Abstract

Goal setting is widely used by athletes as a strategy to enhance sports performance. Despite its theoretical foundation in Goal Setting Theory (GST), empirical research has yielded mixed findings regarding its effectiveness in competitive athletic settings. Prior meta-analyses have included studies across various skill levels and motor tasks unrelated to sport, limiting their applicability to experienced athletes. The current meta-analytical review aimed to (1) evaluate the impact of goal setting on sports performance among competitive athletes, (2) examine the influence of goal characteristics such as difficulty, specificity, proximity, type, source, and feedback, and (3) identify methodological limitations in existing research to improve future interventions. A systematic search of five databases yielded 22 eligible studies that implemented goal-setting interventions with competitive athletes and compared performance outcomes against control groups. Random-effects meta-analysis revealed a moderate, statistically significant positive effect of goal setting on athletic performance (d = 0.38, 95% CI [0.15, 0.61]). Short-term goals and a combination of short- and long-term goals showed greater effectiveness than long-term goals alone. Specific and difficult goals demonstrated larger effect sizes compared to vague or easy goals. Additionally, goal personalization and feedback emerged as critical factors in optimizing goal-setting effectiveness. However, inconsistencies in study designs, sample sizes, and the classification of goal difficulty and specificity highlight ongoing challenges in this field. Findings suggest that while goal setting is a beneficial tool for enhancing sports performance, its effectiveness depends on individual athlete characteristics, task complexity, and contextual factors such as competition and feedback availability. Future research should employ standardized definitions of goal characteristics, control for personal goal setting outside experimental conditions, and utilize larger, more diverse samples to improve generalizability.

Degree

College and Department

Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Psychology

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