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Original scientific article           UDC: 796.012.1-053.2:316.454
received: 2018-02-06

INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION IN A GROUP ON 
YOUNG GIRLS’ PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE

Kateřina STRAŠILOVÁ1 & Petr VAJDA1

1 Masaryk University, Faculty of Sport Studies, Brno, Czech Republic

Corresponding Author:
Kateřina STRAŠILOVÁ, MSc 

Masaryk University, Faculty of Sport Studies, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Phone: 420 549 49 2000

e-mail: katka.strasilova24@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

It is assumed that there are many factors influencing sport performance in youth 
sport. This research is designed to find out whether there are any differences between 
individual and group physical performance. The aim of study is to report on the effect of 
social-comparative effect on  young girls’ physical performance. The study involved yo-
ung elite synchronized swimmers from a Czech club with Olympic tradition who com-
pete at an international level (n = 28, age 10.12±1.20). The swimmers were required to 
hold a wall-seat position as long as possible in two separately measured rounds, i.e. as 
individuals and as a group. The girls were randomly split into two groups. They started 
with an individual or group try of the wall-seat position exercise. There was a week’s 
interval between the measured rounds. The mean performance was M = 108.82±57.10 
in the individual try and M = 271.50±218.88 in the group one. The influence of social 
interaction in the group was evaluated by Cohen’s d which showed high substantive 
differences (d = 1.1, large effect). The Wilcoxon matched pair test was used for data 
analysis (results were statistically significant, P < 0.05). It showed mutual social enco-
uragement in a group that caused improvement in performing a wall-seat position and 
influenced significantly their performance. However, it was also established that such 
social interaction / encouragement is not consistent for every child. Nevertheless, there 
are many other important factors influencing a youth physical performance as positive 
verbal motivation, constructive feedback or appraisal.

Keywords: group cohesion, mutual encouragement, self-motivation, sport perfor-
mance, synchronized swimming, youth athletes.



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VPLIV SOCIALNIH INTERAKCIJ V SKUPINI NA TELESNE 
ZMOGLJIVOSTI DEKLIC

IZVLEČEK

Na uspešnost udejstvovanja v mladinskem športu vplivajo številni dejavniki. Namen 
pričujoče raziskave je bil ugotoviti morebitne razlike med telesnimi zmogljivostmi pri 
individualnem in skupinskem udejstvovanju. V raziskavo smo vključili skupino mladih 
vrhunskih športnic skladnostnega plavanja iz češkega kluba z olimpijsko tradicijo, ki 
tekmujejo na mednarodnem nivoju (n=28, starost 10,12±1,20). Plavalke smo prosili, 
da vztrajajo v položaju »sedenje ob steni« kolikor mogoče dolgo. Vajo smo ponovili 
dvakrat, s to razliko, da so jo udeleženke v raziskavi enkrat izvajale individualno, nato 
pa še skupinsko. Dekleta smo naključno razdelili v dve skupini in pri eni smo najprej 
merili individualno izvedbo, pri drugi pa skupinsko izvedbo vaje. Interval med enim in 
drugim merjenjem je bil en teden. Povprečni izmerjeni dosežki udeleženk v raziskavi 
so bili M=108.82±57.10 pri individualni izvedbi vaje in M=271.50±218.88 pri sku-
pinski. Učinek socialne interakcije v skupini smo ovrednotili s pomočjo Cohenovega d 
indeksa, ki je pokazal visoko statistično odstopanje (d=1,1, velik učinek). Za analizo 
podatkov smo uporabili Wilcoxonov test predznačenih rangov (rezultati so bili statistič-
no pomembni, P< 0,05). Izkazalo se je, da je vzajemna socialna vzpodbuda v skupini 
povzročila učinkovitejše izvajanje vaje sedenja ob steni in znatno vplivala na izmerje-
ne rezultate. Tekom raziskave pa smo ugotovili tudi, da tovrstna socialna interakcija/
vzpodbuda ne vpliva nujno na vsakega otroka. Vsekakor obstaja še vrsta drugih po-
membnih faktorjev, ki vplivajo na otrokovo samomotivacijo kot npr. pozitivno verbalno 
motiviranje, konstruktivne povratne informacije in pohvale.

Ključne besede: skupinska kohezivnost, vzajemno vzpodbujanje, samomotivacija, 
športna zmogljivost, skladnostno plavanje, mlade športnice

INTRODUCTION

Motivation to exercise, often referred to as a need of achievement, is described as 
a need to prove something difficult, be the best, overcome yourself and your rivals. 
The natural social aspect of motivation to exercise is an effort to compete with others 
(Výrost & Slaměník, 2008).

