Effects of preexisting and manipulated self-efficacy on weight loss in a self-control program

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of self-efficacy on weight loss utilizing self-control techniques. Subjects high and low in preexisting self-efficacy were randomly assigned to high or low manipulated self-efficacy groups in a 2 × 2 (preexisting self-efficacy × manipulated self-efficacy) factorial design. Preexisting self-efficacy was assessed using procedures employed byBandura and Adams (1977, Cognitive Therapy and Research, 1, 287–308). Selfefficacy was manipulated by having subjects attribute successful task performance to a previously unrecognized capacity for self-control. Subjects met in groups once a week for a total of 8 weeks and received a comprehensive weight control program within the context of self-control. Results indicated significant manipulated and preexisting × trials interactions with both the high manipulated and preexisting self-efficacy groups losing more weight over the 8 weeks than the low preexisting and manipulated groups. In addition, locus of control was predictive of weight loss, with internals tending to lose more weight than externals. Results are discussed in terms of Bandura's (1977, Psychological Review, 84, 191–215) theory of self-efficacy.     

Applications of self-efficacy theory to the understanding and treatment of career indecision

The present study was designed to investigate the utility of Bandura's self-efficacy theory to the understanding and treatment of career indecision. More specifically, the study involved the development of a measure of self-efficacy expectations with regard to 50 tasks or behaviors required in career decision making and the examination of the relationships of career decision-making self-efficacy to several components of vocational indecision. A total of 346 subjects, 154 students attending a private liberal arts college and 193 students attending a large state university, were administered the measure of career decision-making self-efficacy expectations and the Career Decision Scale (Osipow, Carney, Winer, Yanico, & Koschier, Columbus, Ohio: Marathon Consulting and Press, 1980). In addition, Scholastic Aptitude Test verbal and math scores were obtained for the liberal arts students, and American College Test math and English subtest scores were obtained for the state university students. Results indicated first that college students in general express considerable confidence in their ability to complete the tasks necessary to make career decisions. In addition, however, the strength of students' career decision-making self-efficacy expectations was strongly and negatively related to overall levels of career indecision and was, in particular, related to the component of indecision described as a lack of structure and confidence with respect to career decisions. Relationships of career decision-making self-efficacy expectations to ability level were negligible. Based on the findings of this study it is suggested that the concept of career-related self-efficacy expectations provides a useful framework for the understanding, assessment, and treatment of at least some of the antecedents to vocational indecision.     

Self-efficacy and behaviour as predictors of subsequent behaviour in an assertiveness training programme

Bandura and his colleagues have offered evidence that self-efficacy measures are more accurate predictors of maintenance of behaviour change than are behavioural measures. The present article argues that their evidence is flawed by the use of inappropriate statistical techniques, and attempts to replicate these findings using alternative statistical methods. Forty-six female students participated in an Assertiveness Training Programme which ran for 6 weeks, with a follow-up 3 months later. At each session they made efficacy predictions about their performance in specific situations, and then role-played those situations. Efficacy and behavioural measures were compared as predictors of later behaviour, and it was shown that, contrary to Bandura's findings, efficacy measures were significantly less accurate than behaviours in predicting later behaviour. This result indicates that, although self-efficacy theory is a useful framework for understanding behaviour change, it may be inappropriate in some situations to rely entirely upon efficacy predictions.     

Self-control of smoking—I. effects of experience with imposed,increasing, decreasing and random delays

A test of a passive self-control training procedure suggested by Skinner was performed. After smoker's tolerance for delay of smoking was assessed, they were exposed to either an increasing, decreasing or random sequence of imposed delay of smoking and were then tested for tolerance to delay. Increasing delay significantly improved subjects' smoking inhibition while decreasing and random sequences had no significant effect. The results are attributed to either frustration extinction or rehearsal of coping responses to the aversiveness of delay.     

TRAINING INTERACTIONAL BEHAVIORS OF ADULTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: A SYSTEMATIC REPLICATION AND EXTENSION

This study was a replication and extension of research by Foxx, McMorrow, Bittle, and Ness (1986) that assessed generalization effects of a social skills training program on the interactional behavior of adults with developmental disabilities. Target skills were a verbal action or reaction in six skill areas that specifically addressed the participants' skill deficits. In the present study, we trained 5 adult residents of a group home across these six skill areas using the “Sorry” game format and the scoring criteria described by Foxx et al. We extended the results of Foxx et al. by (a) using pretreatment assessment procedures to identify participants' specific skill deficits, (b) training all residents in the natural environment, (c) training participant—participant interactions, (d) training participants to respond to four of the six skill areas through the use of a role-play procedure, and (e) omitting rewards, criterion levels, and self-monitoring. Additionally, the trainer in the present study modeled correct responses only as an error correction procedure during training. Similar to those of Foxx et al., our results indicated that all participants increased their use of the trained interactional behaviors during the generalization assessments in the presence of other trained peers.     

