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Social and emotional competence
Anikó Zsolnai
University of Szeged, Faculty of Arts, Institute of Education
University of Szeged, Social Competence Research Group
Abstract
The study of social competence is one of the most important areas of research into human
social behaviour. The paper discusses and analyses the achievements of past research on
social competence from a pedagogical perspective. First, the concept and content of social
competence are defined, and next, the components of emotional competence and their
functions are discussed as important factors in the operation of social competence. This is
followed by an analysis of social skills and abilities and a description of measurement
practices. Finally, a discussion of methods used to foster social skills and abilities concludes
the paper.
Keywords: social competence, emotional competence, social skills, social abilities
Introduction
Social competence is one of the most widely investigated areas of human social behaviour. In
recent decades, more and more emphasis has been placed in educational research on the study
of the development of social competence. Social competence is increasingly recognised as
vital to school readiness (Carlton & Winsler, 1999). Socially competent children are more
successful than their less competent peers in developing positive attitudes towards school and
in adjusting to school. Moreover, they get better grades and achieve more (Birch & Ladd,
1997; Ladd, Birch & Buhs, 1999; Webster-Stratton & Reid, 2004; Zsolnai, 2002).
Social - emotional indicators, including positive interactions with teachers, positive
representations of self derived from attachment relationships, emotion knowledge, emotion
regulatory abilities, social skills, and nonrejected peer status, often uniquely predict academic
success when other pertinent variables, even earlier academic success, have been controlled
for (Denham, Blair, DeMulder, Levitas, Sawyer, Auerbach-Major & Queenan, 2003; DiPrete
& Jennings, 2011).
Recently more and more books and studies have been published on the issue (e.g. Anderson,
2000; Kasik, 2007; Semrud-Clikeman, 2007; Zsolnai, 2013). This has been accompanied by
an increased interest in teaching social skills too (Gresham & Elliot; 1993; Tóth & Kasik,
2010; Zins, Elias & Greenberg, 2003; Zins & Elias 2006). In spite of this, there are not
enough programs focused on the development of social skills that are integrated into school
instruction and that stress prevention in preference to the alleviation of already existing
interpersonal problems (Zsolnai, 2012).
Social and emotional competence
Social competence
Social competence is an ever-changing system, which consists of social motifs and social
abilities and has the function to organise social behaviour, and to trigger the operation of the
individual elements of the system. The system of social abilities is composed of simple and
complex abilities and their components, that is skills, routines and the social knowledge
accumulated by the individual (Nagy, 2000; 2007; Zsolnai & Józsa, 2003). The effectiveness
of social behaviour depends to a large extent on the quality and quantity of the individual’s
array of social skills. The richer the set, the greater the chances are that the individual can
activate the most appropriate skill to handle a given situation.
Social competence has traditionally been defined as the complex system of social abilities,
habits, skills and knowledge. In Argyle’s definition (1999), social competence is an ability,
the mastery of social skills, which make it possible to generate the desired effect in social
relationships. Schneider’s approach (1993) is very similar, viewing social competence as
enabling one to engage in appropriate social behaviour, thus enhancing one’s interpersonal
relationships in a way not harmful to others. Rose-Krasnor (1997) defined the construct of
social competence as effectiveness in interaction, the result of organised behaviours that meet
short- and long-term developmental needs. Rose-Krasnor’s model of social competence
includes specific social, emotional and cognitive abilities, behaviours and motivations that are
primarily individual. The developing child’s increasing cognitive, motor and emotional skills
facilitate the growth of a variety of social abilities (Rubin & Rose-Krasnor, 1992). In this
approach social competence has been operationalized using the four general areas of social
skills, peer status, relationship success and functional goal-outcome assessments (Rose-
Krasnor, 1997). None of these include intra-psychic or relational aspects of emotional abilities
in any explicit manner.
During the past decades many researchers have called for greater awareness of emotions and
emotional communication skills in social competence (e.g. Hubbard & Coie, 1994; Mayer &
Salovey, 1997; Nowicki & Duke, 1992). As Amy G. Halberstadt and her colleagues (2001)
observed, emotional content often determines the meaning of an interaction. Emotions are
integral to social interaction; as dynamic processes they create and are created by
relationships with others.
Crick and Dodge (1994) developed a model of information processing mechanisms in social
encounters. “Their goal is primarily one of delineating the information-processing aspects of
social competence, however, so there is less emphasis on the effective sending of affective
information, and on the awareness, understanding, and management of one’s own affect”
(Halberstadt, Denham & Dusmore, 2001, p. 80).
