An attempt was made to examine the effects of negative practice with both contingent and non-contingent electric shock upon the cigarette smoking of 15 college students. A control group participated but received no treatment. An analysis of co-variance (co-varying initial smoking rate) yielded a significant experimental effect. Further analysis showed that significant decreases in smoking frequency occurred only in the contingent-shock group. It was suggested that this procedure might be useful in the initial phases of a program for reduction of smoking.
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