Representing the Mental World in Children's Social Behavior: Playing Hide-and-Seek and Keeping a Secret

This study examined the relationship between children's developing theory of mind and their ability to engage in two social behaviors which have, as their cognitive underpinning, the representation that what one knows may not be accessible to others. Children of 3, 4, and 5 years, in a quasi‐naturalistic setting, played hide‐and‐seek and also were required to keep a secret about a surprise. The ability to play hide‐and‐seek was significantly related to children's ability to refrain from disclosing the secret, and there was a significant relationship between these behaviors and children's social cognition, as measured by theory of mind tasks. The relationship between these social behaviors and tasks measuring executive function was not significant once age was taken into account. With regard to the development of these social behaviors, few 3‐year‐olds, but most 4‐year‐olds, and almost all 5‐year‐olds could successfully play hide‐and‐seek and keep a secret. This study demonstrates the importance of the conceptual understanding of mental states in the young child's social world.     

Preparation for residential treatment: An anticipatory mourning process

This paper discusses the intense emotional bonding between parent and adolescent as it interferes with the adolescent and family's ability to tolerate the physical separation inherent in long-term residential treatment. It describes the mourning process through which both adolescent and parent experience and partially relinquish their attachment to one another in anticipation of the separation. The process is completed when both parent and child accept the need for placement and are ready to accept the possibility of new relationships in the residential treatment setting.     

Methods for the estimation of failure distributions and rates from automobile warranty data

We consider the occurrence of warranty claims for automobiles when both age and mileage accumulation may affect failure. The presence of both age and mileage limits on warranties creates interesting problems for the analysis of failures. We propose a family of models that relates failure to time and mileage accumulation. Methods for fitting the models based on warranty data and supplementary information about mileage accumulation are presented and illustrated on some real data. The general problem of modelling failures in equipment when both time and usage are factors is discussed.     

EFFECTS OF SOLUTION FOCUSED THERAPY'S "FORMULA FIRST SESSION TASK" ON COMPLIANCE AND OUTCOME IN FAMILY THERAPY

This study investigated the immediate impact of a "solution focused" family therapy intervention on both the family and the therapist. Specifically, the study examined the differential effects of the formula first session task (FFST) recommended by de Shazer (1982, 1985), as well as the FFST plus solution focused therapy, as compared to a standard problem focused structural-strategic intervention. After one week, the groups receiving the FFST were significantly higher on measures of family compliance, clarity of treatment goals, and improvement in the presenting problem. However, there were no significant differences among groups on family optimism or on outcome after 10 sessions. The implications of these results are discussed.