Spivack and Shure’s (1974) Interpersonal Cognitive Problem-Solving (ICPS) model was evaluated on Educable Mentally Retarded (EMR) children. The major question was whether the implementation of Shure and Spivack’s (1978) Kindergarten Interpersonal Problem-Solving Program (KIPS) would enhance the ICPS skills and behavioral adjustment of EMR children up to the level needed for successful integration into the regular classroom. The study included 40 EMR children from ages eight to fourteen. The subjects were divided equally into two groups, one receiving Shure and Spivack’s (1978) KIPS program and one receiving informal social skills training. These groups were divided further into a younger group, ages eight to nine, and an older group, ages ten to fourteen. In both treatment groups the special education teachers directly administered the program to the children. The experimenter served as a consultant to the teachers. Two evaluation measure were used, Spivack and Shure’s (1974) Preschool Interpersonal Problem-Solving Test (an alternative thinking measure) and Kendall and Wilcox’s (1979) Self-Control Rating Scale (a behavioral adjustment measure). An analysis of variance was utilized to assess both evaluation measures. It was found that on the Preschool Interpersonal Problem-Solving Test there were significant main effects for the type of training the subject received (F=17.14, p<.01), the age of the subjects (F=6.26, p<.05), and pre- versus post-testing (F=56.11, p<.01). There were two significant interactions, a three-way interaction between age of subjects, type of training, and pre- versus post-testing (F=6.60, p<.05), and a two-way interaction between type of training and pre- versus post-testing (F=56.11, p<.01). The Newman-Keul’s Multiple Range Test was used to analyze the interactions. It was found that both the young and old experimental groups obtained a significant increase in their Preschool Interpersonal Problem-Solving Test scores from pre- to post-testing (p<.01) while neither the young nor the old control groups had a significant increase from pre- to post-test. On the other evaluation measure, the Self-Control Rating Scale, a significant main effect was found for pre- versus post-testing. There were no other significant main effects or interactions found. These finding suggest that Shure and Spivack’s (1978) KIPS program increases alternative thinking and ICPS skills, and improve the self-control of elementary aged EMR children. This study, beside being effective, was also cost-efficient. The program lasted only about five and one-half weeks and took only 10 to 40 minutes each day to present. In addition, the consultation model was used which reduced the amount of time the experimenter had to spend running the study. Inferences from the findings of this study may be limited, due to the possible lack of equivalent samples. The control and experimental groups were not matched according to SES and IQ. From the results of this study and other problem-solving studies involving children, there appear to be many areas that need to be further investigated.

The effectiveness of self-recording and self-reinforcement procedures implemented in the classroom setting with six pre-adolescent children classified as Educable Mentally Retarded was determined relative to changes in on-task behavior. A multiple baseline design was used and each subject was exposed to both a self-recording procedure and a self-reinforcement procedure. After an initial baseline period, three subjects were exposed to self-recording first, and three subjects went through self-reinforcement first. Contingent reinforcement was not provided for accuracy in either self-recording or self-reinforcement patterns. Observations were conducted to investigate generalization effects of each procedure, and two weeks of follow-up observations were conducted to determine durability effects. The findings indicated that for five of the subjects the self-recording procedure and the self-reinforcement procedure were effective in fostering significant positive increases in on-task behavior. Regarding accuracy, without contingent reinforcement, three of the subjects demonstrated at least 70% agreement with observer recordings during self-recording phases, and four subjects demonstrated at least 70% agreement with observer recordings in their self-reinforcement pattern. Generalization effects were found with two of the subjects, and maintenance effects were evident with one subject. A combined treatment approach, presenting both procedures simultaneously, was implemented with three of the subjects after the study was completed. These results indicated that the combined approach was not more effective than the singular presentation approach taken in the main study. Suggestions were made for future refinements in self-control procedures to increase applicability with special population.