Monday, December 20, 2010

Does Goal Setting Work?

One of the most studied aspects of sports psychology is that of goal setting. The research on its impact has been consistent. More than three-quarters of the published studies on goal setting in sport and physical activity found that it yields positive results. In fact, the evidence is so overwhelming that many sports psychologists feel that goal setting may be the most effective performance enhancement strategy in sport. Take a look at this chapter on goal setting – it’s a great how-to guide for doing it right. It’s taken from “Sports Psychology for Coaches”, a book written by two sports psychology professors.

At XCStats, we did a study of our own to evaluate the impact of goal setting. The results agree with the other research. Based on about 3,000 races in which goals were set and 10,000 that weren’t, runners who set goals improved 76% of the time versus 57% of those who didn’t.

Mike Sherwood
www.xcstats.com


No comments:

Popular Posts