A comparison of the effects of external control and self-control on the modification and maintenance of weight.

In an experimental study of weight reduction, 62 obese men and women were administered a pretreatment questionnaire and randomly assigned to three experimental treatment groups: (a) an external control group with a nonrefundable contingency; (6) a self-control group with a refundable contingency; and (c) a self-control group with a nonrefundable contingency. The results indicated that the self-control and external-control treatments were equally effective in producing reduction in weight. However, both self-control interventions were more effective than the external-control intervention in promoting maintenance of weight loss. Current work in reinforcement and attribution theory suggests promising leads for treating even the most refractory behavioral problems. In view of the ineffectiveness of most weight loss programs (Stunkard & McLaren-Hume, 1959) these theories may have useful applications to the treatment of obesity. Reinforcement research has shown that much social behavior is operant and hence under the control of its consequences. Kanfer (1971) theorized that these stimuli, when self-dispensed, have the capacity to control behavior in the absence of externally dispensed consequences. This proposition has been supported by laboratory and field studies which have reported equal behavioral effects for external reinforcement and self-reinforcement (e.g., Bandura, 1971; Bolstad & Johnson, 1972). An implicit aspect of training in self-reinforcement is that while the individual learns