School Psychology International (1991), Vol . 12
References
Day, S. (1989) 'Some Children Die - How Does Jersey Care?', unpublished
seminar report, Acorns Children's Hospice Trust, Birmingham .
Fullen, M. (1982) The Meaning of Educational Change . New York: Teachers'
College Press.
Georgiades, N .J. and Phillimore, L. (1975) 'The Myth of the Hero-Innovator
and Alternative Strategies for Organizational Change', in C.C. Kiernan
and F.P. Woodford (eds) Behaviour Modircation with the Severely Retarded.
New York: Associated Scientific Publishers .
Grady, J . (1986)'Special Educational Needs in the 11-16 Schools', unpublished
paper, States ofJersey Education Committee .
Katz, D . and Kahn, R.L. (1966) The Social Psychology of Organisations . New
York: Wiley .
Robson, C. et al. (1988) In-service Training and Special Educational Needs:
Running Short, School Focused Courses . Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Waterman, R.H., Peters, T.J. and Phillips, J .R. (1980) 'Structure is not
Organisation', Business Horizons 3.
Social Skills Assessment and Intervention with
Children and Adolescents
Guidelines for Assessment and Training Procedures
STEPHEN N . ELLIOTT and R.T. BUSSE
University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
Children who persistently exhibit social skills deficits
experience both short- and long-term negative consequences, and
these negative consequences may often be precursors of more severe
problems later in life. If untreated, researchers have indicated that
social skills deficits in early childhood are relatively stable over time,
related to poor academic performance and may be predictive of social
adjustment problems and serious psychopathology in adolescence .
Procedures for linking assessment and classification of social skills
problems to treatments are briefly reviewed. A number of procedures
have been identified as effective methods for treating social skills
deficits . The myriad of procedures can be classified into three categories: (1) operant conditioning, (2) social learning, and (3) cognitivebehavioral procedures. In practice, behavioral rehearsal is often
incorporated into treatments and most of the effective social skills
interventions are combined procedures rather than a single technique. Guidelines for implementing major treatment components are
discussed and an overall implementation plan is presented .
ABSTRACT
Behaviors such as sharing, helping, initiating relationships, requesting -help from others, giving compliments and saying 'please' and
'thank you' are socially desirable behaviors that almost everyone
This article represents the content of an invited three-hour workshop presented at the 13th International School Psychology Colloquium held in
Newport, Rhode Island in July 1990. Portions of this workshop contained
materials from the Social Skills Rating System Technical Manual (Gresham
and Elliott, 1990) and from a chapter entitled 'Best Practices in Preschool
Social Skills Training' by Elliott and Ershler (1990) . Please address all
correspondence regarding this manuscript to Stephen N. Elliott, Department
of Educational Psychology, 1025 W. Johnson St, University of WisconsinMadison, Madison, WI 53706, USA .
School Psychology International (SAGE, London, Newbury Park and New
Delhi), Vol . 12 (1991), 63-83 .
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School Psychology International (1991), Vol . 12
would agree are examples of social skills . In general, social skills may
be defined as socially acceptable learned behaviors that enable a
person to interact with others in ways that elicit positive responses and
assist in avoiding negative responses (Gresham and Elliott, 1984) . The
development of social skills is one of the most important outcomes of
the schooling process. Children with social skills deficit are at risk for
social-emotional difficulties and poor academic performances (Parker
and Asher, 1987).
The acronym of CARES has been offered by Gresham and Elliott
(1990) to facilitate memory for, and the identification of, five major
clusters of social skills . The clusters are cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy and self-control . Briefly, these clusters of psychosocial
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behaviors can be characterized as follows:
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1 . Cooperation - behaviors such as helping others, sharing materials with a peer and complying with rules.
2 . Assertion - initiating behaviors such as asking others for
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information and behaviors that are responses to others' actions such as
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responding to peer pressure .
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3 . Responsibility - behaviors that demonstrate the ability to
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communicate with adults and concern about one's property .
4 . Empathy - behaviors that show concern for a peer's or signifid
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cant adult's feelings .
5. Self-control - behaviors that emerge in conflict situations such
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as responding appropriately to teasing or to corrective feedback from
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an adult.
