GOAL SETTING IN SPORT AND
EXERCISE: RESULTS, METHODO-
LOGICAL ISSUES AND FUTURE
DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH1
Robe S. Weinbe g*
RESUMEN: El p opósi o de es e a ículo es p opo ciona una isión gene al espec o a la in es igación en
el campo del es ablecimien o de obje i os y el endimien o en si uaciones depo i as y de eje cicio ísico.
La mayo pa e de las p ime as in es igaciones en es e campo pe enecían al á ea de la o ganización
y la indus ia, y únicamen e en los úl imos diez años los in es igado es se han cen ado en las si uaciones
depo i as y en el eje cicio ísico. Se han dado a menudo hallazgos con o e idos, debidos en pa e al
empleo de mé odos demasiado di ec os y en pa e a que los dos ma cos (o ganización/indus ia y depo e)
di ie en bas an e. Es as di e encias se dan espec o a las ca ac e ís icas de la a ea, el ipo de si uación,
las di icul ades del obje i o, los obje i os pe sonales y la apa ición de ijaciones espon áneas de obje i os.
Es as a iables se conside an como mediado es po enciales de la elación en e las dis in os ijaciones de
obje i os.
Recien emen e, Weinbe g y cols. han en e is ado a le as uni e si a ios espec o a sus p ác icas de
es ablecimien o de obje i os, y han obse ado que una in es igación de ipo más cuali a i o nos pe mi i ía
1Po ions o his a icle a e based on an a icle by om: Weinbe g, R. S. (1994). Goal se ing and
pe o mance in spo and exe cise se ings: A syn hesis and c i ique. Medicine and Science in Spo and
Exe cise, 26, 469-477.
*Depa men o Physical Educa ion, Heal h and Spo S udies. Miami Uni e si y
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sabe más ace ca de cómo abajan los obje i os en las si uaciones depo i as y en el eje cicio ísico.
O as di ecciones u u as de in es igación incluyen la necesidad de ob ene da os longi udinales en el
seguimien o de a le as a lo la go de la empo ada; incopo a y desa olla las di e encias sociocul u ales
espec o a los es ilos de es ablecimien o de obje i os y sus p e e encias; y la inclusión de las di e encias
indi iduales, ales como las a iables si uacionales. Si conseguimos empeza a en ende mejo de que
mane a la ijación de obje i os ope a en las si uaciones depo i as y de eje cicio ísico, pod emos
comenza a desa olla p og amas de in e ención que no únicamen e i án encaminados a ob ene el
máximo endimien o, sino que ambién mejo a án el c ecimien o pe sonal de las pe sonas que oman pa e
en las ac i idades depo i as.
ABSTRACT: The pu pose o his pape was o p o ide an o e iew o esea ch in he a ea o goal se ing
and pe o mance in spo and exe cise se ings. Much o he ea ly esea ch in goal se ing has been
conduc ed in indus ial/o ganiza ional se ings as i has only been in he las se en o en yea s ha
esea che s ha e begun o ocus on goal se ing in spo and exe cise se ings. This has o en p oduced
equi ocal indings, in pa due o me hodological sho comings and in pa due o he ac he spo and
exe cise en i onmen s appea o di e om indus ial/o ganiza ional se ings. These di e ences we e no ed
and a iables such as ask cha ac e is ics, ype o se ing, goal di icul y, pe sonal goals, spon aneous goal
se ing, and compe i ion we e discussed as po en ial media o s o he goal se ing pe o mance ela ionship.
Recen ly, Weinbe g and his colleagues ha e assessed and in e iewed collegia e a hle es conce ning hei
goal se ing p ac ices and mo e quali a i e esea ch would allow us o lea n mo e abou how goals ope a e
in spo and exe cise se ings. O he u u e di ec ions o esea ch include he need o mo e longi udinal
s udies ollowing a hle es o e he cou se o a season, he inco po a ion o de elopmen al and sociocul u al
di e ences in goal se ing s yles and p e e ences, and he inclusion o indi idual di e ence a iables as well
as si ua ional a iables. I we can begin o gain a be e unde s anding o how goal se ing ope a es in spo
and exe cise en i onmen s, hen we can begin o de elop p og ams and in e en ions ha will no only
maximize pe o mance, bu also enhance pe sonal g ow h o indi iduals pa icipa ing in spo and exe cise.
