Compatibility in the Coach-Athlete Dyad

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the factors contributing to effective interpersonal interaction between coaches and athletes. A sample of 54 coach-athlete dyads (36 compatible and 18 incompatible) were tested. A questionnaire (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior) was administered to each coach and athlete to assess their self-perceived, wanted, and expressed typical social behaviors in the need areas of inclusion, control, and affection. These basic measures were then used to calculate a series of derivative values reflecting various characteristic interpersonal behaviors: the reciprocal and originator compatibility of the dyad as a unit; the tendency of either of the members of the dyad to originate inclusion, control, and/or affection behavior; and the tendency for either of the members of the dyad to interact in the behavioral areas of inclusion, control, and affection. It was hypothesized that incompatible dyads would differ from compatible dyads in the need areas of affection and control. A stepwise analysis was utilized to determine the measures that best differentiated the two groups; discriminant function analysis was then carried out on the resulting set of variables. It was concluded that inclusion behavior was the predominant factor contributing to incompatibility in coach-athlete dyads.