Similarly, Heckhausen (1991) described the need to be the best or to do things 
better than before or to do them better than other people. Motivation to exercise is 
proposed by many psychological factors. Enjoyment, social influence and self-efficacy 
are among the most frequently mentioned (Carron, Hausenblas, & Mack, 1996; Irwin, 
Scorniaenchi, Kerr, Eisenmann, & Feltz, 2012; Mcauley & Courneya, 1993). Another 



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Kateřina STRAŠILOVÁ, Petr VAJDA: INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION IN A GROUP ON YOUNG GIRLS’ PHYSICAL ..., 3–13

factor that should not be overlooked is exercising in a group. The motivational effect 
of a group activity has been studied for many years, mainly in social psychology, and 
it was shown it could lead to higher exercise adherence than individual programs (Di-
shman & Buckworth, 1996).

The motivational effect of exercising in a group was described in two different 
ways. The first one, the so-called motivational loss, is caused by a phenomenon of 
social lofting. Especially more capable team members developed less effort than if 
they worked individually (Baron & Kerr, 2003). However, motivation gain is described 
more frequently. The Kӧhler motivation effect and social compensation are two pheno-
mena which are connected with motivation gain. In case when superior group members 
work hard and increase their individual effort in order to compensate the effort of less-
-capable group members we call it social compensation (Osborn, Irwin, Skogsberg, & 
Feltz, 2012). The Kӧhler effect occurs when the inferior group members enhance their 
effort to cooperate with the superior members (Baron & Kerr, 2003). It was shown 
that the Kohler effect is task-dependent (Weber & Hertel, 2007). For example, Steiner 
(1972) created the task taxonomy which divided motivation tasks into three relevant ca-
tegories: conjunctive, coactive, and additive. The first one, the conjunctive task, means 
that group performance is dependent on the inferior members´ performance. The result 
of the weakest member defined the overall team result. The second one, the coactive 
task, means that the task is performed simultaneously by all members of the group, but 
their individual result is not dependent on the outcome of other group members. The 
last one, the additive task, describes an exercise when the sum of members performance 
represents the result of the group. On the other hand, Kerr et al. (2007) proposed two 
main explanations of the Kӧhler effect. One explanation works with conjunctive theory. 
It says that group performance will always be as strong as the weakest group member. 
It brings motivation gain for the inferior group members who want to get closer to the 
stronger members because they know that the group result is dependent on their perfor-
mance. The other explanation suggests an increase in motivation due to social compa-
rison. It means that the presence of superior group members may enhance personal and 
performance goals of weaker group members.

It was shown from previous studies that the greatest motivation gains for the weak-
est group members was in a conjunctive group task, when the weaker members were 
exercising with moderate partners, it worked especially for women. On the other hand, 
it has been shown that a lot of men work better in coactive tasks with a superior co-
worker and it does not matter if they cooperate on a task or not (Weber & Hertel, 2007). 
On the contrary, Feltz, Kerr and Irwin (2011) found out that the increase in motivation 
was entirely the result of social comparison. It means that the presence of the other 
group member brought the main motivation gain regardless if they work on the group 
goal or not. It was also confirmed that the motivation gains are greatest when the infe-
rior members are 1.4 times weaker than the stronger ones (Messé, Hertel, Kerr, Lount 
Jr, & Park, 2002). Nevertheless, the differences between the most and the least capable 
partners should not be too large as this can cause motivation losses (Hertel, Niemeyer, 
& Clauss, 2008).



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ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 9 • 2018 • 1

Osborn et al. (2012) states that motivation is a cognitive process and it is impos-
sible to express it in the correct way. For this reason, the motivation is inferred from the 
performance differences that could be weakness as well. Unfortunately, many previous 
studies have been done in laboratory conditions only and they have not been tested on 
real existing sports teams. It means that we have many results which demonstrated the 
effects of Kohler motivation gains but only a few of them aim to show effectiveness in 
real sport team groups.

METHODS

Subject

A number of thirty-three girls at the age ranging from eight to twelve (M=10.12±1.20) 
were randomly split into two groups (fifteen and sixteen). The girls were young elite 
synchronized swimmers from the Czech club with Olympic tradition who compete at 
an international level. The experimental group consisted of two smaller training groups 
(younger and older ones). The girls are close friends within the training group, but they 
do not know well the girls from the other training group. The girls from both training 
groups were randomly split in two experimental groups. Their physical performance 
was measured in two separate rounds, i.e. as individuals and as a group. The first group 
started with individual exercises and the second one with exercising in a group. Thou-
gh this approach we controlled the effect of previous experience with testing session. 
There was a one-week interval between the rounds. Five girls did not finish the research 
because of health reasons. Therefore, only twenty-eight girls fulfilled the whole proto-
col. It changed the number of participants in the examined groups to 13:15.