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The term social competence has often been considered synonymous
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with social skills . Social competence, however, is a summary term
which reflects social judgment about the general quality of an individd
ual's performance in a given situation. The concept of social skills,
from a behavioral perspective, is premised on the assumption that
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specific, identifiable skills form the basis for socially competent behav0
ior (Hops, 1983) . To assess social competence, a wider range of
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behaviors and abilities, such as communication skills, physical abiliU
ties and physical appearance need to be considered . From a treatment
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perspective, social skills may be the most malleable of the components
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of social competence .
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Elliott and Busse: Social Skills Training
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Assessment of social skills and identification of children in
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A number of methods, including rating scales, checklists and sociometric nomination techniques, have been designed to identify children at
risk for behavior problems. Specific assessment procedures are not
reviewed here, however Table 1 documents the normative and
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metric characteristics of three frequently used rating scales : Social
Behavior Assessment, Walker-McConnell Scale of Social Competence
and School Adjustment, and Social Skills Rating System . Detailed
reviews of social skills assessment methods have been published by
Gresham and Elliott (1984, 1989) and Strain et al . (1986) .
In general, the purposes of social skills assessment concern either
identification/classification or intervention/program planning . From a
behavioral perspective, the critical characteristic that differentiates
assessment methods is the extent to which a method allows for a
functional analysis of behavior (i .e. the extent to which an assessment
procedure provides data on the antecedent, sequential and consequent
conditions surrounding a molecular behavior) .
A standard battery of tests or methods for assessing social skills
does not exist. Rather, hypotheses dictate the direction of assessment,
the questions to be answered and the methods to be used. Assessment
should proceed from global to specific to allow appropriate planning of
interventions . In contrast, evaluation of intervention success typically
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Assessment sequence for social skills
1. Teacher ratings of social skills
a. Estimation of frequency of behaviors
b. Estimation of behavior's importance to teacher
c. Tentative estimation of skill and performance deficits
d. Guideline for teacher interview and direct observations
2. Parent ratings of social skills
a. Estimation ofcross-setting generality of deficits
b. Parent's perceived importance of social behaviors
c. Guideline for parent interview
3. Teacher interview
a. Further delineation of target behaviors
b. Functional analysis ofbehavior in specific situations
c. Selection of target behaviors based upon importance ratings and
teacher's ratings
d. Guideline for development of observation case
4. Parent interview
(same as above)
5. Direct observations of classroom behavior
a. Functional analysis of behavior
b. Direct measurement of behavior in applied setting
c. Observation of peer reactions to target child's behavior
6. Sociometrics using liked most and liked least nominations
a. Measurement of social preference and social impact
b. Classification of sociometric status (rejected, neglected, controversial)
7. Self-report of social skills - obtain child's perception of social behavior
8. Child interview
Note : From Elliott et al., (1989) Copyright 1989 by Pergamon Press . Adapted
by permission .
School Psychology International (1991), Vol. 12
proceeds in the opposite direction, moving from behavior-specific
outcomes to more global analyses of important social outcomes .
To increase the likelihood of accurate identification/classification
decisions, we recommend the use of direct observations of the target
child and non-target peers in multiple settings ; behavioral interviews
with the referral source and possibly the target child; rating scale data,
preferably norm-referenced, from both a social skills scale and a
problem behavior scale completed by the referral source ; and sociometric data from the target child's classmates . Regarding intervention
decisions, data contributing to a functional analysis of important social
behaviors are imperative . These types of data usually result from
multiple direct observations across settings ; behavioral role plays with
the target child; and teacher and parent ratings of socially valid
molecular behaviors. Behavioral interviews with the treatment
agent(s) also will be important to assess the treatment setting, the
acceptability of the final treatment plan and the integrity with which
the plan is implemented . Table 2 (from Elliott et al ., 1989) provides a
summary of an heuristic sequence for the assessment of social skills .
Basic assumptions and procedures for promoting social skills
Social skills interventions focus on positive behaviors and use nonaversive methods (e .g . modeling, coaching and reinforcement) to
improve children's behavior . These also are the characteristics that
teachers and parents report they like in interventions (Elliott, 1988).
