The effect of multiple-goal strategies on performance outcomes in trainingand competition

Many sport psychologists have been fighting against the pervasive "winning is everything" mentality and have encouraged athletes to set only self-refe renced performance and process goals. However, studies that have explored t he practices of successful performers have found that they do in fact make effective use of outcome goals (Weinberg, Burton, Yukelson, & Weigand, 1993 ; Jones & Hanton,1996). The aim of this study was to examine empirically Ha rdy, Jones, and Gould's (1996) suggestion, that consultants should now be p romoting the use of a multiple-goal strategy. Forty participants were split into five groups of equal number and matched for ability on a soccer task. Four of the groups used different combinations of outcome, performance, an d process goals while the other acted as a control group. Performance on th e soccer task was measured over a 5-week training period, and then in a com petition. Two-factor (Group X Test) ANOVA's indicated significant differenc es (p <.05) between the groups for both training and competition performanc e. The superior performance of the groups using multiple-goal strategies pr ovided evidence to support the efficacy of maintaining a balance between th e use of outcome, performance, and process goals.