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.