Goal Setting in Sports

A  goal  is  simply  something  you  are  trying  to accomplish;  it  is  the  object  or  aim  of  an  action. Although  goals  can  function  at  an  unconscious level,  the  process  of  goal  setting  represents  the deliberate  establishment  and  refinement  of  goals and  the  evaluation  of  goal  progress.  The  concept of  goals  and  the  practice  of  goal  setting  are  well known and established within settings where performance enhancement is the objective. It is important to understand goals because they have such a broad function in terms of affecting the thoughts and  behaviors  of  those  to  whom  participation, productivity, and performance are important.

In  the  broader  field  of  performance  psychology  where  the  objective  is  to  enhance  productivity  in  its  varying  forms,  the  effectiveness  of  goal setting as a strategy has consistently been verified across  tasks,  groups,  methods  for  setting  goals, and  performance  indicators.  Although  it  was assumed  that  the  positive  effects  of  goals  would be  replicated  within  sport  and  exercise  settings, research in sport has failed to illustrate unequivocally  that  goals  function  as  effectively  in  this domain.  The  reasons  why  have  been  debated widely,  with  the  consensus  being  that  sample and  task  characteristics  were  markedly  different in sport. Despite this, studies that have described the goal-setting practices in sport performers have confirmed  that  almost  all  athletes  do  set  goals and  the  majority  find  them  to  be  effective.  This entry  provides  a  brief  overview  of  the  current state of play with regard to goal setting in sport, and  critiques,  where  appropriate,  the  transfer  of goal-setting  concepts  to  sport  and  to  performers in that domain. The intention is not to present an exhaustive  review,  but  rather  to  highlight  those aspects  of  goals  and  goal  setting  that  are  most pertinent  to  the  advancement  of  knowledge  in this  area  from  both  a  theoretical  and  an  applied perspective.  The  following  sections  cover  definitions and types of goals, proposed mechanisms of effects, parameters of goals, and dispositional and situational antecedents of goals, and the final section addresses future research potential.

Types of Goals

The definition of goals as an aim of action serves to portray goals as the drivers (or cognitive regulators) behind goal-directed behavior. Consequently, within  the  multilayered  domain  of  sport,  where the nature and level of engagement varies so much, these  underlying  drivers  of  behavior  can  take many different forms. For example, antecedents of behaviors (goals) might range from winning a gold medal  at  the  next  Olympics,  through  the  bending  of  an  injured  leg  an  extra  two  degrees  during  a  physiotherapy  session,  to  maintaining  form through a high knee lift in sprinting.

The  sport  psychology  literature  consistently distinguishes  between  three  broad  goal  types: outcome  goals,  performance  goals,  and  process goals.  Outcome  goals  describe  intentions  relative to the performance of others involved in the activity. The key delineator of these to other goal types is  the  notion  of  social  comparison.  The  objective of  winning  represents  the  predominant  outcome goal;  however,  the  objective  of  placing  in  a  race, reaching a final, or simply beating a teammate in an individual race, also represent examples of outcome  goals.  Unlike  outcome  goals,  performance goals are based onlevels of personal achievement and are entirely self-referenced (subjective). Typical performance  goals  are  to  run  a  race  in  a  certain time,  to  jump  a  certain  distance,  to  lift  a  specific weight, or to do a number of repetitions in a training situation—perhaps within a certain time; they refer to products of performance. These goals are normally based on numeric criteria (e.g., to jump one meter and sixty five centimeters) and refer to a predetermined subjective performance standard. Process goals are similarly self-referenced but are distinguished  from  performance  goals  because their focus is on the process of performing rather than  a  product  of  performance.  The  variation  in process goals is subsequently far broader than that of outcome and performance goals. For example, they  might  range  from  the  breathing  techniques designed to regulate heart rate in a pistol shooter, to  imaging  in  the  mind’s  eye  the  flight  of  a  golf ball before taking a shot, to focusing on maintaining  position  while  executing  a  half-court  press  in basketball. In essence, process goals center on the execution of behaviors regarded as contributing to effective performance.

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