Role of Expectancy Factors in Behavioral Self-Control Therapies: An Experimental Inquiry

Most research in the area of behavioral self-control has focused either on its efficacy or its more obvious components, e.g., self-monitoring and self-reward. Expectancy factors have been relatively ignored. Utilizing a smoking-reduction paradigm, the present study investigated the possibility that positive expectancy may be related to success in behavioral self-control therapies. Two groups of volunteer students who wished to reduce their smoking behavior were taught Homme's (1965) coverant self-control procedure. One group was told that the technique was 80% effective, while the other was informed that it was 15% effective. Although analysis of variance indicated no significant differences between groups per se, a Newman-Keuls analysis indicated that for the group with high expectancy reduction either reached or approached significance over the control group's level during three of the four weeks of treatment. Data suggested that, although its exact role requires further research, expectation is an important variable in behavioral self-control.