Locke’s Goal Se ing Theo y
The basic assump ion o goal se ing heo y is ha ask pe o mance is egula ed
di ec ly by he conscious goals ha indi iduals a e ying o on a ask (Locke,1966
Locke and La ham, 1990). In essence, goals a e immedia e egula o s o human
ac ion. A goal is de ined simply as wha he indi idual is consciously ying o do.
Goals ope a e la gely h ough in e nal compa ison p ocesses and equi e in e nal
s anda ds agains which o e alua e ongoing pe o mance. Acco ding o he heo y,
ha d goals esul in a highe le el o pe o mance han do easy goals, and speci ic
ha d goals esul in a highe le el o pe o mance han do no goals o gene alized
goal o «do you bes .» Al hough goals can in luence beha io , no one- o-one
co espondence can be assumed because people make e o s, o lack he abili y o
a ain hei objec i es, o subconsciously sub e hei conscious goals.
Goal Se ing and Task Pe o mance in O ganiza ional Se ings
Resea ch on goal se ing as a mo i a ional s a egy has been p oli e a ing so
apidly in he pas 20 yea s ha e iews become quickly ou da ed. This has
necessi a ed mo e upda ed e iews which ha e o en used he s a is ical echnique o
me a-analysis which enables he e iewe o agg ega e esea ch indings ac oss
s udies by using bo h in e en ial and desc ip i e s a is ics (e.g., Hollenbeck, Williams,
DOSSIER: GOAL SETTING IN SPORT AND EXERCISE: RESULTS , METHODOLOGICAL... / ROBERT S. WEINBERG
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and Klein, 1989; Men o, S eel, and Ka en, 1987; Tubbs, 1991).
The mos es ed aspec o Locke’s heo y e ol es a ound he ela ionship o goal
di icul y/speci ici y and pe o mance. Speci ically, Locke, 1966) has a gued ha
speci ic, di icul , challenging goals lead o highe le els o ask pe o mance han
ei he «do you bes » o no goals. Locke and La ham (1990) e iewed 201 s udies
(o e 40,000 subjec s) examining his e ec , wi h 183 s udies, o 91%, suppo ing
Locke’s ini ial hypo hesis. These esul s we e ound using app oxima ely 90 di e en
asks in bo h labo a o y and ield se ings which again demons a es he obus ness
and gene alizabili y o hese indings.
A second co e aspec o Locke’s goal se ing heo y is ha he e is a linea
ela ionship be ween deg ee o goal di icul y and pe o mance. The only excep ion is
when subjec s each he limi s o hei abili y a high goal di icul y le els; in such
cases pe o mance le els o . Fou sepa a e me a-analyses ha e e iewed he
empi ical s udies es ing he goal di icul y-pe o mance ela ionship . Resul s om
hese me a-analyses ha e e ealed e ec sizes anging om .52 o .82. In addi ion, o
he 192 s udies e iewed, 175 (91%) p o ided suppo o ha de goals p oducing
highe le els o ask pe o mance han easy goals. Thus, he goal speci ici y/ di icul y
ela ionships ound in o ganiza ional se ings p o ided one o he mos consis en and
obus pa e n o indings in he social science li e a u es.
Goal Se ing in Spo and Exe cise
Despi e hese consis en indings om he o ganiza ional li e a u e, he e was a
dea h o s udies in es iga ing he goal se ing-pe o mance ela ionship in spo and
exe cise p io o 1985. A e iew o he li e a u e, e eals ha spo psychology
esea che s ha e p edominan ly ocused on he hypo heses in he a eas o goal
speci ici y, goal di icul y, and goal p oximi y. Al hough se e al o he ecen s udies in
spo and exe cise se ings ha e in es iga ed hese a eas simul aneously, o
simplici y each a ea is e iewed sepa a ely.
