Recent research by Herman, Polivy, and their colleagues has been concerned with the determinants of self-control and disinhibition in dieters. The present paper summarizes a number of studies in which the reactions of dieters and nondieters to a variety of disinhibitory factors (preloading, emotional arousal, intoxication) were investigated. The effect of an observer on eating was found to be normalizing rather than inhibiting. Implications of the present research included suggestions that: (1) the dieter/nondieter distinction may be preferable to the obese/normal distinction in predicting eating; and (2) the external/internal control distinction in eating research be supplemented by a consideration of self-control. The paper concludes with a discussion of future directions in therapeutically-oriented eating research. (Author)