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Show New methods see habits rapidly go up in smoke By ANNE KOBERSTEIN Chronicle Staff A group of 25 people who meet Monday evenings in the Union have one thing in common. They smoke and they want to stop. Mark Moser, a graduate student in psychology from the University of Montana, is trying to help them. The group, made up of both men and women, is part of a combination com-bination research project and smoking clinic. Moser states that the purpose of the project is to "help people stop smoking," but it goes beyond that. His basic purpose is in researching various methods of "kicking" the smoking habit for his doctoral dissertation. Hopefully, from the data he collects in the clinic, he will be able to determine which methods are really effective. The methods Moser uses in his clinic are all based on psychological principles and in a similar clinic he held last October he ended with a 60 percent quitting average. The effort is one of cooperation between the group and Moser, however. He tells them the different ways they can quit, hands them written instructions, and then it's up to each to follow the rules between meetings. He meets with them at least once a week because he finds that in this kind of situation people need structure if they are to take the effort seriously. They are required to attend nine meetings over a period of five weeks. The fee is $15. Because Moser's methods are based on psychological principles, he can not reveal what they are for fear it will nullify his expenemtn. |