Consent

Before the beginning of this research, all under-aged girls´ parents were thoroughly 
informed about the research purpose and all potential health and other risks. All parents 
agreed on their children´s participation and signed appropriate consensus documents.

Procedure

All girls held a wall-seat position (isometric strength) as long as they were able to 
in two separate occasion. In the individual try, there was only the researcher and the 
tested girl, however, in the group test, there were all girls from the selected part of the 
sample. The group exercising was coactive, it means the girls exercised together in the 
same room and at the same time but we measured individual time of each girl, not a 
team result.  Both measurements took place at the same time of a day with a one-week 



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Kateřina STRAŠILOVÁ, Petr VAJDA: INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION IN A GROUP ON YOUNG GIRLS’ PHYSICAL ..., 3–13

rest interval. All of the girls participated in both tests, in the individual as well as the 
group one, so we gathered the data to compare performance with or without the presen-
ce of teammates for each participant. In this way, we were able to measure the effect 
of the exercise on physical performance in a small social group. Performance duration 
was recorded for each occasion and later used to interpret the findings. The girls held a 
wall-seat position when they leaned their back against the wall with arms held forward. 
They bent the ankles, knees, and hips at the right angle. It looked as if they were sitting 
on an imaginary chair (fig. 1 and 2). All girls received the same instructions: “Girls, I 
would like you to hold the wall-seat position as long as you can. When it starts to hurt 
too much or you get too tired only then you can sit on the floor and leave the room. Do 
you understand what to do?” The subjects were not allowed to talk during the session 
and were informed about their results after their second measurement. When  they did 
not abide by the instructions, during the exercise position, they were immediately asked 
to adjust it. If they did not adjust the position immediately, the exercise was stopped.

Fig. 1 and 2: Wall seat position



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Kateřina STRAŠILOVÁ, Petr VAJDA: INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION IN A GROUP ON YOUNG GIRLS’ PHYSICAL ..., 3–13

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 9 • 2018 • 1

Research Questions

1. How does social comparison affect the performance in wall-seat test of the syn-
chronized swimmers at the age from eight to twelve?

2. Does the social comparison have the same effect on inferior and superior mem-
bers?

RESULTS

The data were tested by the Kologmo-Smirmov test and it was established that it did 
not come from a normal distribution. The data from both measurements were recorded 
and inserted into Table 1. We can see the performance of all girls in the individual and 
group exercises, the differences between these two measurements and the percentage 
changes. The mean performance was M = 108.82±57.10 for the individual try and M = 
271.50±218.88 for the group one.

Other average values (median, values coming from the 2nd and 3rd quartile and min / 
max value) you can see from Figure 3. The influence of group interaction on the perfor-
mance of synchronised swimmers was evaluated by the Cohen’s d which showed a high 
substantive dependence (d=1.1, large effect). The Wilcoxon matched pair test was used 
for the data analysis. The results showed significant differences (P < 0.05) between the 
performance carried out individually and the one in the group. Based on the results of 
both tests, we can conclude that the social interaction had a positive impact on girls’ 
physical performance in the wall-seat test. We also evaluated the size of the motivati-
on gain or loss for individual girls. The influence of social interaction on each girl is 
described in the Figure 4. The graph shows percentage changes in girls’ performance 
between the individual and group exercises. Girls were ranked in the chart from the we-
akest to the strongest (rated according to their performance from individual exercises). 
The mean percentage change in the wall-seat position test was +166.6 % (range -18.5 % 
to +616.3 %). We can see a slight trend in the graph, which suggests that inferior girls 
from individual exercises achieved a slightly higher positive change in performance.



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Kateřina STRAŠILOVÁ, Petr VAJDA: INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION IN A GROUP ON YOUNG GIRLS’ PHYSICAL ..., 3–13

Table 1. Performance result, difference and percentage change for the wall-seat test.

No. Time in individu-
al exercise (sec)

Time in group 
exercise (sec) Difference (sec) Percent.  Change 

(%)

1 32 34 2 6.3

2 90 625 535 594.4

3 83 225 142 171.1

4 40 120 80 200.0

5 83 171 88 106.0

6 47 195 148 314.9

7 178 800 622 349.4

8 92 93 1 1.1

9 62 121 59 95.2

10 124 197 73 58.9

11 109 238 129 118.3

12 173 141 -32 -18.5

13 102 337 235 230.4

14 87 126 39 44.8

15 70 316 246 351.4

16 65 76 11 16.9

17 330 411 81 24.5

18 105 419 314 299.0

19 140 536 396 282.9

20 85 487 402 472.9

21 86 91 5 5.8

22 98 702 604 616.3

23 175 240 65 37.1

24 87 91 4 4.6

25 109 108 -1 -0.9

26 182 255 73 40.1

27 134 241 107 79.9

28 79 206 127 160.8

Note: The girls were divided into two groups. The first one started with the individual and the 
other one with the group measurements. The group results are separated by a line in the tables.



