A technique is described for assessing children's predictions of the behavioral strategies that they or other children would be likely to employ in various social situations. The research context in which this assessment technique was developed is also described. Following Kelly's personal construct theory, it is proposed that this technique could provide a means for enriching theoretical knowledge of the connections between children's interpersonal cognitive problem-solving ability and their actual behaviors. Various ways in which the proposed technique could be used in a clinical context are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AldrichC. C., & MancusoJ. C.Judgments of a child involved in accidental damage and responding differentially to adult reprimand. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1976, 43, 1071–1082.
2.
EimerB. N.Children's conceptions of the purposes, outcomes, and styles of parental reprimand. Dissertation Abstracts International, 1981, 42, 1202-B. (University Microfilms No. 81-18, 207)
3.
KellyG. A.The psychology of personal constructs. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 1955.
4.
MancusoJ. C., & AllenD. A.Children's perceptions of a transgressor's socialization as a function of type of reprimand. Human Development, 1976, 19, 277–290.
5.
MancusoJ. C.MorrisonJ. K., & AldrichC. C.Developmental changes in social-moral perceptions: Some factors affecting children's evaluations and predictions of the behavior of a “transgressor.”journal of Genetic Psychology, 1978, 132, 121–136.
6.
ReissD.The family's construction of reality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univer. Press, 1981.
7.
SelmanR. L.The growth of interpersonal understanding. Developmental and clinical analyses. New York: Academic Press, 1981.
8.
SpivackG.PlattJ. J., & ShureM. B.The problem-solving approach to adjustment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1976.
