Stress and mental health difficulties are common burdens on college students. Although a small minority of these students receive psychological services, counseling centers have been overrun by demand. Thus, self-help interventions may offer a promising alternative to traditional college counseling services. The current study examined the…

Argues that use of self-help audiocassette tapes in psychological counseling can accelerate the introduction of therapeutic ideas, promote continuity of counseling between sessions, and reinforce behavioral and attitudinal changes. Discussed rationale and description of a program in which this approach is used in brief counseling of college…

Smoking cessation behaviors of college students using a university health service were examined. Forty successful and 32 unsuccessful quitters were interviewed through an open-ended questionnaire. Differences in success seemed related to techniques used to remain abstinent from cigarette smoking, expectations of ease or difficulty in quitting, and…

The effectiveness of a self help book on assertiveness training was assessed by comparing two bibliotherapy conditions with group therapy and a waiting list control condition. One group of bibliotherapy subjects read a popular paperback with no therapist contact, while the other group additionally participated in informal discussion sessions.…

Students (N=49) in an undergraduate educational psychology course designed and conducted behavioral self-modification projects. Correlation and regression analyses suggested weak but significant relationships between self-modification outcomes and a linear combination of dogmatism, sex, and mathematical aptitude variables. The effects of demand…

While numerous approaches to inhibit smoking have appeared in the literature, self-management is one technique that allows the client to take a more active part in the treatment. To study the effectiveness of self-management in a single-subject design, an 18 year old female college student who smoked mostly on weekends was told to self-monitor her…

The hypotheses tested among college students (N=87) concerned about study habits were: (a) self-monitoring changes study behavior; (b) information feedback accounts for some of this change; and (c) this change can be enhanced by manipulating the quantity and quality of information feedback and self-administered consequences associated with…

The incidence and extent of irrational beliefs in the obese were investigated as well as subsequent changes in such beliefs as a result of participation in a self-monitored weight control program. Subjects were 53 females who were a minimum of 10 pounds and an average of 32 pounds overweight. The obese sample was administered the Irrational…

Relapses in alcoholics, smokers, and heroin users are frequently provoked by stress. Individuals often return to using addictive substances when feeling angry or frustrated as the result of negative mood states, interpersonal conflict, or social pressure. A behavioral weight-control program used to treat 140 overweight college students was…

The "Manual for Staff Members" describes the Techniques of Learning Program, a part of the Peer Environmental Analysts, Counselors, Educators (PEACE) Program at American University. PEACE is a large, student-operated peer counseling program that consists of six services and related academic courses. Techniques of Learning is a program that teaches…

Research investigating the performance of students enrolled in courses taught by a Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) has tended to support the claim that PSI is a superior teaching method. The present research study isolated the self-pacing aspect of PSI courses and attempted to teach 13 academically deficient first year college students…