(Re)conceptualizing cohesion: A theoretical realignment and roadmap for future research

Cohesion, or the unity of a group, has received substantial attention in popular media and from researchers across several contexts. Over the past 40 years, researchers interested in understanding and investigating cohesion in sport have relied predominantly on the work of Carron and colleagues (1985) who outlined their conceptual foundation for the construct and developed the Group Environment Questionnaire. Although their conceptual framework and measurement tool have been useful to gain an understanding of relationships between cohesion and its potential antecedents and outcomes, a closer inspection of its theoretical bases and concomitant definitions provides an opportunity for improved theorizing. In the present review, we revisit the work of Carron and colleagues (1985), the construct of cohesion itself, the state of the literature, and apply a critical eye toward the role that cohesion plays in contributing to a group's dynamics and functioning within sport. In doing so, we identify several concerns with the current state of knowledge regarding cohesion and offer a series of propositions to define, conceptualize (two-dimensional model of cohesion consisting of task and social integration), and more effectively link key inputs contributing to the unity of the group (i.e., interdependence, social identity, teamwork). We believe that there is a pressing need to (re)conceptualize the construct and have proposed a theoretical model for cohesion, as well as a future research agenda, that we hope will reinvigorate research on cohesion in sport and beyond.