Effects of goal setting on performance on the Army Physical Fitness Test by ROTC cadets

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of setting specific, difficult goals on performance on the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) by cadets enrolled in a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) precommissioning program. The subjects used for this study were contracted Advanced Course cadets in the Army ROTC program at Florida State University who were assigned to either a goal-setting group or to a do-your-best group.;The final APFT performance data showed that setting specific, difficult goals for the goal-setting group did not result in higher performance scores than the do-your-best group cadets who were asked to do their best on the APFT. In fact, the do-your-best group cadets demonstrated a higher average improvement on the APFT.;Questionnaires designed to assess attitudes were administered to the cadets in both groups at the beginning, midway through, and after the final APFT. For the goal-setting group there was unanimous acceptance of the goals. There was, however, a slight decrease in the cadets' perception of the realistic nature of, as well as a slight decrease in their confidence of achieving, their APFT goals. They also responded with a slight decrease in the difficulty of their APFT goals. There was a surprisingly large decrease in the group's commitment to their APFT goals. On the final questionnaire the group reported that they tried hard on the APFT and that they were moderately successful on the APFT. They also preferred to set their own goals or to set them with the ROTC cadre.;For the do-your-best group the initial and mid-semester questionnaires showed a total willingness to do their best. However, on the final questionnaire one cadet reported an unwillingness to do his best. The group reported a steady decrease in their perception of the realistic nature of constantly working hard at doing their best on the APFT, and in their confidence that they could give their best effort throughout the study. The group also reported that they found doing their best to be moderately difficult. There was also a large decrease in their commitment to doing their best over the duration of the study. On the final questionnaire, 50% of the cadets reported that they had set goals despite none being set for them.