Deck 5: Goal Setting

Question 1

What is the main purpose of goal-setting for athletes?

A) To improve outcomes
B) To please the coach
C) To challenge themselves
D) To lower stress levels

Answer 1

To challenge themselves

Question 2

If a basketball player has a goal of increasing their free-throw percentage, which type of goal does that describe?

A) Performance
B) Process
C) Outcome
D) Achievement

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A gymnast sets a goal of landing dismounts off the vault with bent knees. Which type of goal does that describe?

A) Process
B) Outcome
C) Performance
D) All of the above

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A volleyball team sets a goal of winning the state championship. Which type of goal does that describe?

A) Outcome
B) Performance
C) Process
D) Achievement

Question 5

A hockey player sets a goal of making at least three on-target goal attempts during practice. Which type of goal is this?

A) Performance
B) Process
C) Outcome
D) Achievement

Question 6

What is a downside to outcome goals?

A) All of the above
B) They can cause anxiety during competitions, events, or performances
C) They are dependent on the performance of others
D) Focusing on outcome goals can lead to neglect of performance and process goals, which are necessary to achieving outcome goals

Question 7

What is the relationship between goal setting and directing attention?

A) Setting a goal helps athletes focus their attention on a particular aspect of the game that is related to their set goal
B) Athletes who are better at paying attention to small details often end up focusing solely on process goals
C) Attention can be split effectively between at most 7 goals
D) Directing attention helps athletes primarily in the goal setting phase

Question 8

How can realistic, short-term goals help athletes reach their long-term goals?

A) The short-term goals allow them to experience success, and thereby increase their motivation
B) Short-term goals are often objective and measurable, whereas long-term goals are subjective and hard to measure
C) Short-term goals are more likely to be based on outcome goals
D) Athletes typically set multiple short-term goals, so failing a few has less of an impact than failing long-term goals

Question 9

In the study done by de Morree, Klein, & Macora (2012) on evidence for effort in the brain, what was the finding?

A) All of the above
B) Brain activity was greater when heavier weights were lifted
C) Brain activity was positively correlated with reported perceived effort
D) The brain worked harder to lift the weight when the arm was tired than when the arm was fresh

Question 10

How can a runner, who has a goal of taking 30 seconds off of her time to run 1 mile, make the goal more manageable?

A) Segment the goal into smaller goals, such as increasing her running cadence and increasing speed over 400 meters.
B) Set a specific outcome goal, like winning her next 5k race
C) Tell her friends about her goal
D) Include subjective short-term goals, such as running harder

Question 11

What did researchers Ntoumanis, Healy, Sedikides, Duda, Stewart, Smith, & Bond (2013) find when they tested how motives impact goal pursuit?

A) Internal motivation results in longer persistence than external motivation
B) Being motivated by coaches and parents is vital in achieving goals
C) External motivation drives athletes more than internal motivation
D) all of the above

Question 12

A pitcher learning a new pitch to decrease ERA and an ice skater increasing flexibility by completing new stretching exercises twice a day are examples of which goal-performance link mechanism?

A) Developing new strategies
B) Prolonging performer persistence
C) Directing attention
D) Increasing effort

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a goal-performance link mechanism?

A) Creating an action plan
B) Increasing effort
C) Prolonging performer persistence
D) Developing new strategies

Question 14

Why is it so important to set appropriately challenging goals?

A) Setting unattainable or overly challenging goals may lead to discouragement and a withdrawal of effort
B) The more challenging a goal, the more likely the athlete is to rise to the challenge and meet the goal
C) Appropriately challenging goals tend not to require short-term goals
D) Setting appropriate goals is correlated with higher levels of extrinsic motivation

Question 15

SMART goals include which of the following?

A) All of the above
B) Realistic goals
C) Measurable goals
D) Timely goals

Question 16

Why is it preferable to set specific, rather than vague or general goals?

A) Specific goals are precise and measurable
B) Specific goals are subjective
C) Vague or general goals tend to be more motivating
D) Specific goals do not rely on the performance of others, whereas general goals often do rely on the performance of others

Question 17

Why is a goal of, "trying my best" not a very effective goal?

A) It is general and hard to measure
B) It is objective and very challenging
C) It relies on the performance of others
D) It involves setting short-term goals in order to meet a long-term goal

Question 18

How is the difficulty level of a set goal related to success in meeting the goal?

A) If the goal is too easy, the athlete does not push themselves to excel; if the goal is too challenging, the athlete can become discouraged and withdraw effort
B) More difficult goals tend to be objective and more easily measured
C) Goal difficulty is correlated with effort; the more challenging the goal, the more effort an athlete will put forth, and the more likely they are to succeed
D) Goal difficulty is unrelated to success in meeting the goal

Question 19

What is the relationship between short-term and long-term goals?

