Goal Setting

Anyone who does anything worthwhile anywhere has consciously or unknowingly followed through on a goal. Goals keep us focused on a purpose. They help us through difficult times when many others less motivated would give up. A person who wants to get the most out of life often has a number of goals simmering at the same time, in their personal and business lives.

Why Set Goals



Creates Thought Process Gives Direction Motivation Responsibility Planning Organizing Helps in building Self Confidence

Two Types of Goals

Short-Term goal
A goal that can be reached in the near future

Long-Term goal
A goal that is reached over an extended period of time

Set Your Goals:

List your major goals: more important less important

long term

long/short term

short term

Goal Setting Theory

Dr Edwin Locke's pioneering research on goal setting Locke's research showed that there was a relationship between how difficult and specific a goal was and people's performance of a task. He found that specific and difficult goals led to better task performance than vague or easy goals. Telling someone to "Try hard" or "Do your best" is less effective than "Try to get more than 80% correct" or "Concentrate on beating your best time."

 Likewise, having a goal that's too easy is not a motivating force. Hard goals are more motivating than easy goals, because it's much more of an accomplishment to achieve something that you have to work for.

Types Of Goals
What are your goals?
Artistic Attitude Career Education Family Financial Pleasure Public Service

Types Of Goals
yArtistic: Do you want to achieve any artistic goals? If so, what? yAttitude: Is any part of your mindset holding you back? Is there any part of the way that you behave that upsets you? If so, set goals to improve or cure the problem. yCareer: What level do you want to reach in your career?

Types Of Goals
y Education: Is there any knowledge you want to acquire in particular? What information and skills will you need to achieve other goals? y Family: How do you want to be seen by a parent or by other members of your family? y Financial: How much do you want to earn by what stage?

Types Of Goals
y Pleasure: How do you want to enjoy yourself? - you should ensure that some of your life is for you! y Public Service: Do you want to make the world a better place by your existence? If so, how? y Physical: Are there any athletic goals you want to achieve, or do you want good health deep into old age? What steps are you going to take to achieve this?

Goal Setting Activity

If you could become anything you wanted, or accomplish anything you wanted in life, what would it be? What can you do to make that happen? Are you doing it? (If not, why not?) Think of three things you'd like to accomplish in the next several months. These must be things that are truly important to you and within your power to accomplish. For each one, describe in detail what you will need to do in order to succeed and lay out a plan for doing it (including deadlines). Now that you have set three goals, try carrying out your plans.

Goal Setting Activity

Write about a time when you succeeded at something because you made it a goal and committed to it. - Describe what happened. - How did that make you feel? - What did you learn from that experience? Sometimes, despite our best plans and efforts, we fail anyway. Write about a time when you tried to accomplish something but came up short. - Describe what happened. - How did you deal with it? - What did you learn from it? - Did anything positive come out of it?

Goal Setting Activity

Imagine that someday you will have children. Write a letter of advice for them to read when they reach the age you is right now. Tell them about the goals you had at this age, and what those goals did for you. Tell them about taking risks - what kinds of risks are good to take and what kinds arent. And tell them how to deal with failure and disappointment so they won't be discouraged when things don't work out the way they want.

Set Smart Goals

- Your

goal must be specific.

- You must be able to measure progress towards your goal. - Your goal must be something that you can actually attain. - Your goal must be realistic, given who you are. - Your goal must be something you can experience yourself.

S.M.A.R.T
When you are planning a goal for yourself you have to think SMART

S.M.A.R.T
Specific I will get an A in class for the 1st quarter Measurable will average out my grade from my homework, quizzes, and tests Attainable Is this goal within reach for me Realistic I got a B in math last year * Time I will have ten weeks to accomplish this goal

 Understanding SMART Goal Setting

Goal setting is a powerful way of motivating people. The value of goal setting is so well recognized that entire management systems, like Management by Objectives, have goal setting basics incorporated within them. In fact, goal setting theory is generally accepted as among the most valid and useful motivation theories in industrial and organizational psychology, human resource management, and organizational behavior.

Five Principles of Goal Setting

To motivate, goals must take into consideration the degree to which each of the following exists: Clarity. Challenge. Commitment. Feedback. Task complexity.