Therefore, utilization of these methods may enhance treatment integrity . In addition, these programs can be built into the existing
structure of a classroom or home environment, thus minimizing the
Table 3
Common social skills training tactics and selection factors
Therapist directed
a . Modeling (positive and negative ; live and symbolic)
b. Coaching
c. Operant (manipulation of antecedents and consequences)
d. Problem solving exercises (role play)
e. Self-system (self-talk, self-monitoring, self-evaluation)
2. Therapist and peer directed
a. Group therapy (includes modeling, problem-solving, guided practice)
3. Peer directed
a. Peer-mediated initiation and reinforcement
1.
Treatment selection factors
1 . Type of problem and accompanying interfering behaviors
2. Resources available
3. Setting and situations
4. Treatment effectiveness and acceptability findings
Elliott and Busse: Social Skills Training
time required for successful implementation and maximizing treatment generalization . Finally, social skills interventions can be used
with individuals or groups of students, and because they primarily
concern increasing prosocial behaviors, all students can participate
and benefit from the interventions .
Teaching children social skills involves many of the same methods
as teaching academic concepts . Effective teachers of both academic and
social skills model correct behavior, elicit an imitative response,
provide corrective feedback and arrange for opportunities to practice
the new skill (Cartledge and Milburn, 1986). A large number of
intervention procedures have been identified as effective for training
social skills in children . Table 3 illustrates common social skills
training tactics that are (1) therapist directed, (2) therapist and peer
directed or (3) peer directed . These procedures can be further classified
into three theoretical approaches" that highlight common treatment
features and assumptions about how social behavior is learned. These
approaches are operant, social learning and cognitive-behavioral .
Table 4 provides a comparison of these three approaches along several
common dimensions .
In practice, many researchers and practitioners have used procedures that represent combinations of two or more of these basic
approaches . However, we will use the three groups of interventions to
describe the basic procedures and to organize a review of their
effectiveness . First, however, we believe it is instructive to review five
assumptions proposed by Michelson et al . (1983 : 3) which are fundamental to the conceptualization of social skills assessment and intervention plans .
Assumption 1 : Social skills are primarily acquired through learning which involves observation, modeling, rehearsal and feedback .
Assumption 2: Social skills comprise specific and discrete verbal
and non-verbal behaviors.
Assumption 3: Social skills entail both effective and appropriate
initiations and responses.
Assumption 4 : Social skills are interactive by nature and entail
effective and appropriate responsiveness .
Assumption 5: Social skill performance is influenced by the characteristics of an environment.
Collectively, these pragmatic assumptions provide direction to both
assessment and intervention activities by stressing the multidimensional (verbal-non-verbal and initiating-responding), interactive,
situation-specific nature of social skills . Thus, regardless of intervention approach, effective interventions will need to address target
behaviors which involve both verbal and non-verbal communications
used to initiate or respond to others . With this in mind, we now
(1991), Vol. 12
School Psychology International
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Elliott and Busse: Social Skills Training
examine the procedures that are germane to the operant, social
learning and cognitive-behavioral approaches to social skills interventions .
Operant intervention procedures
Operant conditioning procedures focus on overt, observable behavior
and the antecedent and consequent events that surround the behavior .
Control of a behavior is most often achieved through the application of
reinforcement or punishment contingent on the observance of the
behavior . However, many social behaviors can also be modified
through the control of antecedent conditions, such as a friend appearing at your door or a teacher prompting students to observe a
playground conduct rule before leaving for recess . Thus, the manipulation of both antecedents and consequences are valuable procedures for
interventions in a wide variety of settings and with almost any
performance deficit.
Some children experience difficulties in interpersonal relationships
because the social environment is not structured to facilitate positive
social exchanges. Antecedent control of social behavior can set the
occasion for positive social interactions and has the advantage of
requiring less teacher time and monitoring than other procedures (e .g .
reinforcement-based procedures) . Antecedent control procedures, however, implicitly assume that the child possesses the requisite social
skills but is not performing them at acceptable levels . Strain and his
colleagues (Strain, 1977 ; Strain et al ., 1977 ; Strain and Timm, 1974)
used an antecedent control procedure termed peer social initiations to
increase social interaction rates of socially withdrawn children . The
general procedure involved having a trained peer confederate initiate
positive social interactions with a withdrawn child in a free-play
environment. Peer confederates were coached, prior to the intervention, to appropriately initiate and maintain social interactions . This
procedure effectively increased rates of social interactions of withdrawn children . Strain and Fox (1981) provide a comprehensive review
of these procedures for pre-schoolers and for older children .