Goal Speci ici y
In one o he i s es s o Locke and La ham’s goal speci ici y hypo hesis in a
physical ac i i y se ing, Weinbe g, B uya and Jackson (1985) had subjec s (college
s uden s in condi ioning classes) ma ched on baseline measu es o he 3-minu e si -
up es and andomly assigned hem o one o ou goal se ing condi ions. In h ee o
hese condi ions, subjec s had a speci ic, di icul goal, whe eas he ou h g oup was
jus old o «do you bes ». Resul s e ealed no di e ences in si -up pe o mance
h oughou he 5-week expe imen al pe iod be ween he h ee speci ic goal g oups
and he «do you bes » g oup.
This inding was con a y o he o e whelming li e a u e in o ganiza ional
psychology and se e al subsequen s udies ha e also ound no signi ican di e ences
be ween speci ic goal g oups and con ol o «do you bes » g oups. In con as o
hese indings, se e al s udies conduc ed in spo and exe cise se ings ha e ound
signi ican di e ences be ween speci ic goal g oups and «do you bes » g oups. Fo
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example, a s udy using elemen a y aged child en in physical educa ion classes
(Weinbe g, B uya, Longino, and Jackson, 1988) ound ha all h ee speci ic goal
g oups pe o med signi ican ly be e (si -ups) han he «do you bes » g oup,
especially owa d he end o he 10-week pe iod. In summa y, he e ec s o goal
speci ici y on pe o mance ha e been equi ocal wi h only some o he s udies
suppo ing Locke and La ham’s hypo hesis ha speci ic ha d goals would p oduce
highe le els o pe o mance han no goals o «do you bes goals».
Goal Di icul y
Locke has a gued ha un ealis ic goals should be a oided because i goals a e so
di icul ha his esul s in con inuing ailu e, mo i a ion will d op and subsequen
pe o mance will de e io a e. The goal a ainabili y assump ion was es ed by
Weinbe g, B uya, Jackson, and Ga land (1987) in wo sepa a e s udies in a physical
ac i i y se ing. In bo h expe imen s, subjec s we e placed in o g oups di e ing in goal
di icul y which was de e mined by p e ious es ing using he 3-minu e si -up. Ac oss
he wo s udies, goal di icul y a ied om easy (imp o e by 15) o mode a ely di icul
(imp o e by 30), o e y di icul (imp o e by 45) o i ually impossible (imp o e by
60). Resul s o bo h expe imen s indica ed no signi ican pe o mance di e ences
be ween any o he g oups. The indings o hese s udies a e inconsis en wi h he
indus ial/ o ganiza ional li e a u e in ha pe o mance did no inc ease as goal
di icul y inc eased. In addi ion, he e was no suppo o he no ion ha pe o mance
would dec ease i goals we e se un ealis ically high. A po en ial explana ion o he
lack o di e ences be ween goal di icul y condi ions is he ac ha many subjec s in
spo and exe cise s udies seem o spon aneously se goals on hei own despi e
being p o ided speci ic goals by he expe imen e .
Goal P oximi y
Goal p oximi y (i.e., sho and long- e m goals) has also ecei ed ecen a en ion
in he spo and exe cise psychology li e a u e. The i s s udy in spo psychology o
es he e ec i eness o long e sus sho - e m goals was conduc ed by Weinbe g e
al (1985). Subjec s we e ma ched on hei baseline 3-minu e si -up es and andomly
assigned o ei he a sho - e m, long- e m o sho e m plus long- e m goal condi ion
o e he cou se o a 5-week p og am. Resul s indica ed ha al hough all g oups did
imp o e o e he cou se o he 5-weeks he e was no signi ican di e ences be ween
any o he goal se ing g oups. Howe e , a couple o ecen s udies did ind some
di e ences while in es iga ing he ela ionship be ween goal p oximi y and
pe o mance. Fo example, F ie man, Weinbe g and Jackson (1990) using bowling
pe o mance o e a 5-week pe iod ound ha he long- e m goal g oup imp o ed
signi ican ly mo e han he «do you bes » g oup al hough no signi ican di e ences
we e ound be ween he sho - e m goals g oup and he «do you bes » g oup. In
addi ion, in wo expe imen s using high school s uden s, (Tennenbaum e al., 1991)
esul s indica ed ha sho and long- e m goals signi ican ly imp o ed si -up
pe o mance o e a 10-week p og am compa ed o a «do you bes » condi ion.
