L7 - Goal setting

Question 1

What is a goal? (Locke and Latham, 1990;2002)

Answer 1

“A goal is the object or aim of an action, for example to attain a specific standard of proficiency, usually within a specified time limit”

Question 2

What are the two basic premises of Locke and Latham’s goal setting theory (2002)

Answer 2

1. The more difficult the goal, the greater the achievement

2. More specific/ explicit the goal, the more precisely performance is regulated

Question 3

Describe ‘direct’ goal mechanisms (Locke and Latham,2002)

Answer 3

• Direct attention and effort
• energise effort
• persistence

Question 4

Describe ‘indirect’ goal mechanisms (Locke and Latham, 2002)

Answer 4

-encourages problem solving and strategic planning to figure out how to best attain goal

Question 5

What are the moderators of the goal performance relationship?

Answer 5

• Goal commitment (importance, self efficacy)
• feedback
• task complexity

Question 6

What are the sources of evidence for studies looking at goal setting on performance?

Answer 6

Descriptive, quasi-experimental, experimental, meta-analysis

Question 7

Weinberg, Burton et al (2000) performed a descriptive study looking at goal setting, what did they find?

Answer 7

• Most important goals (improving overall performance 42%)
• goal difficulty (moderately difficult 52%)
• effectiveness (v difficult, practice and conditioning goals improve performance)
• barriers to achieving goals (lack of time to train properly, lack of confidence, lack of feedback)

Question 8

Describe the quasi-experimental protocol displayed in Wanlin et al (1997) study?

Answer 8

• reasonable stable baseline
• few overlapping data points between baseline and intervention
• immediate effect of treatment
• clear improvement in performance due to intervention

Question 9

What did the ‘goal-setting package’ in Wanlin et al’s 1997 study show?

Answer 9

• increased work output
• decreased off-task behaviours
• small improvement in race time

Question 10

What did social validation show in Wanlin et al’s 1997 study?

Answer 10

• athletes were more attentive and more focused

- coaches attributed success at Canada winter games due to study enhancement

Question 11

What were the conditions and results of Bar-Eli et al’s 1997 experimental study?

Answer 11

Conditions - easy goals (10%), difficult/realistic goals (20%), improbable/ unattainable goals (40%), do your best goals, control group

Results showed a sig increase for the 3 specific group conditions and greater improvements over longer durations of practice

Question 12

Describe Burton and Naylor (2002) meta analysis?

Answer 12

Looked at 88 goal setting studies in sport and PA and found 70 studies had moderate to strong goal setting effects with 80% effectiveness rate

Concluded that setting goals is an effective performance enhancement technique in the physical activity domain

Question 13

What are outcome goals?

Answer 13

• product orientated

- usually involve social comparison of some kind, can lead to disappointment

Question 14

What are performance goals?

Answer 14

• Specify an end product of performance
• easily measurable
• will be achieved relatively independently of the other athletes

Question 15

What are process goals?

Answer 15

• Specify the processes in which the athlete will engage during the performance
• involve improving from technique and strategy

Question 16

What type of goal is best for performance?

Answer 16

A balanced use of all 3 goals is best (Burton et al, 2001)

Filby et al (1999) showed a composite of all 3 goals was best, outcome alone was worst, then process

Question 17

What are the 7 steps of the goal-setting process?

Answer 17

1. Set appropriate goals
2. Evaluate barriers
3. Develop goal commitment
4. Construct an action plan
5. Obtain feedback
6. Evaluate goal attainment
7. Reinforce goal attainment

Question 18

What is the SMART principle?

Answer 18

Specific
Measurable 
Adjustable
Realistic
Time based

Question 19

What are some common problems in setting goals (Gould, 2006)

Answer 19

1. Setting too many goals
2. Setting goals that are too general
3. Goals that are too rigid
4. Imbalance in goal focus
5. Individual difference in goal setting not recognised
6. Lack of a supportive atmosphere for goal setting