Cooperative learning
Cooperative learning is another method which focuses upon manipulating antecedent conditions to set the occasion for positive social
interactions (Madden and Slavin, 1983). Basically, cooperative learning requires students to work together in completing an academic task .
The group, rather than the individual, receives a grade on the
completed academic product. This procedure requires that students
cooperate, share and assist each other in completing the task and, as
School Psychology International (1991), Vol. 12
such, represents an effective technique for increasing the likelihood of
positive social behaviors .
A number of operant-learning procedures (i.e., manipulation of
antecedents and consequences) have been used to increase the frequency of positive social behaviors and decrease the frequency of
negative social behaviors . All of these procedures are based on the
assumption that low rates of positive social interaction and high rates
of negative social interaction result from reinforcement contingencies
(positive or negative) occurring subsequent to behavior . The implicit
assumption when using these procedures is that the child knows how
to perform the social behavior in question but is not doing so because of
the lack of reinforcement for appropriate social behavior.
Contingent social reinforcement
Contingent social reinforcement involves having a teacher, parent or
other significant person to a child publicly reinforce appropriate social
behaviors . For example, Allen et al. (1964) had a teacher socially
reinforce a four-year-old socially isolated girl whenever she interacted
with other children . This procedure led to a six-fold increase in social
interaction rates over baseline levels . Variations of this basic procedure have been successful with elective mute and severely and
profoundly mentally retarded populations (Mayhew et al ., 1978).
Althpugh contingent social reinforcement increases rates of positive
social interaction, it requires a great deal of teacher/parent involvement on a consistent basis to be effective . Therefore, it is perhaps best
used to maintain social interaction rates once they have been established through other social skills intervention procedures.
Differential reinforcement
Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) and differential
reinforcement of low rate of responding (DRL) have also been used to
modify social skills . DRO involves presenting reinforcement after any
behavior except the target behavior. Thus, the individual is reinforced
only when he or she does not perform the target behavior after a
certain amount of time has elapsed . For example, to decrease aggressive behavior and increase positive social interactions, any behavior
that is exhibited by a child except aggressive behavior, is reinforced .
This procedure would have the effect of increasing all other responses
and extinguishing aggressive behavior . Pinkston et al . (1973) used a
DRO procedure to decrease the aggressive behavior of a boy and
contingent social reinforcement to increase his positive social interaction . DRL involves reinforcing reductions in the performance of a
target behavior. Reinforcers may be delivered for reduction in the
overall frequency of a response within a particular time period, or for
Elliott and Busse: Social Skills Training
increased elapsed time between responses (interresponse time) . For
example, to decrease the frequency of talking-out behavior in a
classroom, a reinforcement contingency could be specified such that
reinforcement would only occur if the frequency of behavior was at or
below a given criterion level. Dietz and Repp (1973) used a DRL
schedule to reduce the inappropriate talking of an entire EMR classroom. During the DRL contingency, students could earn reinforcement
if the entire class made five or fewer 'talk-outs' in a fifty-minute
period .
The studies just reviewed illustrate that DRO and DRL are effective
in decreasing the frequency of negative social behaviors . These procedures, however, are perhaps best used as adjuncts in social skills
interventions as a means of decreasing negative social behaviors
while, at the same time, teaching positive social behaviors.
Social learning intervention procedures
Social learning procedures have their roots in the social learning
theory of Bandura and Walters (1963) and Bandura (1977), who
suggest that social behavior is acquired through two types of learning:
observational learning and reinforced learning. Social learning theorists differentiate between the learning of a response and the performance of that learning. This enables social learning theorists to
develop the role of modeling influences apart from their use in the
acquisition of new behavior. Modeling also affects the performance of
previously learned responses through its disinhibitory or cueing
effects. Therefore, socially acceptable behavior can be elicited through
the presence of a person modeling a particular behavior. For example,
if one student volunteers to help the teacher, he or she will often elicit
similar volunteering behaviors in other students in the class. The
consequences for a modeled behavior are hypothesized to influence the
future occurrence of the same behavior . Observers tend to inhibit
responses which they see punished in others, whereas they are likely
to perform the behavior if it is reinforced . This process of observing the
consequence for a modeled behavior is referred to as vicarious punishment or vicarious reinforcement, depending on the effect of the
consequence .