Nicotine fading,self-monitoring and cigarette fading to produce cigarette abstinence or controlled smoking

This study developed and evaluated a smoking-treatment program. Twelve subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups within a multiple baseline design. Subjects were first given a nicotine-fading and self-monitoring procedure for 3 weeks in which they changed their cigarette brands each week to ones containing progressively less nicotine and tar and plotted their daily intake of the two substances. Those subjects unable to quit smoking were then given a cigarette-fading procedure in which they systematically reduced the number of cigarettes smoked for 3 weeks. The study had two goals: (1) to achieve a reasonable percentage of abstinence; and (2) to reduce non-abstainers' smoking to a ‘safer’ level by having them smoke very low tar and nicotine cigarettes. The 12-month follow-up results revealed that 33% of the subjects were abstinent and all non-abstainers were smoking cigarettes lower in tar and nicotine than their baseline brands. Half the non-abstainers had decreased their smoking rate relative to baseline while the other half had increased. The subjects decreased their daily nicotine intake by 13.3 mg (81.6% reduction from baseline) and tar intake by 218.2 mg (85.5% reduction from baseline). These results suggest that the study's goals were achieved and that the non-aversive combined procedure could be used to treat not only habitual smokers but also those with cardiovascular and respiratory problems who cannot be treated by smoking-cessation procedures that use cigarette smoke as the aversive stimulus. Finally, a least-restrictive model for treating smoking is proposed and discussed.     

The primacy of affect: Some theoretical implications

The major parts of Zajonc's analysis of the relations between thinking and feeling are stated and elaborated. Some of the implications for abnormal psychology are drawn out and new questions posed. If affective judgements are precognitive, instantaneous, automatic, irrevocable, primary, mainly non-verbal, inescapable, holistic and poorly related to cognition, what follows? The list of implications includes references to the three-component analysis of fear, the irrational element in abnormal behaviour, perplexity in the face of one's irrational behaviour, delusional moods. Bandura's therapeutic paradox, the slow development of cognitive therapies, prepared fears, attribution and helplessness, and direct approaches to mood modification.     

Prospective analysis of early lapse to drinking and smoking among individuals in concurrent alcohol and tobacco treatment

The aims of the current study were to examine, prospectively, (a) dynamic changes in affective state, self-efficacy, and urge in the hours before initial smoking and drinking lapses among individuals in concurrent alcohol and smoking treatment, and (b) the extent to which self-efficacy, urge to use, and/or the use of one substance predicted lapse to the other substance. Ninety-six men and women recruited for a clinical trial of concurrent alcohol and tobacco treatment were eligible for inclusion. Only data from those who experienced an initial lapse to drinking (n=29) or smoking (n=32) were included. Two outpatient substance abuse clinics provided concurrent alcohol and smoking treatment on a weekly basis for three months. Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) methods were employed over a 28-day monitoring period to assess antecedents to first drink, and a 14-day monitoring period was examined for initial smoking lapses. Baseline and EMA measures of positive and negative affect, alcohol/smoking urge, alcohol/smoking abstinence self-efficacy, nicotine withdrawal, and quantity/frequency of alcohol and tobacco use were examined as lapse predictors. Analyses of EMA ratings controlled for the corresponding baseline measure. Smoking lapse among individuals in concurrent alcohol and tobacco treatment was foreshadowed by higher urges to smoke, lower positive mood, and lower confidence to resist smoking. Drinking lapse was preceded by lower confidence to resist smoking, but only among individuals who reported recent smoking. Concurrent alcohol and smoking treatment should focus on the enhancement of abstinence self-efficacy, positive mood, and the curbing of urges in order to offset lapse risk.     

The effects of prior task experience in the modeling situation

An investigation was made into the effects of observers' previous experience with the experimental task on acquisition and subsequent performance of modeled task behavior. The task was socially neutral and the subjects were second grade boys and girls. Recall of modeled actions increased with prior experience, indicating greater acquisition. This finding supports Bandura's (1973) assertion that task familiarity may enhance attentiveness to the model. Contrary to previous research, performance of imitation did not decrease with experience. The present performance results are possibly due to the ambiguity of the preexperience and novelty of the experimental task.     