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Me hodological and Design Conside a ions
Many o he inconsis encies in he esul s o he abo e s udies can be aced back
o di e ences in p ocedu es, including me hodological and design limi a ions along
wi h po en ial media ing a iables. These issues and limi a ions will now be
speci ically add essed.
Spon aneous Goal Se ing in Con ol G oups
As no ed by Locke (1991) one o he ecu ing p oblems in spo psychology goal
se ing esea ch is he spon aneous se ing o goals by subjec s in con ol «do you
bes » condi ions. Locke has a gued ha one o he easons ha his has been a
g ea e p oblem in spo and exe cise se ings as opposed o indus ial/o ganiza ional
se ings is ha eedback is ypically p o ided (ei he in e nally o ex e nally) and his
eedback is hen used o se speci ic goals. Fo example, i is e y di icul o wi hhold
eedback om someone doing si -ups as an indi idual can simply coun how many si -
ups hey pe o med. This makes i di icul o s a e any i m conclusions conce ning
he e ec i eness o speci ic goal g oups when compa ed o a con ol g oup.
Measu e Pe sonal Goals
Al hough people end o wo k owa d goals ha a e assigned o hem, his is by no
means always he case. The e o e, o know how a pe son will pe o m, i is impe a i e
o know wha pe sonal goal each indi idual se s in esponse o he goal ha was
assigned. As goal heo y asse s, assigned goals a ec pe o mance h ough hei
e ec s on pe sonal goals. E en knowing ha a pe son is no commi ed o an
assigned goal is no e y help ul unless one knows wha goal is subs i u ed o he
assigned one.
Task Cha ac e is ics
A a iable ha appea s o media e he e ec i eness o goal se ing in spo and
exe cise en i onmen s is he na u e o he ask. As p e iously no ed, many s udies
es ing he e ec s o goal se ing on pe o mance used he 3-minu e si -up ask. The
3-minu e si -up ask p o ides salien , physiological eedback conce ning an
indi idual’s le el o pe o mance, e o and a igue. This is in con as o mos asks in
he academic and o ganiza ional li e a u e which equi e e o and p o ide eedback
in e ms o p oduc i i y (e.g., uck loading, logging, sales ship loading, key punching)
bu do no elici a igue o pain cues o he ex en a 3-minu e si -up es does. Pe haps
lea ning o cope wi h pain and a igue while doing «jus a ew mo e» si -ups migh
o e ide any hough s abou wha goal hey a e s i ing o . Thus, a speci ic goal may
no esul in mo e mo i a ion o wo k ha d because subjec s eel hey a e al eady
exe ing maximum e o .
Compe i ion
Resea che s in spo psychology ha e begun o ealize ha compe i ion among
subjec s is a o m o goal se ing and he e o e i needs o be con olled. In essence,
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DOSSIER: GOAL SETTING IN SPORT AND EXERCISE: RESULTS , METHODOLOGICAL... / ROBERT S. WEINBERG
he pe o mance o o he s is used o help se ones own goals. Hall and By ne (1988)
conduc ed he i s spo psychology goal se ing s udy which was speci ically
designed o con ol o compe i ion e ec s in a ield se ing by minimizing bo h
be ween-g oup and wi hin-g oup in e ac ions. Howe e . ques ionnai e indings
indica ed ha o e hal o he con ol g oup we e se ing goals on hei own and 56%
o all subjec s s a ed ha hey had engaged in compe i ion a some poin du ing he
expe imen al pe iod. A mo e ecen s udy by Weinbe g e al. (Weinbe g, B uya, and
Jackson, 1990) eplica ed Hall and By ne (1988) and we e able o educe compe i ion
among subjec s u he bu s ill app oxima ely 30% o all con ol subjec s engaged in
compe i ion as well as se hei own goals. I is e iden ha mo e esea ch is
necessa y in es iga ing he e ec s o compe i ion on he goal se ing-pe o mance
ela ionship in bo h spo and exe cise se ings.