Modeling has broad empirical support for teaching new social skills
to children and youths (Gresham, 1985; Wandless and Prinz, 1982) . In
social skills training, modeling can be divided into two types : (1) live
modeling, in which the target child observes the social behaviors of
models in naturalistic settings (e .g. the classroom) and (2) symbolic
modeling, in which a target child observes the social behaviors of a
model via film or videotape . Both types of modeling have been effective
in teaching social skills, although the majority of empirical studies
School Psychology International (1991), Vol. 12
have used symbolic modeling because of the experimental control
afforded by the consistent presentation format . Live modeling, however, may be a more flexible technique for classroom settings because
of the opportunity to modify the modeling sequences based upon
behavioral performance . Table 5 provides basic guidelines for using
modeling .
Table 5
Guidelines for using modeling procedures
1. Establish and explain the need; set the stage
a . Stories
b. TV or movies
c. Personal experiences of group members
d. Role models
2. Identify skill components
a. Task analysis
b. Group participation
c . Sequencing of skill components
d. Evaluation ofcritical components and sequence
3 . Modeling a social skill
a. Salience of modeled skill components
b. Model/observer similarity
c. Coping vs mastery models
d. Situational relevance of modeled behavior
4. Behavioral rehearsal
a. Soliciting participants
b. Review of skill components
c. Situational relevance
d . Constructive feedback
e. Instant replay (if necessary)
5. Program for generalization
a. Use sufficient stimulus exemplars
b . Use sufficient behavior exemplars
Gresham and Nagle (1980) conducted the only published study to
date in which modeling has been compared to coaching (a cognitivebehavioral procedure discussed in detail in the next section) . Students
were exposed to one of four conditions : (1) modeling, (2) coaching, (3)
modeling and coaching, and (4) attention controls. The three treatment
conditions were equally effective in increasing sociometric status and
increasing the frequency of positive social interactions . Interestingly,
the treatments containing a coaching component were more effective
than modeling in decreasing rates of negative social interactions .
Cognitive-behavioral intervention procedures
The cognitive-behavioral approach to intervention is a loosely defined
group of procedures which place significant emphasis on an individual's internal regulation of his or her behavior . In particular, cognitivebehavioral approaches to social skills training emphasize a person's
Elliott and Busse: Social Shills Training
ability to problem solve and to self-regulate behavior . Two of the most
frequently used cognitive-behavioral social skills procedures are
coaching and social problem solving .
Coaching is a direct verbal instruction technique that involves a
'coach' (most often a teacher or psychologist, but occasionally a peer),
knowledgeable as to how to enact a desired behavior, and the student
in need of acquiring the desired behavior. Most coaching interventions
require three steps. First, the child is presented with rules for or
standards of behavior. Second, the selected social skills are rehearsed
with the coach . Third, the coach provides specific feedback during the
behavior rehearsal and offers suggestions for future performance . In
some rehearsal situations modeling procedures may also become part
of the coach's training, and if the coach praises the accurate performance of a behavior by the student, reinforcement will also be
evidenced . Thus coaching, although conceptualized as a verbal instruction procedure that requires cognitive skills of the student to translate
the instruction into desired behaviors, can be easily supplemented
with behavioral and/or social learning procedures . Table 6 provides
basic guidelines for enacting coaching procedures .
Table 6
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Guidelines for using coaching procedures
Present social concept based on skill to be learned
Ask for definitions of social skills
Provide clarification of definitions
Ask for specific behavioral examples of concept
a. 'What would someone have to do to show they were cooperating?'
b. 'What things would you have to do to show you were helping others?'
c. 'flow could you show that you disagree with someone without getting
into an argument or fight?'
Ask for specific behavioral negative examples of concept
Generate situations and settings where skill is appropriate and
inappropriate
Behavioral rehearsal
Constructive feedback and instant replay
Coaching has received empirical support as a social skills training
procedure . Oden and Asher (1977) used coaching to teach participation, communication, cooperation and peer reinforcement to students .
