The Effects of Cooperative, Competitive and Individualistic Student Interaction Patterns on the Achievement and Attitudes of Students Learning the Golf Skill of Putting

Abstract

There are three types of student-student interaction patterns which can be structured for students learning a physical skill: cooperative, competitive, and individualistic (Deutsch, 1962; Johnson & Johnson, 1975). In this study, one hundred and fifteen university students were randomly assigned to condition, stratifying for physical ability on a pretest. The golf skill of putting was taught to each condition in six periods of 45 min each, with putting ability, altitudes toward the instructor, attitudes toward peers, attitudes toward self and attitudes toward the different interaction patterns being measured. The results indicate that cooperative interaction tends to promote putting skill and more positive attitudes toward the instructor and each other. Students in the cooperative and competitive conditions showed a preference for their own interaction patterns, while all students indicated less positive feelings for the individualistic condition.

Key Words:

• cooperation
• competition
• individualistic
• student interaction
• patterns
• goal structures
• golf skills
• putting