Meta-monitoring: Case illustrations of a potential "Slump-Buster" for self-regulatory problems

Meta-monitoring has been defined as a secondary feedback system in which people monitor their rates of progress in attaining their primary self-regulatory goals. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of adding an explicit version of meta-monitoring to a long-term cognitive-behavioral treatment program for obesity. It was expected that meta-monitoring in this therapeutic context might increase positive affect and, thereby, improve self-regulated cognitive and behavioral changes. Four obese women who were in treatment for 1 to 2 years prior to the study served as subjects. They meta-monitored by rating their self-monitoring, affect, and eating and thinking patterns for each of 34 weeks. Weight changes and measures of self-monitoring, affect, and eating/thinking patterns suggested some initially positive effects (during the first 2 weeks, especially). While the duration of the impact of meta-monitoring in this clinical trial seemed modest, the approach may have promise as a means of reenergizing self-regulatory efforts during lapses or slumps. Experiments on various methods of operationalizing meta-monitoring, examining its effects on different problems, and testing its hypothesized mechanisms seem warranted.