The impact of guided goal setting on mood and exercise performance in college-age active individuals
Graduation Date
Fall 2025
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Kinesiology
Committee Chair Name
Taylor Bloedon
Committee Chair Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Rock Braithwaite
Second Committee Member Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Shannon Childs
Third Committee Member Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Mood, Perceived exercise performance, Guided goal setting, Health coaching
Subject Categories
Kinesiology
Abstract
Mental health challenges are common in college students and student athletes, yet finding accessible and effective methods to improve mood and mood disorders remains under-researched. Mood is closely related to perceived performance, making mood improvements even more important for active college individuals. This study examined whether guided goal setting and health coaching could significantly improve mood as well as perceived performance. Sleep and nutrition were targeted as key factors due to their well-researched connection to mood. Participants of this study were 25 healthy active college individuals aged 18-35. The sports and activities represented in this study were a mix of recreational and collegiate. Participants went through a 6-week intervention with pre- and post-lab sessions to collect data, then completed weekly surveys to track progress. All participants received health coaching and guided goal-setting help at the pre-lab session. The intervention group met with the researcher biweekly to help facilitate guided goal setting using the Wellcoaches® method and the control group filled out the surveys on their own and received no coaching past the pre-lab session. 16 participants completed the invention. A statistical analysis was performed using a planned contrast with a Bonferroni correction. The effects of guided goal setting were found to be non-significant both on mood and perceived performance for both groups (p=0.777). Limitations to this study include a small sample size, the timing of the intervention, and the population. This study concluded in finals week, which is a notably low point for mood and perceived performance in college students. Future research on finding accessible mood alteration in college students should consider timing and motivation factors to uncover if mood can be directly changed without talking about it.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Heaney, Payton R., "The impact of guided goal setting on mood and exercise performance in college-age active individuals" (2025). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 2520.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/2520
Collaboration
1