본 연구는 목표설정은 동기를 유발하고 이는 더 나은 수행을 이끈다는 목표설정이론을 집단상담 과정에 접목하려는 시도로 이루어졌다. 독립변인인 목표설정을 조작하기 위하여 서울대학교 대학생활문화원에서 매학기 실시하는 대인관계 능력개발 프로그램의 집단원들을 다음의 3가지 조건 중 하나에 처하도록 하였다: (1) 매 회기 목표를 적고 총 2번의 목표설정훈련을 하는 집단, (2) 훈련 없이 집단원 스스로 목표를 매 회기적도록 하는 집단, (3) 훈련도 없고 목표설정 질문지도 작성하지 않는 집단. 모든 집단원들은 처치조건에 관계없이 매 회기가 끝나면 동기척도와 상담자평가척도, 회기평가척도에 응답하였다. 현실적이고 구체적이고 (회기목표에서는 지금-여기 관련된), 접근한 목표를 세우도록 훈련받은 집단원들은, 통제집단에 비해 상담에 참여하고 변화하려는 동기가 더 높아지고 그 회기를 더 순조롭고 깊이있게 지각하였다. 이러한 경향은 집단초반에 실시된 훈련 직후에 더욱 두드러졌다.

The present study addressed goal-setting theory that people who set their goals would be motivated and have enhanced outcomes. The relationship between the level of goal-setting and group process variables was examined. The independent variable, goal-setting, was manipulated by assigning the 58 members of interpersonal group counseling program of Seoul National University to 1 of 3 conditions: a) Training in goal-setting (the goal-training condition), b) Goal-setting without training (the goal-setting condition), and c) No goal-setting control(the control). Each condition contained 2 groups. Before each group session, the participants of the goal-training condition and of goal-setting condition filled out the counseling goal questionnaire; after each session, all group members, regardless of treatment condition, filled out the motivation test, the counselor rating form, and the session evaluation questionnaire. But only members assigned to the goal-training condition were trained to set a goal that was realistic, specific, and accessed oriented. The motivation, the counselor rating, and the session evaluation were collapsed into three time periods. Time 1 (T1) consisted of data from Sessions 1-2 and represented the pretraining phase of the study. Time 2 (T2) consisted of data from Sessions 3-6, and Time 3 (T3) consisted of data from Sessions 7-10; these data points represented the session after the first and second training, respectively. A 3 (treatment condition) X 2 (time) repeated measures MANCOVA was used to examine differences in participants` motivation and in counselor- and session ratings. Group members who set realistic, specific, and accessed goals were more motivated and perceived the sessions more effectively. Unexpectedly, the main effect for treatment condition and the Treatment condition X Time interaction effect was not significant in the counselorratings. Implications of these results and suggestions for group counseling are discussed.