A self-efficacy approach to the career development of women

An approach to the conceptualization and facilitation of women's career development based on Bandura, 1977, Bandura, 1977, 84, 191–215) self-efficacy theory is presented. The model presented postulates that largely as a result of socialization experiences, women lack strong expectations of personal efficacy in relationship to many career-related behaviors and, thus, fail to fully realize their capabilities and talents in career pursuits. Sex differences in the access to and availability of four sources of information important to the development of strong expectations of personal efficacy are reviewed and discussed in relationship to women's career decisions and achievements. The utility of the proposed model for integrating existing knowledge of women's career development, for generating productive avenues of inquiry, and for guiding intervention efforts is discussed. The conceptual framework provided is seen as having implications for the career development of men as well as women, but the focus herein is on its potential for contributing to knowledge of the career development of women.     

A Deposit Contract Method to Deliver Abstinence Reinforcement for Cigarette Smoking

Eight smokers were randomly assigned to a deposit contract ($50.00) or to a no-deposit group. Using a reversal design, participants could recoup their deposit (deposit group) or earn vouchers (no-deposit group) for smoking reductions and abstinence (breath carbon monoxide [CO] ≤ 4 parts per million) during treatment phases. Treatment was delivered via a novel Internet-based method to monitor smoking status. Although equivalent decreases in breath CO and abstinence were observed during treatment in both groups, $178.50 in vouchers were distributed to participants in the no-deposit group, whereas a small surplus remained in the deposit group. A deposit contract method may represent a cost-effective model to deliver abstinence reinforcement for cigarette smoking.     

Postpartum return to smoking: staging a "suspended" behavior.

Two hundred fifty-six pregnant women who had quit smoking were classified into the precontemplation (PC), contemplation (C), preparation (PA), or action (A) stages of change for postpartum smoking cessation based on a 3-item algorithm assessing personal goals, self-efficacy, and smoking behavior. Logistic regression and event history analyses indicated group differences in return to smoking at 6 weeks and 3, 6, and 12 months postpartum. The percentage of women who returned to postpartum smoking was highest in the precontemplation stage and decreased with each subsequent stage, that is, at 6 weeks 83% of PCs, 64% of Cs, 35% of PAs, and 24% of As had returned to smoking. Results lend support for the stages of change for postpartum smoking abstinence. Stage-based interventions may be developed to assist women in maintaining abstinence postpartum.     

Validation and error in multiplicative utility functions

An approach to the concept of error in utility assessment is proposed. Four kinds of errors are considered and each kind is related to four separate elicitation methods - all in the context of a general multiplicative multiattribute utility model. The methods are a Keeney-Raiffa (1976) procedure; SMART, for Simple Multi-Attribute Rating Technique (Edwards 1977); SJT, for a Social Judgment Theory based regression model (Hammond et al. 1975); and HOPE, for Holistic Orthogonal Parameter Estimation (Barron and Person 1979).The individual judgments elicited are either holistic - in which the entity to be evaluated is considered as a whole - or decomposed - in which attention is directed to one or two aspects at a time.If a general multiplicative model can be assumed to be an appropriate representation of the decision maker's basic preference structure, error can occur in the direct estimation of the scaling constants and univariate utility functions for decomposition methods (Keeney-Raiffa and SMART), or in the holistic assessments for holistic methods (SJT and HOPE). Individual estimates may be merely subject to random noise or may be substantially incorrect. The utility model may be incorrectly specified; finally, all four methods may be subject to systematic error. The four assessment methods are considered in conjunction with errors of each kind.     

Dynamic self-efficacy and outcome expectancies: prediction of smoking lapse and relapse

According to social learning models of drug relapse, decreases in abstinence self-efficacy (ASE) and increases in positive smoking outcome expectancies (POEs) should foreshadow lapses and relapse. In this study, the authors examined this hypothesis by using ecological momentary assessment data from 305 smokers who achieved initial abstinence from smoking and monitored their smoking and their ASE and POEs by using palmtop computers. Daily ASE and POEs predicted the occurrence of a 1st lapse on the following day. Following a lapse, variations in daily ASE predicted the onset of relapse, even after controlling for concurrent smoking. ASE and POEs generally neither mediated nor moderated each other's effects. These data emphasize the role of dynamic factors in the relapse process.     

Selective migration— Still a viable hypothesis

Kamin (1980) has contended that arguments presented in Wolff (1979) are too weak to justify “resuscitating the selective migration debate.” Although Kamin's (1980) critique points up the need for closer scrutiny of the cumulative-deficit phenomenon, it fails to refute Wolff's (1979) conclusion that selective migration is partly responsible for the North-South black IQ differential.     

