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

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. This study aimed to investigate the impact of goal setting on learning a skill targeting 10-year-old boys. 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. 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 < 0.05). In general, it is recommended that teachers and sports coaches use goal setting when teaching skills to children.