Situational management, standard setting, and self-reward in a behavior modification weight loss program.

In a comprehensive weight loss program, overweight women exposed to instruction in self-standard setting as well as to situational management techniques lost more weight than those instructed only in situational management techniques. Addition of instruction in self-reinforcement to standard setting and situational management failed to produce additional weight loss. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of self-control training on study activity and academic performance: An analysis of self-monitoring, self-reward, and systematic-planning components.

Examined the relative efficacy of training in self-monitoring, self-reward, and planning as aids to self-control. 96 university students who, prior to treatment, did not differ on measures of scholastic achievement or study habits, were assigned to 6 groups, including a control group that received no treatment. Ss in the 5 treatment groups received training in a standard study method (SQ3R) and received different degrees of training in the components of self-control. Dependent measures included time spent studying, number of assigned study tasks completed, and change from pretreatment to posttreatment on quiz scores, GPA, and a standard measure (Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes) of study habits. Results indicate that neither training in self-monitoring alone nor self-monitoring plus self-reward techniques yielded significantly better performance than training in study methods alone. The group that received training in self-monitoring, self-reward, and planning strategies significantly outperformed other groups on nearly all measures. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of goal-setting and of goal levels on weight loss induced by self-monitoring of caloric intake.

The daily caloric intake of 53 18–45 yr old Ss was monitored. A caloric intake monitoring (CIM)-no-goal group was compared with CIM–low-goal group, a CIM–moderate-goal group, and a CIM–high-goal group. While CIM combined with goal-setting produced more weight loss than CIM combined with no goal, various levels of goal did not differentially affect weight loss over a 4-wk period. (French abstract) (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Restraint, weight loss, and variability of body weight.

Restrained and unrestrained Ss (n?=?24) were weighed daily for a 6-wk period and again 6 mo later in order to determine whether dietary restraint or relative body weight is the better predictor of weight variability. Restraint was a significantly better predictor of naturally occurring weight fluctuations than was relative body weight. Furthermore, the 2 factors of the Restraint Scale, Concern for Dieting and Weight Fluctuations, were both significant predictors of weight variability. We propose that exaggerated weight fluctuations are not a natural concomitant of higher body weight but possibly the consequence of a cycle of dieting and overeating, which seems to preclude actual weight loss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes, self-monitoring, and appraisal behaviors.

This study examined the influence of attitudes and self-monitoring on leniency (elevation accuracy) of performance ratings and personnel decisions. In addition, moderating effects of self-monitoring on the relationship between attitudes and accuracy of ratings and decisions were investigated. Attitudes and self-monitoring tendency of 210 managers–professionals were measured, and ratings provided and decisions made by them were used to test 3 sets of hypotheses. Moderated regression and follow-up split-group analyses indicated that self-monitoring moderated the relationship between attitudes toward accurate appraisal and rating accuracy. Self-monitoring significantly influenced rating and decision accuracy such that accuracy declined with increasing level of self-monitoring. Results highlight the influence of rater's personality on appraisal behaviors. Implications of results and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Victimization, self-monitoring, and eyewitness identification.

38 undergraduate low self-monitors and 42 undergraduate high self-monitors (as determined by a scale of self-monitoring of expressive behavior) witnessed in small groups a staged crime of either their own wristwatches or a laboratory calculator. Campus police detectives took individual witness statements as if a real crime had occurred, and using biased or unbiased instructions, police administered a suspect-present photospread. Results show that victim witnesses who had been given biased instructions gave the least accurate identifications and that high self-monitoring Ss were least likely to reject the lineup when instructions were biased. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative efficacy of modeling, shaping, and the combined procedures for modification of social withdrawal.

Selected 31 social isolates from 4 nursery school populations according to teacher and behavioral samples obtained by trained Os. In a 2 * 2 factorial design, 16 Ss viewed a 23-min modeling film depicting appropriate social behavior, while the others viewed a control film. Half the Ss in each film condition then received social reinforcement contingent upon the performance of peer interaction behaviors. Modeling was a more rapid modification procedure than was shaping, and the interaction levels produced through modeling, with or without the addition of shaping, were more stable over time. In follow-up assessments, modeling Ss remained at the level of nonisolates, while shaping and control Ss returned to isolate level. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between self-efficacy, attributions, and weight loss in a weight rehabilitation program.

