Goal Setting in Sport and Exercise: Results, Methodo- Logical Issues and Future Directions for Research1

The purpose of this paper was to provide an overview of research in the area of goal setting and performance in sport and exercise settings. Much of the early research in goal setting has been conducted in industrial/organizational settings as it has only been in the last seven to ten years that researchers have begun to focus on goal setting in sport and exercise settings. This has often produced equivocal findings, in part due to methodological shortcomings and in part due to the fact the sport and exercise environments appear to differ from industrial/organizational settings. These differences were noted and variables such as task characteristics, type of setting, goal difficulty, personal goals, spontaneous goal setting, and competition were discussed as potential mediators of the goal setting performance relationship. Recently, Weinberg and his colleagues have assessed and interviewed collegiate athletes concerning their goal setting practices and more qualitative research would allow us to learn more about how goals operate in sport and exercise settings. Other future directions for research include the need for more longitudinal studies following athletes over the course of a season, the incorporation of developmental and sociocultural differences in goal setting styles and preferences, and the inclusion of individual difference variables as well as situational variables. If we can begin to gain a better understanding of how goal setting operates in sport and exercise environments, then we can begin to develop programs and interventions that will not only maximize performance, but also enhance personal growth of individuals participating in sport and exercise. Locke’s Goal Setting Theory The basic assumption of goal setting theory is that task performance is regulated directly by the conscious goals that individuals are trying for on a task (Locke,1966 Locke and Latham, 1990). In essence, goals are immediate regulators of human action. A goal is defined simply as what the individual is consciously trying to do. Goals operate largely through internal comparison processes and require internal standards against which to evaluate ongoing performance. According to the theory, hard goals result in a higher level of performance than do easy goals, and specific hard goals result in a higher level of performance than do no goals or generalized goal of «do your best.» Although goals can influence behavior, no one-to-one correspondence can be assumed because people make errors, or lack the ability to attain their objectives, or subconsciously subvert their conscious goals. Goal Setting and Task Performance in Organizational Settings Research on goal setting as a motivational strategy has been proliferating so rapidly in the past 20 years that reviews become quickly outdated. This has necessitated more updated reviews which have often used the statistical technique of meta-analysis which enables the reviewer to aggregate research findings across studies by using both inferential and descriptive statistics (e.g., Hollenbeck, Williams, DOSSIER: GOAL SETTING IN SPORT AND EXERCISE: RESULTS , METHODOLOGICAL... / ROBERT S. WEINBERG 2 -weinberg 02/04/03 16:29 Página 116