The coaching procedure involved the three steps of verbal instructions,
opportunity for skill rehearsal and feedback on skill performance . This
procedure was also effective in increasing the sociometric status of the
students who successfully acquired the new social skills . Ladd (1981)
and Gottman et al . (1976) obtained similar results using coaching
procedures .
Several applied researchers have developed interventions that
School Psychology International (1991), Vol. 12
stress teaching children the process of solving social or interpersonal
problems. As Weissburg (1985) pointed out, some of these intervention
programs, which are largely classroom based, have been called social
problem solving (SPS) whereas others have been called interpersonal
cognitive problem solving (ICPS) programs . Although the ICPS
approach places more emphasis on the conditions that accompany
social problem situations and employs a narrower training procedure
than does the SPS approach, both use a similar sequence of steps to
train students to identify and react to social problems . Briefly, the
steps can be characterized as: (1) identify and define the problem, (2)
determine alternative ways of reacting to the problem, (3) predict the
consequences for each alternative reaction and (4) select the reaction
that is `best' or most adaptive. Social problem solving methods of social
skills training can be used with individual children or entire classrooms and have become common parts of several classroom social skills
curriculums. It should be noted, however, that such an approach does
not focus on discrete social skills training and that learning social
skills generally requires more skill focused, externally reinforced
procedures than offered by this cognitively oriented approach . Table 7
illustrates basic guidelines for using social problem solving strategies
to improve social functioning .
Table 7
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Guidelines for using social problem solving procedures
Define and formulate problem
Generate alternate solutions
Specify consequences regarding alternatives
Select `best' alternative
Specify requirements/steps to implement solution
Verify outcomes of solution
Discuss and reinforce the problem solving process
Effectiveness of social skills interventions and suggestions for
practice
Several major reviews have been written concerning the effectiveness
of social skills training procedures with children (see Cartledge and
Milburn, 1986; Gresham, 1985; Ladd and Mize, 1983; Schneider and
Byrne, 1985). With regard to child characteristics, Schneider and
Byrne, who conducted a large meta analysis of social skills training
studies, indicated that social skills interventions were more effective
for pre-schoolers and adolescents than elementary children . No gender
differences in the effect sizes were noted (although few studies have
treated gender as an independent variable) . In addition, social skills
training; was found to be more effective for withdrawn and learning
Elliott and Busse: Social Skills Training
disabled students than for aggressive students . Converse to what often
is expected, the duration of interventions was related negatively to the
outcome . That is, interventions of fewer than five days were, on the
average, more effective than interventions lasting more than fifty
days. This result was interpreted as consistent with the overall finding
that modeling and operant procedures were more effective than
social-cognitive procedures, since the former procedures are usually
much briefer and are likely to involve a smaller number of students .
Based on reviews of research by Gresham (1981, 1985), Schneider
and Byrne (1985) and Mastropieri and Scruggs (1985-6), there appears
to be substantial support for the effectiveness of social skills training
procedures in general, and in particular for operant and modeling
procedures . Social-cognitive procedures were found to be less effective,
especially with young children . The focus of most social-cognitive
procedures on generalizable problem solving strategies as opposed to
more discrete, observable behavioral skills makes it difficult to measure post-intervention improvements in social performance accurately.
Practical suggestions from the research literature for teachers,
parents and other individuals interested in facilitating the development of social skills in children include the extensive use of operant
methods to reinforce existing social skills. The basic operant tactics
include (1) the manipulation of environmental conditions to create
opportunities for social interactions which prompt/cue socially desired
behavior in a target child and (2) the manipulation of consequences so
that socially appropriate behavior is reinforced and socially inappropriate behavior, whenever possible, is ignored rather than punished .
In addition, modeling of appropriate social behavior supplemented
with some coaching, feedback and reinforcement should be a primary
tactic in developing new social behaviors in children .
Facilitating generalization of social skills
Berler et al. (1982) recommended that social skill interventions not be
considered valid unless generalization to the natural environment
could be demonstrated. Stokes and Baer (1977) and Michelson et al.