Assessed the relationship between self-efficacy, attributions, and weight loss in the context of a weight rehabilitation program. Pretreatment, posttreatment, and followup assessments of self-efficacy, weight loss, and success–failure attributions were obtained from 38 volunteer overweight women (aged 21–65 yrs) participating in the program. Self-efficacy was significantly enhanced as a result of treatment, although it was not significantly related to weight loss during treatment. However, changes in efficacy expectations during follow-up did coincide with weight change during those intervals. In addition, efficacy expectations alone at treatment termination were found to be a significant predictor of weight loss following a 6-wk and 6-mo follow-up. Success–failure attributions contributed significantly to the prediction of efficacy expectations during treatment and during the 6-wk follow-up. Weight loss during treatment was not a significant determinant of treatment-induced self-efficacy enhancement. Results are interpreted in light of the reciprocal interaction between actual behavior change and cognitive factors in the context of a rehabilitation program. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wife assaulter's explanations for assault: The neutralization of self-punishment.

75 men who had histories of repeated wife assault described the circumstances of their most recent assault. 21% of Ss excused their assault as not their responsibility while accepting that the act was wrong. The remaining 79% accepted personal responsibility but justified their actions typically by blaming the victim or discounting the behavior as due to uncontrollable arousal or subgroup norms. Ss who attributed the cause of their violence to their wives were most likely to minimize the frequency, severity, and consequences of their violence. Self-referred Ss were more likely to attribute the cause of violence to themselves than were court-referred Ss. The relevance of the results for A. Bandura's (1976–1986) concept of neutralization of self-punishment is discussed. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term efficacy of dietary weight loss in sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome

Weight loss is associated with clinical improvement in sleep apnoea/ hypopnoea syndrome (SAHS). The aim of this study was to ascertain whether the therapeutic efficacy of dietary weight loss is maintained in the long-term. From a total of 216 overweight SAHS patients treated by only a weight reduction programme, 24 cured by this method (apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI) at diagnosis 443+/-27.8, after weight loss 3+/-3.1) were re-evaluated after a mean (+/-SD) period of 94.3+/-27.4 months post-cure. No correlation was found between changes in AHI and body mass index experienced by each patient in the two phases of the study (diagnosis to cure and cure to long-term follow-up), r=0.29, p=0.156, demonstrating a marked intra-individual variability. Six of the 13 patients who maintained their weight presented recurrence of SAHS (AHI 40.5+/-24.1) as did eight of the 11 who had regained weight (AHI 44.3+/-23.). Weight maintenance was more frequent among patients who had continued to attend periodic appointments, 10/11 versus 3/13 (p<0.001). In conclusion, weight-loss efficacy is maintained in the long-term in some sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome patients. This study indicates the need for periodic follow-up of these patients as a reinforcement for weight maintenance and for early detection of the reappearance of sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome.     

Hypnotherapy in weight loss treatment.

Investigated the effects of hypnosis as a treatment for weight loss among women. The sample consisted of 60 women (aged 20–65 yrs) who were at least 20% overweight and were not in any other treatment program. Six client variables (suggestibility, self-concept, quality of family origin, age of obesity onset, education level, and socioeconomic status [SES]) and 1 process variable (multimodal imagery) were analyzed in relation to the dependent variable (weight loss). Two experimental groups, hypnosis plus audiotapes and hypnosis without audiotapes, and the control group were investigated for weight loss immediately after treatment and again after a 6-mo follow-up. The primary hypothesis that hypnosis is an effective treatment for weight loss was confirmed, but the 7 concomitant variables and the use of audiotapes were not significant contributors to weight loss. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Critical self-reflection and self-perceived altruism: When self-reward fails.

