Three male college seniors were asked to drink beer at their normal rate in a simulated tavern setting. Each was paired with a confederate, also a male college senior, in an ABACA single subject design. In the baseline conditions, the confederate matched the drinking rate of the subject. Baseline and all subsequent conditions were continued in 1-hr sessions until a stable drinking rate was achieved. In Condition B, the confederate drank either one third more or one third less than the subject's baseline rate. In Condition C, the direction was reversed. All three subjects closely matched the confederate's drinking rate, whether high or low. All subjects reported they were unaware of the true purpose of the study.

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A multiple-baseline component-analysis design was employed to assess the effectiveness of three treatment programs for suppressing the cigarette smoking behavior of 24 subjects. Satiation, cognitive control, and contingent shock procedures were evaluated. The results demonstrated a consistent relationship between contingent shock and suppression of smoking. It was further indicated that subjects should be exposed to the number of sessions necessary to achieve total suppression in order to gain maximally from treatment and to avoid relapse. Neither the satiation component nor the cognitive control component was correlated with clear, permanent decrements in smoking frequencies. To date, no other treatment program has demonstrated the dramatic effects of the contingent shock procedures used in the present study.

One female subject drank beer with four female confederate models and two participant observers in a small town tavern. A single subject repeated measures reversal design was used. Condition 1 indicated subject baseline drinking rate. For the first intervention one confederate modeled at a rate 509% less than the subject's baseline rate.Interventions II and III were identical to Intervention I except that two confederates modeled at a rate 509% less than the subject's baseline rate for Intervention II and four confederates modeled at a rate 50% less than the subject's baseline rate for Intervention III. Interventions were separated by returns to baseline. The study was concluded with a final return to baseline. There was no change in subject drinking rate as a function of either one or two confederates modeling the 50% rate. However, when four models drank at the lower rate, subject drinking rate matched that of the four confederate models. Implications and suggestions for further research on modeling are presented.DESCRIPTORS: multiple models, drinking rate, in vivo effects, female beer drinkerAlthough the number of studies dealing with the direct effects of modeling on drinking rate are few, the results of these studies are consistent across experimental designs and across experimental settings. Using a group design, in a laboratory setting, Caudill and Marlatt (1975) demonstrated the potency of peer modeling on drinking rate. Using single subject reversal designs, in a simulated tavern environment, DeRicco and , DeRicco (1978), and Garlington and found that subjects actually matched confederate models' drinking rates. Similarly, Reid (1977) found that male models significantly affected the consumption rates of male subjects observed in a smalltown tavern.The present study attempts to evaluate an in vivo effect to reduce a subject's drinking rate as a function of peer modeling. METHOD SubjectA 35-year-old real estate saleswoman and part-time student who regularly drank beer with six other women at a small local tavern on Friday afternoons participated in the study. She was classified as a moderate drinker based on her responses to a quantity-frequency questionnaire which indicated that she drank 6.75 ounces of the equivalent of pure alcohol per week.The woman agreed in writing, along with other members of a behavior modification class, to serve in a study of normal drinking patterns that would involve beer drinking. The actual objectives of the study were explained to her at the completion of the study at which point she stated that she was totally unaware that an experiment was being conducted. Confederate ModelsFour of the women in the drinking group were recruited for participation as confederate models. Prior to the beginning of the study, confederates received training in matching their drinking rate to that of another drinker and in drinking at a prearranged rate. Training was carried out in practice sessions, in a simulated tavern, in which the confederates practiced Reprints can be obtained from Den...