A hle es’ and Coaches Use o Goal Se ing in Compe i i e Spo
As no ed in he e iew, he empi ical esea ch es ing he e ec i eness o goal-
se ing in spo and exe cise se ings has been equi ocal. This has le p ac i ione s
wi h a oid in e ms o unde s anding he goal se ing p ocess. In essence, we jumped
igh in o a emp ing o conduc empi ical, mos ly labo a o y-based s udies wi hou i s
ying o ge a be e unde s anding o how, when, and why a hle es and coaches se
goals as well as wha kind o goals a e impo an o hem. Recen esea ch in spo
psychology has shown ha a hle es (especially eli e a hle es) can be a ich sou ce o
da a, hus helping bo h esea che s and p ac i ione s gain a be e unde s anding o
he meaning o he spo expe ience. Along hese lines, Weinbe g, Bu on, Yukelson,
and Weigand (1993) ha e ecen ly conduc ed a s udy which app oxima ely 700 NCAA
Di ision 1 college a hle es conce ning hei pe cep ions o he equency,
e ec i eness, and impo ance o di e en goals o enhance pe o mance. Some o he
majo indings included he ollowing: (a) When asked o ank he goals ha we e
mos impo an o hem, a hle es anked he ollowing as hei mos impo an goal,
imp o ing o e all pe o mance (36%) winning (24%) and un/enjoymen (19%), (b)
A hle es p e e ed mode a ely di icul goals (60%), di icul goals (20%), and mode a e
goals (14%), (c) Females se goals mo e equen ly and ound hei goals mo e
e ec i e han males. The one excep ion was ou come goals (i.e., winning), which
males se mo e equen ly han emales, (d) Team spo a hle es se mo e goals
conce ned wi h winning han indi idual spo a hle es, and (e) A hle es pe cei e he
main pu pose o se ing goals is o p o ide di ec ion and help keep ocused. Mo e
s udies using quali a i e me hodologies ha explo e he ways coaches and a hle es
use goals will add o ou unde s anding o he goal se ing p ocess.
Along hese lines, Weinbe g, Yukelson, Bu on, and Weigand (1993) ecen ly
conduc ed a quali a i e in e iew s udy o mo e closely examine a hle es’ pe cep ions
o goal use, e ec i eness, and impo ance. Twen y- h ee NCAA collegia e a hle es
om 13 di e en we e spo s we e in e iewed. The one hou in e iew used a semi-
s uc u ed open- ended o ma asking some speci ic ques ions while p o ide
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oppo uni ies o indi idualized a hle e expe iences. The guided ques ions included
a hle es’ use and e ec i eness o goals in p ac ice and compe i ion, goal se ing
s yles, goal a ibu es, and goal implemen a ion issues. Da a we e analyzed using a
con en analysis which o ganized he quo es om he ansc ip s (app oxima ely 20
pages pe a hle e) in o hemes/ca ego ies ep esen ing hei goal se ing p ac ices.
Th ough an induc i e analysis, quo es we e clus e ed a ound highe o de hemes.
Resul s indica ed he ollowing eme gen hemes:
* A hle es epo ed ha imp o ing pe o mance, winning and ha ing un we e no
only he h ee mos impo an spo goals, bu ha hese goals we e highly in e ela ed
as opposed o independen o each o he (e.g., imp o ing pe o mance leads o
winning which is un).
* In e collegia e a hle es ha e a s ong desi e o excel and a e ex emely goal-
o ien ed wi h he desi e o be he bes d i ing hem o each hei goals.
* A hle es pe cei e he main pu pose o goal se ing is o p o ide di ec ion and
keep ocused. This is consis en wi h Locke’s (1966) goal se ing heo y which a gues
ha goals wo k p ima ily by p o iding indi iduals ocusing indi iduals’ a en ion o he
ask a hand.
* Al hough mos a hle es a e e y much awa e o hei goals and adjus hem
based on hei cu en le el o pe o mance, mos do no w i e down hei goals o
ha e a sys ema ic means o e alua ion. Coaches should be awa e o his p oblem
and make su e a hle es w i e hei goals down on pape , and ha e a chance o
ee alua e and adjus hei goals.
* Long- e m goals seem o be se p io o he season and a e ou come o ien ed,
whe eas sho - e m goals seem o be ela ed o speci ic hings he a hle e needs o do
in p ac ice o achie e be e pe o mance in compe i ion. I is impo an o a hle es o
se sho - e m goals since hey p o ide eedback on hei p og ess, whe eas long-
e m goals p o ide di ec ion o whe e hey wan o be in he u u e.
