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The present study examines the effects of goal specificity and goal difficulty on performance in a sports setting for children while attempting to control for the effects of social comparison. Participants (N = 46) were matched on their baseline performance on two badminton tasks (underhand serve and drop shot) and then randomly assigned to one of three goal setting conditions: (a) easy goals, (b) difficult goals, and (c) do-your-best goals. Results suggest that the easy and difficult groups showed a significant improvement in performance for both experimental tasks, whereas the do-your-best group did not display any improvement. However, no significant differences were found between easy goals and difficult goals. Further analyses reveal that age effects were not significant. Manipulation checks indicate that all children accepted their assigned goals and intended to try extremely hard to reach them. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of Locke’s (18) goal setting theory as well as previous research in physical activity settings. Future directions for research are suggested.

A method is presented for the chromatographic separation and subsequent colorimetric measurement of chlorocholine chloride (CCC) at residue levels in wheat grain and plants at various stages of growth. Chlorocholine chloride is removed from tissue background by adsorption chromatography on aluminum oxide, and measured colorimetrically as a dipicrylamine-chlorocholine chloride complex at 415 mg. The average recoveries of CCC from wheat grain, green wheat foliage, and corresponding wheat straw were 76, 86.4, and 90%, respectively, with average control values of 0.10, 0.16, and 0.27 p.p.m. A rate-of-disappearance study at a treatment level of 4 pounds of CCC per acre of wheat showed a biological half life for CCC of 13 days. Gycocel[chlorocholine chloride (CCC), 2-chloroethyl trimethylammonium chloride] is a plant growth regulant. The physiological and economic importance Dipicrylamine Reagent (2,2 ',4,4',6, (Eastman Chemical Co.). Prepare a 0.01 % solution in purified methylene chloride.Aluminum Oxide. Fisher Scientific Co., Catalog No. A-540, adsorption alumina for chromatographic analysis.Amberlite LA-2 Liquid Anion Exchange Resin (Rohm and Haas Co., Philadelphia, Pa.). Prepare a 10% solution in carbon tetrachloride.Cycocel (2-Chloroethyl Trimethyl ammonium Chloride) Standard (American Cyanamid Co., Princeton, N. J.). Prepare standard solutions in methanol containing 10 and 1.0 µg. of CCC per ml. of solution.

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