ABSTRACT
In the mid-1960s, a predelinquent adolescent boy ran away from a residen tial treatment home. My research colleague, George Spivack, the boy's therapist and also research director of that home, found him and asked him if he thought about the consequences of what he was doing (e.g., the danger, the ensuing disciplinary action he would encounter), as well as if he could think about other ways to let his wants be known. When the boy kept responding with "I didn't think," "I didn't think about that," Spivack began to believe he was telling the truth. Perhaps this youngster really did not think. Perhaps he did not know how. This and other similar clinical expe riences led Spivack to systematically investigate interpersonal cognitive problem solving (ICPS) processes in that age group.
