Chapter 15: Goal Setting

common problems in goal setting

- convincing students, athletes, and exercisers to set goals - failing to set specific goals - setting too many goals too soon - failing to adjust goals - failing to recognize individual differences - not providing follow-up and evaluation

effective team goal setting

- establish long-term goals first - establish clear paths of short-term goals in route to long-term goals - involve all members of the team in establishing team goals - monitor progress toward team goals - rewards progress made toward team goals - foster collective team confidence or efficacy concerning team goals

goals

- provide us direction, help us stay motivated, allow us to accomplish feats that we may not have believed were possible

principles of goal-setting

- set specific goals - set moderately difficult goals - set long-and short-term goals - set performance, process, and outcome goals - set practice and competition goals - record goals - develop achievement strategies - consider participants' personalities and motivations - foster an individual's goal commitment - provide goal support - provide evaluation of and feedback about goals

dispositional hope and the 4W system for developing it

- wish power - want power - way power - will power

design a goal-setting system

1) preparation and planning 2) education and acquisition 3) implementation and goal follow-up and evaluation

foster an individual's goal commitment

achievers should promote goal commitment by encouraging progress and providing consistent feedback

goal-setting

an extremely powerful technique for enhancing performance, but it must be implemented correctly - appeared to enhance performance on low-complexity tasks better than on high-complexity tasks - influences intrinsic motivation and exercise adherence

set practice and competition goals

athletes and coaches spend too much time focusing on competition goals - practice goals are extremely important and can develop into a competitive edge

goal difficulty

athletes prefer goals that are moderately difficult, difficult, and very difficult - individual preferences are very different

set long- and short-term goals

behavioral change does not happen over night - long-term goals provide direction - short-term goals serve as intermediate steps that lead to long-term objectives - create a progression (staircase) of goals

specific goals

both short-term and long-term duration and were moderately to very difficult were associated with the best performances

set moderately difficult but realistic goals

effective goals are difficult enough to challenge a participant, yet realistic enough that they can be achieved

performance goals

focus on achieving standards or performance objective independently of other competitors, usually on the basis of comparisons with one's own previous performances - example: running a mile in 6 minutes and 21 seconds - too much emphasis can create anxiety

objective goals

focus on attaining a specific standard of proficiency on a task, usually within a specified time - example: attempting to attain a certain level of weight loss in 3 months

process goals

focus on the actions an individual must engage in during performance to execute or perform well - example: swimmer may set a goal of maintaining a long, stretched out arm pull in her freestyle backstroke

set performance, process, and outcome goals

for every outcome goal an athlete sets, there should be several performance and process goals that would lead to that outcome

subjective goals

general statements of intent that are not measurable or objective - example: I want to have fun

indirect thought-process view

goals lead to changes in psychological factors which can influence performance - performance and process goals influence behavior indirectly by affecting important psychological factors such as confidence and anxiety

record goals

goals should be recorded and placed where they can be easily seen - many athletes do not systematically do this - training logs have been found to be beneficial in helping athletes conquer goals

provide evaluation of feedback about goals

if goals are going to effectively change performance and behavior - should be implemented at the start of the goal-setting program and continually implemented as the program progresses

set specific goals

influence behavioral change more effectively than "do your best" goals

provide goal support

other people also can support athletes, students, and exercisers in their goal setting - support should not be taken for granted because it is a complex process

group goals

refer to the attainment of specific standards of group proficiency, usually within a specified time

hope approach goal

researchers have found that people high in dispositional hope approach goal setting differently than do those with low hope

develop goal achievement strategies

setting goals without developing corresponding goal achievement strategies is like driving a car to a strange city without consulting a map - you must have strategies to go about your goal

consider participants' personalities and motivations

should be considerable toward personalities and psychological orientations of athletes - can have high achievers (achieve success) vs. low achievers (avoid failure)

direct mechanistic view

specifies that goals influence performance in one of four direct ways: 1) goals direct attention to important elements of the skill being performed 2) goals mobilize performer efforts 3) goals prolong performer persistence 4) goals foster the development of new learning strategies

preparation and planning

step 1 of designing a goal-setting system - assess abilities and needs - set goals in diverse areas - identify influences on goal-setting systems - plan goal achievement strategies

education and acquisition

step 2 of designing a goal-setting system - schedule meetings - focus on one goal at a time

implementation and goal follow-up and evaluation

step 3 of designing a goal-setting system - identify appropriate goal evaluation procedures - provide support and encouragement - plan for goal reevaluation

outcome goals

typically focus on a competitive result of an event, such as winning a race, or scoring more points than an opponent - can facilitate short-term motivation away from the competition - helps the athlete focus on general feelings of skills to be performed