The Effect of Goal Setting on Throwing Skill Learning in 10-Year-Old Boys

Abstract

Background: Learning is a phenomenon that has interested humans for a long time. Research on the factors influencing learning has always interested psychologists and all those dealing with education, particularly sports coaches. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the impact of goal setting on learning a skill targeting 10-year-old boys. Patients and Methods: For this purpose, forty 10-year-old male children were selected as the study sample and were assigned to one of two groups: goal-setting (n = 20) and non-goal setting (n = 20) groups. In the acquisition phase, each group participated in 8 sessions for 8 continuous days, and then participants in each group conducted 40 (4 blocks of 10 attempts per session) attempts separately. Finally, after 24 hours, the groups performed a retention test. The scores of each group at each phase were obtained and compared using ANOVAs and independent t-tests. Results: The results of the statistical analysis did not show differences in the acquisition phase between the two groups (P > 0.05). In the retention phase, there was a significant difference between the two groups, and this advantage was in favor of the goal-setting group (P Conclusions: In general, it is recommended that teachers and sports coaches use goal setting when teaching skills to children.

Keywords

• learning
• acquisition and retention
• goal setting
• children
• throwing skills over shoulder