Effect of goal proximity and goal specificity on muscular endurance performance: A replication and extension.

Examined the relationship between goal specificity, goal proximity, and performance of high school students while attempting to control for the effects of social comparison. In Exp 1, 214 Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 goal-setting conditions (short-term goals, long-term, short- plus long-term goals, do-your-best, no goals). After a 3-wk baseline period, Ss were tested weekly on the 3-min sit-up over 10 wks. The short- plus long-term group increased the most in performance, although the short-term and long-term groups also displayed significant improvements. In Exp 2, 102 Ss were randomly assigned to either a short- plus long-term group or a do-your-best group. A significant improvement in performance was observed for the combination-goal group, whereas the do-your-best group did not improve. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)