Social Loafing

Today, I think I will just tell you all a little bit about my team. These are the girls that I worked my ass off last year to get back on the field with, and the motivation is not there. Why is the motivation not there anymore? Social loafing is the answer to that question. So what is social loafing? According to Weinberg and Gould in Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Social Loafing is the phenomenon whereby individuals within a group put forth less than 100% effort because of losses in motivation. In essence, there is a diffusion of responsibility and indivduals believe that others in the group will pick up the slack. So, when is it most likely to occur? Well, as stated by the same authors in the same book; Social Loafing appears to occur more when an individual’s output cannot be independently evaluated, the task is perceived to be low in meaningfulness, the individual’s personal involvement in the task is low, a comparison against group standards is not possible, other individuals contributing to the collective effort are strangers, the individual’s teammates are seen as high in ability, and individuals perceive that their contribution to the outcome is redundant.

So how can this be applied to my team. Well, our coach did not recruit actively this past season, meaning that there is at most three people per position, and that would be pitching. Every other spot on the field has one, maybe two people to it. So using the definition above, we have a high possibility of social loafing as there is not a possibility for a comparison against group standards because we don't have the standards to go off of. In fact, I can see why they are doing this as they have no reason to work harder. Why work harder when there is no one who will take away your playing time? This shows that a good amount of my team lacks intrinsic motivation, they lack a drive to be better for themselves, and only will work to be better if and only if there is someone who could possibly take their playing time away from them. I really wish that there was that drive in more than just a few players, but unfortunately, you cannot build intrinsic motivation in people who do not wish to be motivated, and so the only thing that will change this climate is to gain the amount of players needed to create a competition to these positions.

Vegetarian Once a Day

Hello Everyone,

     One thing I have decided to do this year was to eat healthier, so less fats, less extra's, and more vibrant colorful vegetables. One of the ways I plan to do this is to eat only one meal with meat a day. Which means breakfast and one other meal are going to be strictly vegetarian. Notice I said vegetarian and not vegan. It really isnt that hard when you love foods such as blackbeans, hummus, and tofu. Also, its not hard when you look at what you eat and realize that though there isn't meat on the plate, everything looks pretty together, and tastes even more satisfying than fried chicken. Yes, I just said it. An akron girl just dissed fried chicken, the food of her youth, the food that makes the world go round. The thing is, after a while you don't miss the meat. You don't miss the fried fatty foods, and you don't miss the overcooked roast. What you do miss every now and then is a little bit of perfectly cooked sea food, and baked chicken, but thats what the one meal with meat is there for. What are some ways you are working on your health goals this year?

Yours Truly,
Laurel Lee

Motivation

Lately, I can't seem to get motivated. Sure I do go to the gym and do, do my workouts but I cannot get motivated to actually enjoy it. I almost dread going to the gym every other day. Sure its stress relief normally, but now it just seems to be harder and harder to get myself to go.  I think it has to do with the amount of homework I have, and how tired I normally am after work, class, and friend time. I almost have no time for myself and it shows in my sleep cycles. I am going to change it up tomorrow and swim for a bit. That should help somewhat. Maybe thats what I need a change, or softball to just start up, that would work too.

Fitness Resolutions 2012

Its that lovely time of year again, where everyone makes resolutions and sticks with them for as long as they can. I am going to stick with mine until the end of the year. One, because I am staying on campus meaning I will have access to a gym all summer, and two because I need to get myself back in the shape I was in earlier in the year, and stick there. So here are my fitness resolutions for this upcoming year.

1. Learn to like healthy: Our bodies need to eat to live, and some days I feel as though I live to eat. So its back to portion control, and filling my plate with the healthy stuff with a small splurge here and there.

2. 1.5 hours of cardio per week: note I said cardio and not strength training. I used to go to the gym and if I was not feeling that great skip cardio and just strength train. Then it turned into only strength training. So now I am going to start small, 20 minutes per day of cardio, and slowly work back up. Also, I will be doing cardio on top of my softball practices when the time comes for it.

3. Improve my Posture: I slouch too much and feel like I am sixty. I need to get my posture back to where it needs to be, one because it will help me look slimmer, and two because it will help me feel better.

Though there are only three resolutions there, small as they may be, they will help me improve my balance, coordination, eating habits, and help maintain my weight loss and muscle tone.

What are your goals for the new year?
Yours Truly,
Laurel Lee