Social Skills Training

KNR 253

Social Skills

CURRENT Leisure Education Component content

– Communication skills

– Relationship-building skills

– Self-presentation skills

PREVIOUS Leisure Education Component content– Dual

– Small Group

– Large Group

Leisure & Social Skills

• Activity is reason for getting together, but social interaction has the real meaning

• Activity has meaning, but interactions is essential for successful involvement

• Activity requires little social interaction, but enjoyment increased by interaction

• Activity is entirely social

Social Skills Defined

• Social skills are socially acceptable behaviors that enable a person to engage in effective interactions with others

• AND

• Avoid socially unacceptable responses from others

• Austin, 2009, p. 115

Social Competence Defined

• Possessing a variety of knowledge & behaviors that can be utilized & displayed when & where necessary, to engage in meaningful & reciprocal social exchanges, & that result in person being deemed social competent (or at least not socially incompetent.

• Odom & McConnell, 1985 quoted in Stumbo & Wardlaw, 2011

Social Competence

• Having a collection of social skills alone is not sufficient to define social competence

• Must also include the person’s ability to use them at the right time in the right way and with the right people

Social Skills Grid

Social Skill Family Friends Someone at work

Community person you don’t know

Greet a person

Offer to help

Take turns

Conversationtopic

Social Skills vs. Social Competence

• Social skills are behaviors that are taught, learned & performed

• Social competence represents judgments or evaluations of these behaviors by others in various settings.

Social Skills Training

• Much of life’s satisfaction is associated with our relationships

• Many of our clients have problems with social skills

– Examples?

Social Skills Training

5 characteristics of social skills (Austin’s reading)

1. Goal directed or performed in order to achieve a purpose

2. Each behavior relates to a goal and should be interrelated and synchronized with other behaviors

3. May be broken down into parts

4. Are learned behaviors that are reinforced in ways that motivate the individual to choose the most appropriate response

5. Are under the control of the individual

Social Skills Training

Steps identified by Sneegas (1989)1. Assessment of the problem area2. Task analysis of the behavioral

components necessary to achieve the social skill

3. Provide clients an introduction to the social skill and a rationale for the learning of the social skill

Social Skills Training

4. Demonstration and modeling of specific social behaviors

5. Practice and rehearsal of the new behavior

6. Provision of feedback and reinforcement of the behavior, and

7. Generalization to a variety of situations

Examples of Social Skills

• Attending & listening• Conversation• Supporting others• Problem-solving• Self-control• Personal space• Talking with strangers• Stereotypic or unusual

behaviors

• Smiling• Eye contact• Asking personal

questions• Greeting• Starting conversation• Loudness

Instructional Techniques to Teach Social Skills

• Demonstration

• Modeling

• Role-playing

• Discussion groups

• Video feedback

• Homework

• Games

• Stacking the Deck