This study tested whether the efficacy of behavior therapy for obesity might be improved by the programmatic additions of an aerobic exercise regimen during treatment and a multicomponent maintenance program following treatment. Moderately obese volunteers were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a 2 X 2 factorial design. Two treatment conditions (behavior therapy or behavior therapy plus aerobic exercise) were crossed with two posttreatment conditions (no further contact or a multicomponent maintenance program). The exercise regimen consisted of 80 min per week of brisk walking or stationary cycling. The maintenance program included client-therapist contact by telephone and mail and peer self-help group meetings. At posttreatment, clients in the behavior therapy plus aerobic exercise condition lost significantly more weight than those who received behavior therapy only. Over an 18-month follow-up period, maintenance program participants demonstrated significantly better weight-loss progress than clients in the no-further-contact condition.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of two posttreatment programs designed to enhance the maintenance of weight loss. Eighty-five obese clients were randomly assigned to either (a) behavior therapy plus a peer-support maintenance program, (b) behavior therapy plus a therapist-contact maintenance program, or (c) behavior therapy only. At a 7-month follow-up session, the therapist-contact program resulted in significantly greater maintenance of weight loss compared with the peer support and behavior therapy only conditions. However, by the time of an 18-month follow-up assessment, overall relapse rates were equivalent across conditions.

h & of445 neu, psychdogy mqiors-and re@msesfmn 301 r d quertimmirer-we usai to (a) test and excmd a genericmaG.lforacadermcpathwcrystodae~&temctjul and (b) muescigate femini&on of the f & The model h o b hat a snLdmt's mm with basic collage psycholog)i courses is aRuciotelementleadingtoadecishto 'orin&field.Ourdara s w rhisfomtulaabn ~owem$!miniwim 74% o f~e applicmur uxre womm. As pups, houreuer, wmen and men w e not ~~y diffmrenr onfeacwes stech as & backgramdr, psychdogy course hkl~n'es, seIf&pod k-es on and certain reawns for the decision to mdjor, or p r fdlowing graduaam Feminizan'on am rhur evidenr in n&, MI academic chmaaerislics.In this article, we present information about a large sample of undergmduates who were recently accepted to the p3ychology major at hiiana U~versity-&due University at Indianapolis ( N W I ) , an urban public institution. We collected archival and self-report data concerning (a) a generic model for the academic paths leading to declaring the psychology major and (b) the so-called f e t i o n of psychology. These matters are introduced in turn. The Rajecki-Meher Majoring ModelRajecki and Metzner (1991) offered a narrative model for the academic paths leading to a declaration of the undergraduate psychology major. Using archival (uansctipt) data, they reached conclusions about several broad features of the model:Ow hypd-teacal, tra&tional paychology major . . . takes a vanew of course6 to h~llill pneral rcqulremmu. In doing so, the sndenr encountm pychology m a course and is dnwn ro the fiehi. Fairly soon there&, or one or rm, paycholoa, courses lam, the major is &dared. . . . A srudenr who follows this curricular prh is not n e c d y fleehg ~x n e orher kipline . . . [in this pmicular sample] 90% have nor previously entend a &gne.&r;mting ma. The s~dent is not nec&ly search~ng for an easy major; success m psy oholcgy is positively rekred to wcw in other academic domains for both men and women. (Rajecki & Ueaner, 191, p. 7)Our study tests and extends this model. -tion of the Field of PsychologySince 1950, there has been a sharp shift in the demographics of gender in the Aeld of paychology (Grady 1987; Howard, 1987). In 1976, 54% of hcheloZs degrees in psychology were awarded to women; 1987, that value had risen to 69% (McGovem, fiuumoto, Halpem, Kimble, & McKeachie, 1991). This pattern is also reflected at the doctoral level. In 1950. 15% of psychology PhDs were women. Women's representation had grown to about 50% by 1984 (Howard er al. , 1986) and to 58% in 1990 (" Task Force," 1992). -, feminization may he unique to psychology. In a study of majoring panems in humanities, social sciences, mathematics, physical sciences, and biology, Turner and Bowen (1990) found a general convergence in gender representation. However, pychology is the odv field in which difkrencer in gender have widened. Benveen 1950 and 1970. the p y c h o 1~ shares b r men and women were marly the same; by 1986, women were more than mice aa likely as men to major In dus Weld. . . . (Turner& Boweo. 1990, p....

The professional seminar: A new method for student advisement. In P. J. Woods (Ed.), Is psychology the major for them? (pp. 61-63). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

During the late 1990s, the psychology department of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis made investments in its undergraduate advising program in terms of additional professional personnel, a new orientation course, an experimental intrusive advising track, innovative peer activities, and expanded physical facilities. Against this backdrop of innovations, from 1995 to 2001 an exit survey of graduating seniors (N=311) showed improved evaluations of departmental counseling services. Ratings of the obtainability of advising on courses and the quality of course and career advising all showed significant upward shifts over the seven years of study. Regarding a specific innovation, students who completed a 1-hr. orientation course gave higher mean counseling ratings than those not enrolled.