Introduction, History and Development of achivement orientation

There has been a longstanding concern with motivation and achievement orientation in both psychology, education and sport Theory and practice still dont always coincide Motivation /Achievement orientation is commonly defined as Psychological processes that energise the individual and thereby influence behaviour. Despite being an important topic it is a regrettable fact that motivation is a poorly understood phenomenon in the trenches.... nowhere is the concept of motivation more misunderstood than in sport. Roberts (1992, p.4)

Theories and Models 1

Weiners Attribution Theory (1985, 1986)
We explain success & failure with reference to ability, effort, task and luck

Basic Attribution Categories

Stability
Stable Unstable

Causalit y
Internal External

Controllability

In One s Control

Out of One s Control

 Attribution theory is concerned with how individuals interpret events and how this relates to their thinking and behavior Attribution theory assumes that people try to determine why people do what they do person can make two attributions 1) internal attribution, the inference that a person is behaving in a certain way because of something about the person, such as attitude, character or personality. 2) external attribution, the inference that a person is behaving a certain way because of something about the situation he or she is in.

Attribution theory Attribution = ones explanation of why something happened. When individuals observe behaviour, they attempt to determine whether it is internally or externally caused. Attribution theory suggests we determine which of these two (internal or external causes) is more likely through examination of: Distinctiveness consistency of behaviour in different situations. Consensus how others in same situation responded. Consistency consistency of persons behaviour over time.

 Fundamental Attribution Error The tendency to underestimate external factors and overestimate internal factors when making judgments about others behavior. E.g., supervisor assuming poor performance in subordinate is due to lack of effort and ability without examining possible external contributors (such as problems with machinery, lack of support) Suggests we may lose opportunities to correct situational problems because we dont see their influence.

 Self-Serving Bias The tendency to attribute ones successes to internal factors while putting the blame for failures on external factors. The tendency to deny personal responsibility for performance problems (blame external factors) but to accept personal responsibility for performance success (credit internal factors).

Self-determination theory
Self-determination theory (SDT) is a general theory of human motivation and is concerned with the choices people make with their own free will and full sense of choice, without any external influence and interference

Theories and Models 1

Vallerand & Losier (1999) have represented self-determination theory in a hierarchical model Social Factors (success, failure, competition, co-operation, coach behaviour and parental influence) exert their influence through perceptions of autonomy, competence and relatedness The consequences of motivation can be: Affective (I feel) Behavioural (I do) Cognitive (I think)

Theories and Models 1

Need for competence: refers to the need to experience oneself as capable and competent in controlling the environment and being able to reliably predict outcomes. Need for autonomy (or self-determination): refers to the need to actively participate in determining own behavior. It includes the need to experience ones actions as result of autonomous choice without external interference. Need for relatedness: refers to need to care for and be related to others. It includes the need to experience authentic relatedness from others and to experience satisfaction in participation and involvement with the social world (Deci & Ryan).

Theories and Models 1

Self-determination Theory or Cognitive Evaluation Theory (Deci,1971; Fredrick & Ryan, 1995)
Individuals have the need to demonstrate competence and self-determination in life domains, Central concepts: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, motivation Intrinsic motivation influenced by degree of autonomy or self-determination Self-determination operationalized as Locus of Causality (LoC) Internal LoC - higher perceived control, enhanced intrinsic motivation External LoC - low perceived control, decreased intrinsic motivation

Theories and Models 2

Perceived Competence Theory (Harter, 1978) Motivation influenced by perceptions of competence and control We are motivated to participate to display competence or mastery An activity can be too easy/difficult or a challenge. Easy and difficult tasks provide little information on ones mastery or skill and add little to perceptions of competence The optimal challenge is difficult and demanding but attainable

Theories and Models 2

Mastery attempts are used to receive feedback on competence. This information then influences: Perceived competence Perceived control Affective responses Future exertion/effort Probability of continued participation

Theories and Models 2

Greater effort High Competence Motivation Positive Effect

Less effort Low Competence Motivation Negative Effect Drop-out

Successful Unsuccessful Performance Performance

Mastery Attempts

Theories and Models 2

Perceived success:
can be defined either internally or externally results in intrinsic pleasure and raises competence increases achievement striving behaviour

Perceived failure:
can be defined either internally or externally results in dissatisfaction and perceived incompetence encourages fewer mastery attempts

Theories and Models 2

Coaches, teachers, parents and peers can influence perceived competence
Females rely more on feedback from significant others Athletes who receive corrective information see it as reflecting lower ability Athletes who receive praise see it as a reflection of high ability

Theories and Models 3

Achievement Goal Orientation (GO) Theory
(Nicholls, 1984)