A) Long-term goals can be met with the help of short-term, more easily achievable goals
B) The more long-term goals an athlete has, the fewer short-term goals they are likely to have
C) Athletes prefer to set short-term goals, whereas coaches prefer to set long-term goals
D) Long-term goals are usually process-focused, whereas short-term goals are usually outcome-focused

Question 20

How can athletes and coaches combat off-task behaviors during practice sessions?

A) Set practice goals as well as competition goals
B) Set very challenging outcome goals
C) Ensure all goals are process goals
D) Increase focus on long-term outcome goals

Question 21

Which of the following is an example of a practice goal (tennis)?

A) Improve the accuracy of my serve
B) Make it to the state championship
C) Defeat my opponent after two sets
D) All of the above

Question 22

Why is it helpful to record and monitor goals?

A) It promotes goal attainment and allows for goal revision if necessary
B) It increases the likelihood of goals being more process-focused, rather than outcome-focused
C) It promotes social learning
D) It decreases the likelihood of revising goals

Question 23

What is the purpose of creating an action plan?

A) To identify and work on the skills needed to achieve a specific goal
B) To help athletes develop an external locus of control
C) To decrease process-focused goals
D) To ensure athletes meet specific outcome goals

Question 24

A coach sets all the goals for players each season, rather than having players to set their own goals. Which of the following outcomes is most likely?

A) Players will experience decreased goal commitment
B) The players will be more likely to record and monitor the own goals
C) The coach will not take into account players' barriers to goal achievement
D) The coach will not need a specific action plan

Question 25

What is a benefit of allowing athletes to set their own goals?

A) It increases commitment to the goal
B) It allows athletes to keep their goals private
C) It facilitates monitoring the goal
D) It increases the likelihood of goals being more process-focused, rather than outcome-focused

Question 26

Impact on Youth stated that in a study of 12- and 13-year-old gymnasts, some of the gymnasts found setting their own goals more effective, whereas others found that coach-set goals were more effective. What seemed to be the deciding factor between the two groups?

A) Their locus of control
B) Their willingness to work hard in practice sessions.
C) Their years of experience
D) Their ability to develop new strategies

Question 27

Which of the following goals is most likely to be set by an Olympic athlete?

A) Improving overall performance
B) Having fun during competitions
C) Winning competitions
D) Staying fit

Question 28

Which of the following can be a barrier to achieving goals?

A) All of the above
B) Injuries
C) Lack of time
D) Family and work responsibilities

Question 29

What does goal setting theory say about athletes setting goals?

A) Athletes who set goals are energized to show increased effort
B) Athletes who set goals are more likely to feel pressured to perform well
C) Athletes who set goals often end up setting goals that are too challenging
D) Athletes who set goals focus heavily on process goals, to the exclusion of outcome goals

Question 30

A study of elite and non-elite boxers suggested that a goal setting program was effective for:

A) elite boxers more than non-elite boxers
B) non-elite boxers more than elite boxers
C) both elite and non-elite boxers
D) neither elite nor non-elite boxers

Question 31

Outcome, performance, and process goals are inter-related with one another.

Question 32

Athletes who are the most effective goal setters tend to set and focus on outcome goals.

Question 33

"I'm going to do my best" is an example of an objective goal.

Question 34

Working on dribbling with the non-dominant hand (basketball) is an example of a process goal.

Question 35

Developing a new strategy to improve golf swing may include focusing on making more birdies.

Question 36

Objective goals are vague and hard to measure.

Question 37

Athletes who set both short-term and long-term goals experience better success than those who only set long-term goals.

Question 38

It is important for athletes and coaches to set both training and competition goals.

Question 39

Spending more time in the batting cage to practice your swing is an example of an achievement strategy to increase batting average.

Question 40

Keeping your goals private usually leads to higher levels of goal attainment than making them public.

Question 41

Goals that are set far in the future are often easier to meet because the athlete has so much time to achieve the goal.

Question 42

Lower level athetes often have different goals than higher level athletes.

Question 43

Goal setting is usually more beneficial for younger or lower level athletes, who are not as disciplined as older and higher level athletes.

Question 44

Receiving feedback about goals is not correlated with achieving those goals.

Question 45

Although they can be positive, social relationships can also be a barrier to goal achievement.

Question 46

Does goal setting become more or less important as athletes become more elite in their sports?

Question 47

Is it reasonable to expect youth and adult athletes to be motivated solely by process goals? Is one goal type always more beneficial?

Question 48

What are SMART goals? Why do they tend to be effective?

Question 49

Should all athletic behaviors be turned into specific goals and action plans? Is there a limit on the number of goals you can strive toward at once?

Question 50

How are the types of goals different across levels of sport, from recreational youth participants, to college athletes, to professionals?