The effect of goal setting on motor performance and motor learning in brain-damaged patients

Abstract

We examined the effect of goal setting on the performance of 45 brain-damaged patients carrying out the Purdue Pegboard Test. Patients were randomly and equally allocated to two conditions: One in which a specific, high goal was assigned and one in which a “do your best” goal was given. Statistical analysis indicated that patients with a specific and high goal performed better than patients with a “do your best” goal. In addition, this improvement in performance did not disappear after a 10-minute break. As a further result of this study slight moderating influences of mood, self-efficacy, and memory performance on goal setting were found. Goal setting seems to be a useful technique to influence motivation (i.e., the intensity of behaviour) in brain-damaged patients.