Whose goals should guide? A comparison of two forms of goal formulation onoperant activity training

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of how goals are esta blished in operant, graded activity training. Consequently, five men and on e woman with long-term back pain served as their own controls and each subj ect participated in two exercises: sit-ups and trunk extensions. In the Pre determined Condition, the goals were established, as in many programs, by t he physical therapist for the entire treatment period after an examination, interview with the patient, and a baseline period of training. By contrast , in the Negotiated Condition, training goals were based on the individual subject's and the physical therapist's views as well as prior results. All subjects received both types of training programs, but the assignment of ex ercise type to the condition was randomized to control for possible differe nces inherent in the exercise itself Results showed that every subject obta ined larger improvements in the Negotiated Condition regardless of type of exercise than in the Predetermined Condition. The difference was particular ly clear for four of the six subjects and the overall average improvement w as more than twice as great for the Negotiated Condition (median increase = 149%) relative to the Predetermined Condition (median increase = 67%). Par t of the difference appeared to be that the Negotiated Condition increased variability in results so that some subjects produced much higher increases . These data suggest that the method employed to determine the training goa ls in operant activities training is an important variable. This informatio n might be utilized to enhance the effects of the program.