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ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 9 • 2018 • 1

Fig. 3: Average difference in physical performance in wall-seat position.

Note: Participants were ordered according the results in individual try from the weakest to the 
strongest one.

Fig. 4: Percentage changes in performance in individual and group tries.



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Kateřina STRAŠILOVÁ, Petr VAJDA: INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION IN A GROUP ON YOUNG GIRLS’ PHYSICAL ..., 3–13

DISCUSSION

The primary aim of the study was to find out whether the group exercise (Kohler 
effect) could positively influence the performance of girls aged 8 to 12. The results 
showed significant differences between the performance of the girls in individual and 
group exercises. Based on these results, we can conclude that the group exercise caused 
a positive performance increase for most girls, which is consistent with the results 
of many other studies. For example, Hertel, Kerr, and Messé (2000) investigated the 
influence of group condition on motor persistence task. The participants held a metal 
bar in stretched arms for as long as possible. The exercising time was measured in an 
individual and in a group condition for all the participants. In the group condition, the 
partners held the bar over a rope. Once the first partner touched the rope the timer was 
stopped and exercising was ended. The authors found out that less capable participants 
held the bar longer if they worked in the group. Feltz et al. (2011) empirically tested 
the impact of Kӧhler motivation gain. They found out that people who were exercising 
with superior partner in a series of five isometric exercises improved by 24 % (d=0.99) 
compared to a check-up sample where people were exercising individually. Irwin et al. 
(2012) examined the impact of a coactive and a conjunctive task on an aerobic exercise. 
They described the performance increase up to 86 % per coactive and even to 208 % 
for conjunctive tasks.

We also evaluated the individual performance differences of all girls in an individu-
al and a group try. There we can see a slightly higher impact of motivation gain on the 
inferior member. A similar motivation gain was described by Weber and Hertel (2007) 
in the coactive task. In their research, they discovered the stronger impact of social 
interaction due to additive and conjunctive task in women. They also suggested that the 
strongest gain of the Kӧhler effect occurs when: (a) all group members are involved 
in the team goal, (b) all team members care about the good team performance, (c) all 
group members perceive the group as a team. Furthermore, they proposed that connect-
ing these three points could bring a particularly large enhancement in motivation. Their 
results showed a large effect on the physical performance due to these three points (d 
= 0.94). We would like to extend our research by a comparison of these three points in 
accordance with Weber and Hertel in our next study.

However, the influence of the group motivation could be affected due to friendships 
between or among some girls. We tried to reduce the impact of friendship in the way 
that the experimental groups were randomly split and mixing younger and older girls. 
For example, the last two exercising girls in the first experimental group were from the 
same training group and the last two girls from the other experimental group were from 
different training groups. Yet all of them increased their physical performance in the 
group try in comparison with their individual tries. So we believe that the enhancement 
was caused because of the group exercising and not because of the relationships in 
the group. Nevertheless, it is possible that this effect will not be traceable or effective 
in other sport groups or in boys. Because of this reason, we would like to extend our 



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ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 9 • 2018 • 1

research to another different group of children, for example boys, in some individual / 
team disciplines, games, etc. 

CONCLUSION

To sum up, we established that social interaction, i.e. mutual encouragement in a 
group of young girls, could influence their sport performance. However, it was also 
found out that such social interaction / encouragement is not consistent for every girl; 
it was fluctuating in the sample.  A small positive trend was noticed, which showed that 
the motivation gain was a little bit higher for the inferior group members. We believe 
that this effect could be important in exercises that girls do not enjoy so much and whe-
re they have to overcome a certain degree of discomfort or even pain. Not only young 
girls but children in general often do not understand why they should do some unple-
asant activities and put their effort in them. So there is surely some extra motivation 
gain needed. Exercising in a training group could be used to increase the attractiveness 
of training in the individual sports and increase the training efforts of youth through 
competitions and fun. But it should be noted that group dynamics can influence the 
effectiveness of this result.

Nevertheless, it seems that social interaction could be beneficial for the young girls´ 
training as well as other factors influencing a child’s self-motivation, such as positive 
verbal motivation, constructive feedback or appraisal.

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