Currently the most popular approach in motivation literature and within sport psychology Proposes that motivational affect, behaviour and cognition can be understood in terms of two goal perspectives ego and task Goal Orientations are thought to be influenced by both situational and dispositional factors Both goal orientations are independent e.g.
High Task, Low Ego High Task, High Ego - Low Task, High Ego - Low Task, Low Ego

Theories and Models 3

Task Orientation Self-referenced reasons for participation
skill development, skill mastery, affiliation, fitness

Typical behaviours
persistence, optimal effort work hard choose challenging activities seek feedback

Theories and Models 3

Ego Orientation Normative referenced reasons for participation
Recognition, competition, social status

Typical behaviours
perception of high ability careful selection of activities avoid failure little effort during practice Both orientations find competition meaningful it is the meaning attached to competition that distinguishes them

Theories and Models 3

Differences in Achievement GO
(Nicholls, 1978; Roberts & Treasure, 1995; White & Duda),

1994) Children tend to be more task oriented Children of 10 years could be ego oriented Adolescents tend to be more ego oriented Boys and men are more ego oriented than girls and women In the more competitive levels of sport, participants have a higher ego orientation Task orientation does not vary with level of participation

Theories and Models 3

Significant Others and Achievement GO
(White et al., 98)

Parents emphasise different aspects of participation to their children depending on own orientation (team
playing/ winning)

Children with a dominant orientation tend to view their parents in the same light Both parents and children are poor at judging the others actual orientation The perceived orientation of the parent will influence the childs attitude to participation Similarly a coach or teacher can exert influence over the childs enjoyment and beliefs about sport

Theories and Models 3

Is a Task GO favourable?
(Fox et al., 1994; Hardy et al., 1996)

The literature tends to favour task orientation This is limited as a person can have a certain degree of both orientations simultaneously People with a high ego and task orientation are highly motivated in sport A win attitude is needed in sport - an ego orientation can be used to sustain long-term motivation

Theories and Models 4

Self-Efficacy & Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1977) Self-efficacy refers to person's judgement of: capability to perform (efficacy expectations) outcome of performance (outcome expectations) Bandura suggested 4 sources of information influence self-efficacy: Accomplishments Vicarious experience Physiological state Verbal persuasion Maddux (1995) later added: Emotional states Imaginable experiences

Theories and Models

Self-efficacy has been shown to influence: Activity choice Level of effort Degree of persistence Achievement Measured along 3 dimensions: Level (expected attainments) Strength (certainty of attainments) Generality (number of domains) As a psychological construct, self-efficacy plays a significant role in many theories of exercise behaviour

Setting Goals Effectively

The following broad guidelines will help you to set effective goals:

State each goal as a positive statement: express your goals positively - 'Execute this technique well' is a much better goal than 'don't make this stupid mistake' Be precise: set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can measure achievement. If you do this, you will know exactly when you have achieved the goal, and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it.

y Set priorities: where you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones. y Write goals down: this crystallizes them and gives them more force. y Keep operational goals small: keep the low-level goals you are working towards small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making progress towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward. Derive today's goals from larger ones.

y Set performance goals, not outcome goals: you should take care to set goals over which you have as much control as possible. There is nothing more dispiriting than failing to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your control. These could be bad business environments, poor judging, bad weather, injury, or just plain bad luck. If you base your goals on personal performance, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals and draw satisfaction from them.

 Set realistic goals: it is important to set goals that you can achieve. All sorts of people (parents, media, society) can set unrealistic goals for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions. Alternatively you may be nave in setting very high goals. You might not appreciate either the obstacles in the way, or understand quite how many skills you must master to achieve a particular level of performance.

Do not set goals too low: just as it is important not to set goals unrealistically high, do not set them too low. People tend to do this where they are afraid of failure or where they are lazy! You should set goals so that they are slightly out of your immediate grasp, but not so far that there is no hope of achieving them. No-one will put serious effort into achieving a goal that they believe is unrealistic. However, remember that your belief that a goal is unrealistic may be incorrect. If this could be the case, you can to change this belief by using imagery effectively.

Goal Setting Tips

State each goal as a positive statement Be precise Set priorities Write down your goals Keep operational goals small Set performance goals, not outcome goals Set realistic goals

Achieving Goals
y Enjoy the goal you achieved. y If you achieved the goal too easily, make your next goals harder y If the goal took a dispiriting length of time to achieve, make the next goals a little easier y If you learned something that would lead you to change other goals, do so y If while achieving the goal you noticed a deficit in your skills, decide whether to set goals to fix this.

Thank You