Contrary to traditional models of the emotional effects of alcohol (e.g., Conger, 1956), recent evidence has not supported the notion that alcohol's pharmacological action consistently reduces anxiety in all persons across all drinking situations (see reviews by Cappell, 1975; Freed, 1978; Higgins, 1976; Marlatt, 1976). Instead, emotional responses to alcohol, including changes in anxiety, appear to be critically determined by the drinking context characteristics (e.g., Kalin, 1972; Pliner & Cappell, 1974) and the drinker's expectations of alcohol's effects (e.g., Polivy, Schueneman, & Carlson, 1976; Wilson & Abrams, 1977).

The behavioral treatment of obesity is based upon the largely unverified theoretical assumption that many forms of overweight are acquired and maintained through deviant eating styles characterized by problems in meal/snack initiation and termination. Since overweight persons are theorized to display an exaggerated responsiveness to salient external stimuli, such as the sight, smell, and taste of food, more frequent meal/snack initiations might be anticipated from persons with weight concerns (Hawkins, 1977). Several recent observational studies (e.g. as recently reviewed by Mahoney, 1975, and Stunkard & Kaplan, 1977) have provided equivocal support for the contention that overweight persons eat at a faster rate in single ingestions occuring in naturalistic or laboratory settings. There is a dearth of information, however, regarding the frequency of meals and snacks for normal and overweight persons in naturalistic contexts. One problem is that such normative studies require the collection of data across several ingestions occurring in different situations.

There seems to be little doubt that smoking can be dangerous to your health. A growing body of scientific data has linked the excessive use of tobacco to an increased incidence of a wide range of disorders including cancer of the lung, bladder and oral cavity, cardiovascular disorders such as coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis and pulmonary disorders such as bronchitis and emphysema (USPHS, 1975, 1877). yet, the development of effective and durable treatments for smoking behavior has been an elusive goal. While there are some encouraging signs of progress, recent literature reviews (Bernstein & McAlister, 1976; Frederiksen & Simon, in press; Lichtenstein & Danaher, 1976) continue to conclude that the treatment of smoking is characterized by good initial success but very high rates of “relapse”. Despite our best efforts we are unable to effectively help anywhere from 20–80% of smokers attempting to quit. While the abovementioned reviewers agree that we do have far to go, they also argue that a “behavioral” approach offers us our best chance for advancement, both from a methodological and treatment outcome perspective.

Alcohol treatment outcome studies during the past twenty years have consistently reported that some alcoholics treated via abstinence orientated approaches obtain controlled responsible drinking (Selzer & Holloway, 1957; Bailey & Stewart, 1967; Davies, 1962). Moreover, recent outcome research suggests that controlled drink training may be an effective treatment at least for some abusive drinkers (e.g., Armour, Polich & Stambul, 1976; Caddy, Addington & Perkins, 1978; Sobell & Sobell, 1973; Vogler, Compton & Weissbach, 1975). Controlled drinking as a viable treatment goal for alcoholics, however, remains an area of continued controversy which appears to involve three major issues: (a) Do controlled drinking goals increase the probability of abusive drinking dispositions (Blume, 1977); (b) Are there unique characteristics of those alcoholics choosing controlled drinking goals (Bell, 1963; Lloyd & Salzberg, 1975; Miller & Caddy, 1977; Nathan, 1976); and, (c) Will controlled drink training encourage alcoholics to “try their luck” at other-than-abstinence goals (i.e., will it induce, “… despondent alcoholics to rationalize that the therapeutic goal of reducing excessive drinking to socially acceptable dimensions may be more easily attainable than complete abstinence” (Thimann, 1963, p.325)?