Saarni (1990, 1997, 1999) was the first theorist to emphasize the internal experiential aspects
of competence and the importance of genuineness of emotional experience, and asserts that
emotional competence is ‘contextually anchored in social meaning’ (1999, p. 2). She stresses
the role of culture in determining how these aspects are expressed.
Emotional competence
The concept of emotional competence emerged in the literature in the past decade (Denham et
al., 2003; Denham et al., 2004; Denham, Bassett & Wyatt, 2007; Dowling, 2001; Parke,
1994). Researchers studying emotional competence claim that emotional and social
competence are closely intertwined. At the same time, they firmly believe that emotional
competence is a construct of its own right, and as such, it must be investigated as an
independent phenomenon (Denham et al., 2003). Until recently, research has largely focused
on the complex relationship between social and emotional competence in children and on how
they influence each other during the course of children’s social and emotional development
(Smith & Hart, 2004; Webster-Stratton, 2002).
Emotional competence comprises three basic components. They are (a) the expression of
emotions, (b) the understanding of emotions and (c) the experience of emotions (Denham et
al., 2003; 2004). The appropriate expression of emotions is of primary importance in social
interactions, and the way an individual communicates his or her negative and positive
emotions to others is also a crucial factor influencing the evolution of his or her relationships.
The second component of emotional competence is the understanding of emotions. Children
and adults who understand their own and others’ emotions (e.g. those who can discern what
emotions facial expressions ‘hide’) are much more likely to be successful in their
relationships than those who lack this ability (Denham et al., 2003; 2004; 2007). The third
component is the experience of emotions, the function of which is to recognize and regulate
emotions of varying intensity. This includes all those external and internal processes that are
responsible for monitoring, evaluating and modifying emotional reactions when pursuing a
particular social goal (Thompson, 1994). In addition, previous research has provided evidence
that there is a strong relationship in childhood between the effective regulation of emotions
and the developmental level of social competence (Eisenberg, Fabes, Shepard, Murphy &
Holgren, 1997; Eisenberg, Guthrie, Fabes, Reiser, Murphy & Holgren, 1997).
Building on Saarni’s work, Amy G. Halberstadt, Susanne A. Denham and Julie C. Dunsmore
(2001) use the term affective social competence for their model. The authors chose this term
because they wanted to emphasize the integral and dynamic relationship between affect and
social interaction. Affective social competence (ASC) has three basic components: sending
affective messages, receiving affective messages and experiencing affect. Within each
component there are four abilities: (a) awareness, (b) identification, (c) working within a
social context and (d) management and regulation. These abilities develop in sequence as
children mature and become more experienced with their own emotions and with social
interactions. Each ability is linked hierarchically within each component and across
components. The authors depict their model “as a pinwheel, a children’s toy that rotates in the
wind, to emphasize the constantly changing nature of social interactions, and the knowledge
of process that is implied in the continual integration of the various components of affective
social competence within the ever-changing social world” (2001, p. 87).
The complex relation of social and emotional competence is a largely undiscovered field, but
the research results of the past few years indicate the importance of this issue. It can be
assumed that emotional competence plays a crucial role in the development of social
competence, especially in childhood.
Social skills and abilities
It is also a widely accepted thesis that social competence consists in the possession of
different social skills and abilities (Argyle, 1999). The literature discusses over a hundred
social skills, of which communication skills are regarded as the most important. The
appropriate application and interpretation of verbal and non-verbal communication signals,
such as eye contact, posture, social distance, facial expressions and speech tone are essential
for a person to be successful in interpersonal relationships (Argyle, 1999). Among social
skills, Spence (1983) distinguished the sets of microsocial and macrosocial skills. The former
includes verbal and non-verbal communication and social perception; the latter comprises
empathy, helping behaviour, co-operation, altruism, and conflict-resolution skills.
One of the basic characteristics of social skills is that they are acquired through learning
(Argyle, 1999; Dowling, 2001; Gresham & Elliot, 1993; Webster-Stratton, 2002).
Furthermore, social learning theory (Bandura, 1986) has shown that children’s social learning
is influenced most by imitation, reinforcement and modelling.
It is an inherent characteristic of social skills that they reflect the specific requirements of the
surrounding culture (Saarni, 1999). In countries where deviation from social norms is less
tolerated, there is considerably more pressure on parents and children to avoid deviation from
norms of accepted social behaviour. The majority of non-verbal communication signals are
culture bound too. In some cultures downcast eyes are a sign of respect rather than an
indication of social anxiety or shyness. Girls or women in some cultures may be considered
immodest if they look at others, particularly adult males, too directly.
Moreover, culture can even modify the meaning of those signals that are present in most
cultures. Significant differences can be observed in the prosocial behaviour of children from
different cultures, too (e.g. Cole & Tan, 2007; Damon, 1983). The examples above
demonstrate that social behaviour and its constituents, social skills are, to a large extent,
culture specific.
