The effects of written goals on performance. Comparing Written and Unwritten Goals

The purpose of this study was to empirically test the effects that writing down goals has on performance. It has been hypothesized that writing down goals is an important aspect of goal setting and helps improve performance (Weinberg, 2010). This has yet to be empirically supported by a peer reviewed study, so the purpose of this study was to isolate this effect and test it. This study hypothesized that writing down goals would positively affect performance and task-specific practice rate more than setting goals without writing them down. Forty-eight participants were randomly split in two groups, a written goals group and an unwritten goals group. Participants performed a push up task and set themselves a goal they would attempt to reach after four weeks. The results found no difference between the written goals groups and the unwritten goals group. The results were discussed in the context of previous research and directions for future studies suggested. Leitarorð: Sport psychology, goal setting, motivation, behavior, intervention, experiment, performance, written goal