Sport And Exercise Psychology: A Critical Introduction

Now that we have explored the nature of motivation and some theoretical perspectives
on it, let us turn to the question of how it can be increased in athletes.

Increasing motivation in athletes: goal-setting in sport

Effective motivation requires direction as well as drive or energy. To understand this
idea, consider the following analogy. Imagine a car being driven around in circles in a
carpark. Although its engine is in perfect working order, the vehicle is not actually going
anywhere. Clearly, what is needed is a signpost that can direct the driver out of the
carpark and towards his or her destination. By analogy, athletes require a map or signpost
which will channel their motivational energy effectively. One way of providing this
signpost is through a procedure called “goal-setting” (see reviews by Burton and Naylor,
2002; Weinberg, 2002). As we shall see, this procedure is “a highly consistent and a
robust performance enhancement strategy” (Burton and Naylor, 2002, p. 463) that is
alleged to enhance motivation in athletes.

What is goal-setting?

A goal is a target or objective which people strive to attain. For example, it might be
winning a match, losing weight or being selected for a club team or national squad
(Weinberg, 2002). So, goal-setting is the process by which people establish desirable
objectives for their actions.
Within sport and exercise psychology, research on goal-setting has been influenced by
two distinct theoretical traditions: cognitive psychology and organisational psychology.
To illustrate the former lineage, cognitive researchers such as Tolman (1932) proclaimed
that human actions are understood best as the outcome of internally represented
conscious goals rather than as the product of environmental forces. The organisational
roots of research in this field come from theorists like Taylor (1911/1967) and Locke and
Latham (1985) who extolled the merits of goal-setting for performance enhancement. To
illustrate, in an early review of this topic within organisational psychology, Locke, Shaw,
Saari and Latham (1981) concluded that “the beneficial effect of goal-setting on task
performance is one of the most replicable findings in the psychological literature. Ninety
per cent of the studies showed positive or partially positive effects” (p. 145). Later Locke
and Latham (1990) claimed that of 201 studies on goal-setting, positive effects on
performance were shown for 183 of them—resulting in an estimate of 91 per cent success
rate for goal-setting. Equivalent (if more modest) claims about the efficacy of goal-
setting also emerged from studies in sport settings. Thus Burton, Naylor and Holliday
(2001) reported that forty-four out of fifty-six published studies (almost 79 per cent)
yielded moderate to strong effects of goal-setting on athletic performance. From a
cursory inspection of these figures, it appears that the effects of goal-setting in sport are
not quite as impressive as they are in organisational settings. We shall return to this issue
later. At this stage, however, we need to explore what psychological research reveals
about goal-setting in athletes.

Sport and exercise psychology: A critical introduction 52