Assessment of social skills and abilities
Assessment of social skills and abilities needs to include an interview with the child, parents
and teachers if possible, observations of the child in structured and unstructured situations,
assessment measures that may include rating scales completed by the child, parent and
teacher, and possible use of role play and situational coaching. The range of possible
measures varies by the age of the child; e.g. the behaviour self-rating scales are not helpful for
preschool children (Semrud-Clikeman, 2007).
a) interviews
An interview with a child must be geared to his/her developmental level and the questions of
the interview need to draw out both the child’s strengths and difficulties. The interviewer has
to use short and concrete questions. It is better to ask closed questions than abstract questions.
For example, “who are your friends” rather than “what do you like in a friend?”
b) observations
Observing a child when classes are changing or when he/she is in unstructured situations is
helpful to understand his/her social skills and abilities. Observations can be formally
conducted and coding systems are readily available (Semrud-Clikeman, 2007).
c) self-report measures
Self-esteem is a very important issue and has been linked to social adjustment. Many
questionnaires provide a global rating as well as scores in other domains of functioning (i.e.
academic etc.). Most self –report measures also have parent and/or teacher versions.
d) peer nominations
Peer nominations have been used to determine the acceptance of a child within his/her peer
group. There are several forms of this type of measurement. This technique uses two
dimensions: social preference (popular, average, rejected categories) and social impact
(neglected, average, and controversial).
Social skills development programs
In the 1970s researchers realised that social skills development should be systematically
assessed as early as at lower primary school age. One of the school-based experiments starting
at this time was Staub’s (1971) study, which was based on the premise that helping behaviour
is greatly influenced by the child’s level of empathy. Staub combined learning modelled
behaviours with a role-play technique because he hypothesised that role-play, and, more
specifically, role-switching has an empathy-boosting effect. The study of Spivack and Shure
(1976) is outstanding among cognitive developmental programs targeting social behaviour.
The authors designed a ten-week program to train children to resolve different social
situations with the help of puppets, stories and role-play. These pioneering experiments have
been followed by several similar programs over the past decades. There are more and more
social skills development programs implemented in school environments (e.g. Konta &
Zsolnai, 2002; Stephens, 1992; Weissberg, Barton & Shriver, 1997; Webster-Stratton, 2002;
Zsolnai & Józsa, 2003). Over the past three decades a variety of social skills programs have
been developed to help teachers with the difficult task of teaching children interpersonal
behaviours.
Content of social skills training
SST may be used to teach person specific sets of social competence. A common focus of SST
programs is communication (verbal and nonverbal) skills. Another common focus of SST
involves improving an individual’s ability to perceive and act on social cues. Many people
have problems communicating with others because they fail to notice or do not understand
other people’s cues, whether verbal or nonverbal. Learning to understand another person’s
spoken or unspoken messages is very important.
SST programs have employed a variety of methods: strategies that incorporate a cognitive-
behavioural approach; coaching or direct instruction to teach targeted social skills; recreation
or social skills games, reinforcing appropriate behaviour and providing positive verbal, social
and physical feedback; and teaching theory of mind or the ability to infer emotions and mental
states of other people (Chen, 2006). Such specific techniques as instruction, modelling, role-
playing, feedback, cooperation, and reinforcement of positive interactions may be used in
these programs.
Teachers, as well as peers can model strategies such as managing anger so that students with
difficulties can see what these strategies look like in context. Effective modelling specifies
what should be taught, involves a variety of student models, and targets students with
developmental and cognitive delay.
In role-playing exercises, group members have the opportunity to offer feedback to one
another about their performance in simulated situations. Role-playing, positive reinforcement,
corrective feedback, avoidance of negative comments, and repeat steps are some of the factors
that need to be considered.
Cooperative learning is a very good strategy for encouraging positive peer interactions and the
generalization of social skills as well as promoting academic achievement. Students in
cooperative learning groups can learn responsibility.
The advantage of SST is that it focuses on teaching skills that can be learned rather than
emphasizing the internal or biological determinants of social competence.
Nowadays there are only a few social skills development programmes available to teachers in
Hungary (Tóth & Kasik, 2010; Zsolnai, 2012). One of the main reasons for this is that
Hungarian public education mainly concentrates on cognitive skills and abilities at the
expense of the development of social and emotional skills and abilities (Zsolnai, 2013). In
spite of this, a few Hungarian projects have demonstrated the success of intentional and
planned development programmes (Gádor, 2008; Konta & Zsolnai, 2002; Sütőné, 2005).
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