The Role of Means-end Thinking as a Factor Affecting Outcomes in Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving Training

Objectives: Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving (ICPS), is a social problem solving approach to improving children’s peer relationships and social status. The ability to think of alternative solutions (AST) and their potential consequences of actions (CT) are well established as ICPS skills. This study examines the extent to which means-end thinking (the ability to envisage the steps and difficulties involved in implementing AST strategies) may mediate the relationship between AST and CT during ICPS training. Design: A group of 31 children were randomly assigned to experimental or control groups, with the proviso that there were approximately equal numbers in each condition. Participants in the experimental group received six sessions of ICPS training; participants in the control groups continued with their normal classroom activities. All participants were tested for AST and CT immediately before and immediately after the training period. Method: For each training session children in the experimental group were randomly assigned to small sub-groups of approximately four or five individuals. Training sessions lasted approximately 20 minutes each. All training sessions were video recorded and subsequently content analysed. Results: As predicted, children in the experimental group showed significantly greater improvements in AST and CT skills then children in the control group. Preliminary additional analyses also show improvements in means-end thinking with training. Detailed analyses of the relationship of means-end thinking to AST and CT will be reported and these will be discussed as factors affecting outcomes in ICPS training.