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
Greet a person
Offer to help
Take turns
Conversation
topic
Family
Friends
Someone at
work
Community
person you
don’t know
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 area
2. 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