The heterogeneity of alcoholic populations may be one reason that few specific therapeutic approaches to the treatment of alcoholism have been consistently demonstrated to improve treatment outome across studies. To individualize alcoholism treatment, dimensions which are linked to drinking or relapse and along which alcoholics display significant variability must be identified. One such dimension is the reinforcement expected from alcohol consumption. Alcohol reinforcement expectancies can be used in alcoholism interventions by attempting to modify reinforcement expectancies or by targeting individuals with certain expectancies and assisting them in developing alternative means of acquiring the designated type of reinforcement. This second approach was used in a pilot study which identified 15 alcoholics in treatment who either scored high on the expectancy of Interpersonal Power/Aggression or low on this expectancy. Both groups were exposed to an adjunctive Assertion/Anger Management skills training program consisting of six 1-hour sessions. Preliminary results suggest that individuals who had high expectations for alcohol to enhance their interpersonal power and ability to express their anger benefited most from this training as measured by self-report, therapist ratings of improvement, and prognostic estimates. Follow-up data are currently being collected. (NB)