The effect of parent-administered dry-bed training on nocturnal enuresis in children

In this study, two substantial modifications were made to the Dry-Bed training procedure described by Azrin, Sneed and Foxx (Behav. Res. and Therapy, 12, 147–156 (1974). The first modification was to have parents administer the intensive all-night training programme rather than an outside trainer. With fourteen children treated in this manner, nocturnal enuresis was eliminated in all cases. The median time taken to the last night of wetting was only 12 days. There were two relapses in a 6-month follow-up. The second modification involved administering the Dry-Bed procedure without the adjunct of an enuresis machine. This resulted in significantly reduced frequency of bedwetting, although nocturnal enuresis was not completely arrested in any of the ten children treated. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Changes in Hypothesized Mechanisms of Change Before and After Initiating Abstinence in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Women With Alcohol Use Disorder

Abstinence self-efficacy, coping skills, and therapeutic alliance are hypothesized mechanisms of behavioral change (MOBCs) in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, little is known about when these hypothesized MOBCs change during treatment or in relation to the initiation of abstinence from alcohol, which the current study investigated. Patient-reported abstinence self-efficacy, drinking-related coping skills, and therapeutic alliance were measured at every session throughout a 12-session clinical trial that previously showed equivalent drinking reductions in female-specific individual- and group-based CBT for AUD. Participants (N = 121 women) were classified into subgroups based on whether and when they first initiated 14 days of continuous abstinence from alcohol during treatment. Interrupted time-series analyses evaluated the magnitude and timing of change in MOBC variables in relation to the initiation of abstinence. All three MOBC measures showed gradual improvements throughout treatment (within-subjects d = 0.03 to 0.09 change per week). Participants who initiated abstinence during treatment experienced additional sudden improvements in abstinence self-efficacy (d = 0.47) and coping skills (d = 0.27), but not therapeutic alliance (d = -0.02), the same week they initiated abstinence. Participants who were already abstinent when treatment started maintained higher abstinence self-efficacy and coping skills, but not therapeutic alliance, throughout treatment compared to participants who never initiated abstinence. Initiating abstinence may help facilitate improvements in abstinence self-efficacy and drinking-related coping skills. Clinicians may help patients anticipate when and how much these variables are expected to improve during treatment and encourage initiation of abstinence to potentially help facilitate improvements in abstinence self-efficacy and coping skills.     

A Web-Based Contingency Management Program With Adolescent Smokers

The present study evaluated a new 30-day Web-based contingency management program for smoking abstinence with 4 daily-smoking adolescents. Participants made 3 daily video recordings of themselves giving breath carbon monoxide (CO) samples at home that were sent electronically to study personnel. Using a reversal design, participants could earn money for continued abstinence during the treatment phases (CO ≤ 5 ppm). All participants were compliant with the treatment (submitting 97.2% of samples), and all achieved prolonged abstinence from smoking.     

Handling negative inputs: On the plausible equity formulae

Equity research has been based on defining formulae that do not necessarily imply the hypotheses thought to have been derived from them and that are not consistent with empirical data cited as supporting equity theory. Neither Adams' (1965) ratio definition nor Walster et al.'s (1970, 1972, 1973) formula satisfy the fundamental criterion that, when equity holds, outcome should be an increasing function of input. Six formulae that do satisfy this fundamental criterion (including Adams' ratio definition restricted to positive ratios, Walster et al.'s revision of their formula, three formulae generated by a simple constructive procedure, and an exponential definition) are compared with respect to 11 other criteria and with respect to their predictions of the results of two thought experiments.     

The relative role of nicotine dependence and smoking-related cognitions in adolescents’ process of smoking cessation

The present study evaluates the role of distinct components of nicotine dependence (craving, withdrawal, behavioural dependence) in comparison to smoking-related cognitions (attitudes, perceived social approval, self-efficacy) in adolescent smoking cessation. In the process towards smoking cessation, we distinguish between distinct behavioural transitions, respectively, short-term abstinence, reduction in smoking behaviour and prolonged cessation, to evaluate differences in cessation-related antecedents as a function of varying behavioural outcomes. A total of 850 adolescent smokers (age 14–16) participated in the present study. Smoking behaviour was assessed 1 year after baseline. Results showed that all dependence components had a distinct role in the prediction of behavioural change towards cessation. Furthermore, each behavioural transition was predicted by a distinct set of variables, indicating that contributions of cessation-related factors vary across the course towards cessation. Overall, our findings suggest that smoking-related cognitions are particularly relevant in the initiation of behavioural change, such as short-term abstinence, whereas nicotine dependence, craving in particular, becomes increasingly important in the prediction of maintained behavioural change, such as prolonged cessation. Implications encompass enhanced attention to the multidimensional nature of nicotine dependence and the value of comparing different behavioural outcomes in a comprehensive understanding of cessation-related factors.