* Al hough hey seek inpu om he coach, a hle es p e e o be he ones se ing
hei goals. Coaches should p o ide eedback and inpu , bu a hle es should «own»
hei goals o inc ease hei commi men o hem.
* Lack o ime, school/academic p essu es, lack o con idence, social ela ionships,
and inju y a e ba ie s which cause s uden -a hle es o some imes lose sigh o hei
goals as well as achie ing hem. Coaches should help s uc u e a hle es’ en i onmen
o minimize hese ba ie s o goal a ainmen .
* Ou come goals (i.e., winning) supe sede mas e y goals o «big e en s» (e.g.,
impo an games, ou namen inals) o when he coach emphasizes winning a
pa icula e en . Al hough mas e y goals a e impo an , winning becomes he mos
impo an hing when compe i ions eally coun .
* Team goals supe sede indi idual goals, bu eam goals a e no o en se , o i
se , a ely ha e a s a egy mapped ou o eaching hem. Coaches should clea ly se
eam goals a he beginning o he season and de ise speci ic measu able s a egies
o mee hese goals.
Fu u e Di ec ions Fo Resea ch
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In he p e ious sec ion, se e al me hodological p oblems ha ha e plagued goal
se ing esea ch in spo and exe cise ha e been discussed. Based on some o hese
sho comings, as well as he many a iables impac ing on he e ec i eness o goal
se ing, he e a e a numbe o di ec ions ha spo psychology esea che s could ake
o help cla i y and ex end he exis ing li e a u e. Di ec ions o u u e esea ch will be
discussed in he hope ha a i m ounda ion can be es ablished conce ning he
e ec i eness o goal se ing in spo and exe cise en i onmen s.
Goal Se ing and A hle ic Pe o mance
One o he majo p ac ical applica ions o he use o goal se ing echniques is
wi h indi idual and eam a hle es o e he cou se o a season. Un o una ely, he e is
a dea h o s udies which ha e es ed he e ec i eness o a goal se ing aining
p og am o e he cou se o an a hle ic season. To da e, only s udies by Bu on (1989)
using collegia e swimme s and Weinbe g S i che , and Richa dson (1994) using
collegia e lac osse playe s, ha e in es iga ed he e ec s o goal se ing on a hle ic
pe o mance o e he cou se o a season las ing a leas se e al mon hs.
Al hough bo h o hese s udies had some limi a ions due o he na u e o ield
in es iga ions, hei s eng hs lie in hei high ex e nal alidi y. Spo psychologis s
(Ma ens, 1987; Smi h, 1988) ha e ecen ly a gued o he use o idiog aphic
echniques and quali a i e assessmen s in addi ion o he mo e adi ional nomo he ic
echniques. Un o una ely, ou come s udies es ing he e ec i eness o psychological
in e en ions o e ime a e inhe en ly di icul o ca y ou . Despi e hese di icul ies,
s udies o his na u e need o be conduc ed in he a ea o goal se ing and a hle ic
pe o mance be o e we can a es o he e ec i eness o goal se ing o enhancing
he pe o mance o a hle es.
Goal O ien a ion
An impo an a iable media ing he po en ial e ec s o goal se ing in spo and
exe cise se ings is he goal o ien a ion o he indi idual. Based upon a heo e ical
o ien a ion ele an o spo and exe cise (Nicholls, 1984) spo esea che s began o
in es iga e goal o ien a ions in spo . These goal o ien a ions di e o he ex en o
which indi iduals pe cei e success and ailu e in spo se ings. The wo goal
o ien a ions ound o be mos ele an o spo and exe cise a e ego in ol emen and
ask in ol emen . Indi iduals wi h an abili y (ego) o ien a ion de ine success and
ailu e in e ms o winning and losing. Thei goal is o maximize he subjec i e
p obabili y o a ibu ing high abili y o onesel . Indi iduals wi h a ask o ien a ion
de ine success and ailu e in e ms o pe sonal mas e y and sel -imp o emen .
