The effects of easy goals versus difficult goals on acquisition and retention of a sport skill in children with intellectual disability

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of easy goals versus difficult goals on acquisition and retention of basketball free throws in children with intellectual disability. Twenty-one children with intellectual disability were randomly assigned to an easy goals or difficult goals group. The participants were required to improve their basketball free throws according to their own scores in the previous exercise session. More difficult goals were set for the difficult goals group than for the easy goals group. The groups exercised the task for nine sessions. Both groups performed pretest, acquisition, and retention tests. Results showed that participants with easy goals improved their performance while the participants with difficult goals failed to improve their performance. These findings indicate that providing children with intellectual disability with easy goals facilitates the process of sport skill learning.