Social learning theory has produced a three-step model of prosocial development: In the young child, prosocial behavior is elicited by material rewards; in the older child, it is elicited also by social rewards; and in the morally mature adult, it is elicited by self-rewards based on an internalized perception of oneself as a kind, caring, altruistic individual. Self-perception theory has complicated this social learning model by demonstrating that once the third step is reached, the continued presence of material and social rewards may undermine intrinsic prosocial motivation based on self-rewards, producing moral regression. We propose a further complication. Critical self-reflection—the desire to know thyself—may introduce a self-deprecating attributional bias that can undermine self-perceived altruism, even following helping for which one receives only intrinsic self-rewards. Two experiments are reported in which we manipulated critical self-reflection on one's reasons for helping. Results indicated that self-reflection undermined self-perceived altruism, especially when the salience of the self-rewards for helping was high. Experiment 2 also provided evidence that, as predicted, this self-reflection effect was most apparent for individuals who valued self-knowledge more highly than concern for others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of parent weight on weight loss in obese children.

Assessed the effect of parent weight (obese/nonobese parent) and parent control vs child self-control on the weight loss of 41 obese 8–12 yr olds over a 3-yr period. Children of nonobese parents had significantly greater decrease in relative weight after 1 yr, but not after 3 yrs, than children of obese parents. Locus of control was not related to treatment outcome over the 3 yrs. Results suggest that parent weight was related to weight loss, but not weight maintenance, in obese children. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational predictors of weight loss and weight-loss maintenance.

Self determination theory proposes that behavior change will occur and persist if it is autonomously motivated. Autonomous motivation for a behavior is theorized to be a function both of individual differences in the autonomy orientation from the General Causality Orientations Scale and of the degree of autonomy supportiveness of relevant social contexts. We tested the theory with 128 patients in a 6-month, very-low-calorie weight-loss program with a 23-month follow-up. Analyses confirmed the predictions that (a) participants whose motivation for weight loss was more autonomous would attend the program more regularly, lose more weight during the program, and evidence greater maintained weight loss at follow-up, and (b) participants' autonomous motivation for weight loss would be predicted both by their autonomy orientation and by the perceived autonomy supportiveness of the interpersonal climate created by the health-care staff. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recurrent fever, nocturnal sweating, weight loss

A 69-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital for fever of unknown origin with nightsweats and weight loss. Diagnosis of endocarditis lenta with streptococcus viridans and a preexisting mitral-valve prolapse with small regurgitation jet was established. Signs and symptoms of endocarditis lenta are stressed in the discussion. Special attention is given to transesophageal echocardiography and to the connection of endocarditis with mitral-valve prolapse.     

Abdominal pain, weight loss, tarry stools

A 65-year-old man had abdominal pain and night sweat for several weeks. He had lost weight and also reported black stools. Anemia of iron deficiency was found in laboratory tests. Further investigation revealed a stenosing process in the small intestine as source of bleeding. High grade non-Hodgkins' lymphoma was diagnosed histologically in the resected bowel segment and the mesenteric lymph nodes. Further staging did not reveal further manifestations of lymphoma. Polychemotherapy and subsequent irradiation were administered.     

A behaviorally oriented weight loss program for counseling centers.

Compared the effectiveness of several weight loss programs offered through a university counseling center, using 80 undergraduates as Ss. Although Ss met for only 2 treatment sessions, the behavior therapy group had lost significantly more weight at a follow-up than the rational therapy, self-directed, and no-treatment control groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative weight, smoking, and mental health as predictors of sickness and absence from work.

This article reports a longitudinal study of relative weight, smoking, and mental health as predictors of medically certified sickness and unauthorized absence from work among student nurses (N?=?185). Information about smoking, relative weight, and self-reports of somatic complaints and social dysfunction was obtained prior to the 33-month period over which sickness and absence were recorded. Multiple regression was used to test a predictive model relating absence to linear and quadratic components of relative weight, smoking, and symptom measures. A significant curvilinear relation between relative weight and absence was found, the form of which closely resembled the relation between relative weight and mortality; smoking showed an additive effect. A linear interaction between social dysfunction and relative weight was also found; particularly high levels of absence occurred among those of high relative weight who also reported high levels of social dysfunction. Analysis of sickness episodes confirmed the adverse effects of overweight and, to a lesser extent of underweight and smoking. The findings are discussed in terms of medical, psychological, and psychosocial influences on sickness and absenteeism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)