Mann, R. A. (1972).
The behavior-therapeutic use of contingency contracting to control an adult behavior problem: Weight control.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
5, 99-109.
Items considered valuable by the subject and originally his
property were surrendered to the researcher and incorporated into
a contractual system of prearranged contingencies. Each subject
signed a legal contract that prescribed the manner in which he
could earn back or permanently lose his valuables. Specifically,
a portion of each subject's valuables were returned to him
contingent upon both specified weight losses and losing weight at
an agreed-upon rate. Furthermore, each subject permanently lost a
portion of his valuables contingent upon both specified weight
gains and losing weight at a rate below the agreed-upon rate.
Single-subject reversal designs were employed to determine the
effectiveness of the treatment contingencies. This study
demonstrated that items considered valuable by the subject and
originally his property, could be used successfully to modify the
subject's weight when these items were used procedurally both as
reinforcing and as punishing consequences. In addition, a
systematic analysis of the contingencies indicated that punishing
or aversive consequences presumably were a necessary component of
the treatment procedure.