A common orientation can generate identification. According to a joint experiment, identity affiliations can be created through team performance, which also applies to team building in general, report the researchers.

According to a recent study by psychologists Dr. Anand Krishna (University of Würzburg) and Dr. Felix Götz (University of Regensburg), the joint coordination of movements in a group leads to a more intense feeling of togetherness.

In their experiment, the two researchers were able to prove that people can generate identification through successful coordination. Usually, people who feel connected and where good coordination is important coordinate their actions.

The experiment has now shown that the reverse is also true. Successful coordination generates identification.

„We were able to show that only a good collective performance has a positive effect on identification as a group,“ emphasizes Götz. „In contrast, we were unable to observe this effect after a failure.“ The scientists also emphasize that the same applies to team building. If you want to form employees into a close-knit community, you shouldn’t set them tasks that are too difficult. After all, if the joint efforts are unsuccessful, this may even damage identification.

According to the two scientists, this is put into perspective by the fact that the results only relate to the coordination of movements.

Sources

The results have been published in the British Journal of Social Psychology

https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjso.12757

Originalpublication:

Krishna, A., & Götz, F. J. (2024). Motor coordination induces social identity—A novel paradigm for the investigation of the group performance-identity link. British Journal of Social Psychology, 00, 1–16.