The problem-solving approach to adjustment (The Jossey-Bass behavioral science series)

In their new book, George Spivack, Jerome Platt, and Myrna Shure describe a distinct group of cognitive skills that determine, to a large extent, our ability to solve social problems and deal successfully with other people. These interpersonal cognitive problem-solving (ICPS) skills, which go beyond intellectual ability, include the capacity to generate alternative solutions to problems, to plan ahead, to grasp the .means that may be necessary to achieve ends, to consider the consequences of one's acts, and to understand how the way one feels and acts is influenced by others, and vice versa. These skills are different within age groups and some are more important than others, but they are all significant in social adjustment. The authors bring together for the first time the basic research done to date on ICPS skills, including their own contributions. They define the issues, describe methods of measurement, demonstrate the relationship of ICPS scores to social adjustment, discuss the relationship of ICPS skills to IQ and other measures, and show how ICPS skills are learned in the family and in childrearing situations. In addition, the authors outline a number of training programs-developed by themselves and others-designed to enhance problem-solving skills in both children and adults. These programs are truly educational; focus on teaching the learner how, not what, to think; and are described in sufficient detail so that potential users can fully evaluate the problem-solving approach to social adjustment. In presenting both research findings in a relatively new field and full descriptions of training and therapeutic programs based on those findings, The Problem-Solving Approach to Adjustment will interest a wide range of professionals-researchers in cognitive psychology and child development, as well as practitioners, mental health workers, teachers, and administrators in a variety of clinical and educational settings.