation, players are watching other players' behaviour and learning from it all the time.
• MILGRAM (1963) went further than Bandura and argued that just being around an authority figure brings on the Agentic Shift into an obedient state of mind. If this is true then obeying coaches and team captains ought to be the most natural thing in the world...
• REICHER & HASLAM (2006) explored how people in a well-defined group will conform to roles and how their own self-esteem is tied in with the group's success or failure.
• ROSENHAN (1973) showed the power of labelling people. We tend to take on board the labels we're given and labels like "winner!" or "loser!" can become Self Fulfilling Prophecies.

In general, we can make a few conclusions from our AS studies:

1. BEHAVIOURIST psychologists will try to look at the behaviour of athletes and their environments and work out what makes for successful performance;
2. COGNITIVE psychologists will try to study the thought processes of athletes - but a branch of psychology called SOCIAL COGNITION looks at how we make sense of the social situations we're put into, so that no two people necessarily react the same way';
3. Psychologists of INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES go further than this, arguing that social situations cannot complete determine our behaviour because we have unique personal qualities like personality, intelligence or cultural outlook.

The main theme that comes out of this unit is THE SOCIAL APPROACH. Is performance mostly affected by the social situation or are there other variables that have to be taken into account?

The first topic you will look at in this unit is the psychology of teamwork and what turns a group of individuals into a team that functions as one. There are three studies in this topic:

• Theories of Group Cohesion: is there a set pattern that all groups go through when they are formed, or is it the individual members that count?
• Social Loafing: why do people put in less effort to a task when they know they are part of a group?
• Aspects of Cohesion: what factors make a group come together as a team and what factors interfere with team-spirit?

The next topic in this unit is what makes a good leader in sport? In particular, are great leaders born or is leadership a skill you can learn?

• Trait & type theories: Is there a particular type of person that makes a good leader? Are leaders tall or smart or old? Are there different types of leaders who lead in different ways?
• Contingency theories: Alternatively, maybe the hallmark of the good leader is flexibility. This approach looks at different styles of leadership and which ones work best in particular situations.
• Coaching: Sports coaches have traditionally been grizzled old bullies, but new research suggests that the best coaches are actually good role models for young players.