Based on he wo k o Maeh and Nicholls (1980) a numbe o s udies ha e
ecen ly been conduc ed in es iga ing he ela ionship be ween goal pe spec i e and
beha io in spo and exe cise se ings. Fo example, s udies ha e shown ha
mul iple goals exis in spo and exe cise se ings and ha a ia ions in goal
pe spec i e may be ela ed o pe son ac o s such as age, gende and cul u e . In
addi ion, i also appea s ha he speci ic goals o ask and ego in ol emen a e
DOSSIER: GOAL SETTING IN SPORT AND EXERCISE: RESULTS , METHODOLOGICAL... / ROBERT S. WEINBERG
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ela ed o ce ain beha io s such as in ensi y o pa icipa ion, pe sis ence o
pa icipa ion and adhe ence o exe cise p og ams.
These indings poin ou he impo ance o assessing goal o ien a ion when
conduc ing goal se ing esea ch in spo and exe cise se ings. Fo example, a s udy
by Giannini, Weinbe g, and Jackson (1988) examined he ela ionship be ween goal
o ien a ion and speci ic goal se ing ins uc ions on pe o mance o a baske ball
shoo ing ask and one-on-one o ensi e baske ball ask. Subjec s we e ma ched
based on p e es pe o mance and placed in o one o i e condi ions: compe i i e
goal, coope a i e goal, mas e y goal, «do you bes » wi h eedback, and «do you
bes » wi hou eedback. Resul s indica ed ha subjec s’ goal o ien a ions we e no
ela ed o pe o mance in he compe i i e and coope a i e goal condi ions, bu , as
p edic ed, mas e y o ien ed subjec s did pe o m bes unde mas e y goal ins uc ions.
The ques ion ha u u e esea che s should conside is no i goal se ing is e ec i e
o no ; a he wha a e he mos app op ia e goals o people wi h di e en pe sonali y
and mo i a ional s yles.
In addi ion o se ing he mos app op ia e goals o di e en indi iduals, i would
seem impo an o c ea e he p ope mo i a ional clima e ha would acili a e e ec i e
lea ning and pe o mance. Along hese lines, Ames (1984:1992) has demons a ed
ha school child en eac di e en ly in e ms o mo i a ional p ocesses, based on hei
pe cep ions o he salien mas e y and pe o mance goals in hei class oom. Resul s
indica ed ha s uden s who pe cei ed an emphasis on mas e y ( ask) goals in he
class oom epo ed using mo e e ec i e s a egies, p e e ed challenging asks, had a
mo e posi i e a i ude owa d he class, and had s onge a s onge belie ha
success ollows om one’s e o . Thus, hese esul s sugges ha class oom goal
o ien a ion may acili a e he main enance o adap i e mo i a ion pa e ns when
mas e y ( ask) goals a e salien and adop ed by s uden s. Howe e , hese indings
need o be es ed in spo and exe cise en i onmen s o help us de e mine he op imal
mo i a ional clima e o ou pa icipan s.
De elopmen al Conside a ions
As wi h many o he a eas o esea ch, mos goal se ing s udies ha e concen a ed
on high school and college aged subjec s, because his popula ion is ypically mo e
eadily a ailable. Howe e , he e is a need o ex end his o o he age g oups;
pa icula ly young child en and olde adul s i we a e o b oaden ou base o
knowledge in his a ea. Fo example, ew s udies ha e in es iga ed he ela ionship
be ween goals and pe o mance in young child en. (e.g., Boyce, 1990; E baugh and
Ba ne , 1986; Weinbe g, B uya, Longino, and Jackson, 1988 ). Al hough he abo e
s udies indica e ha goal se ing can be bene icial o young child en, ob iously mo e
empi ical esea ch is necessa y o de e mine he si ua ional and pe sonal a iables
media ing he goal se ing-pe o mance ela ionship in spo o his age g oup. One
impo an a iable migh be sel -es eem wi h high sel -es eem child en se ing mo e
challenging goals han hei low sel -es eem coun e pa s. In addi ion, some esea ch
sugges s ha goal pe spec i e may be ela ed o de elopmen al s age wi h 9 o 11
yea olds being mo e ask o ien ed (i.e ocus on imp o emen ) whe eas 12 o 14 yea
REVISTA DE PSICOLOGIA DEL DEPORTE - 7-8
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