(1983) identified several procedures, referred to as generalization
facilitators, which enhance generalization beyond the specific aspects
of an intervention. Examples of generalization facilitators include : (1)
teaching behaviors that are likely to be maintained by naturally
occurring contingencies ; (2) training across stimuli (e.g. persons,
setting) common to the natural environment ; (3) fading response
contingencies to approximate naturally occurring consequences ; (4)
reinforcing application of skills to new and appropriate situations; and
(5) including peers in training . By incorporating as many of these
facilitators as possible into social skill interventions, and by offering
Elliott and Busse: Social Skills Training
School Psychology International (1991), Vol. 12
anxiety that interferes with social skills primarily involve emotionarousal reduction techniques, such as desensitization or flooding,
paired with self-control strategies, such as self-talk, self-monitoring
and self-reinforcement (Kendal) and Braswell, 1985 ; Meichenbaum,
1977). Interventions that can help reduce overt behaviors such as
physical or verbal aggression, inattentiveness or excess movements
are often referred to as reductive procedures (Lentz, 1988). These
intervention `booster' sessions at regular intervals, maintenance and
generalization of skills will be enhanced .
Classifying social skill difficulties and selecting interventions
Most authors agree that social incompetencies observed in children
can result from difficulties in response acquisition or response performance (Bandura, 1977). Gresham and Elliott (1990) extended this
two-way classification scheme to include areas of social skills problems, social skills strengths and possible concurrent interfering problem behaviors . As shown in Figure 1, this scheme of social skill
difficulties distinguishes between whether or not a child knows how to
perform the target skill and the presence of interfering behaviors (e .g .
anxiety, aggressiveness) . In addition, embedded in Figure 1 are lists of
treatments that often have been found effective for the various
problem types. This classification scheme and its suggested treatments
are part of Gresham and Elliott's (1990) Social Skills Rating System .
The components of this classification scheme are as follows:
Social skills
acquisition
deficits
No interfering
problem behaviors
Interfering
problem behaviors
Direct instruction
Modeling
Modeling
Behavioral rehearsal
Coaching
This social skill problem characterizes children who have not acquired
the necessary social skills to interact appropriately with others or
those who have failed to learn a critical step in the performance of the
skill. Direct instruction, modeling, behavioral rehearsal and coaching
are frequently used to remediate social skill acquisition deficits .
Reductive procedures to
decrease interfering problem
behaviors
Social skills
performance
deficits
Social skills performance deficits
Social skills acquisition deficits with interfering problem behaviors
This social skills problem describes a child for whom an emotional (e .g .
anxiety, sadness) and/or behavioral (e .g . verbal aggression, excessive
movement) response(s) prevents skill acquisition . Anxiety is one such
emotional arousal response shown to prevent acquisition of appropriate coping behaviors, particularly with respect to fears and phobias
(Bandura, 1977). Hence, a child may not learn to interact effectively
with others because social anxiety inhibits social approach behavior.
Impulsivity (a tendency toward short response latencies) is another
emotional arousal response that can hinder social skill acquisition
(Kendal) and Braswell, 1985) . Interventions designed to remediate
Differential
reinforcement of a low rate
of response (DRL)
Differential reinforcement of
other behavior (DRO)
Social skills acquisition deficits
Children with a social skills performance deficit have appropriate
social skills in their behavior repertoires, but fail to perform them at
acceptable levels or at appropriate times. Typically, a social skills
performance deficit has been modified by manipulating antecedents
and consequences . Interventions have included peer initiations, contingent social reinforcement and group contingencies .
Coaching
Operant methods to
manipulate antecedent or
consequent conditions to
increase the rate of
existing behaviors
Operant methods to
manipulate antecedent or
consequent conditions to
increase the rate of
existing prosocial behaviors
Differential reinforcement of
a low rate of response (DRL)
Differential reinforcement of
other behavior (DRO)
r
i
Reductive procedures to
decrease interfering problem
behaviors
i
f
i
i
a
i
t
Social skills
strengths
i
i.
i
Reinforcement procedures
to maintain desired
social behavior
Reinforcement procedures
to maintain desired
social behavior
Use student as a model
for other students
Reductive procedures to
decrease interfering problem
behaviors
A scheme for classifying social behavior problems and
suggesting treatment techniques for such problems
Figure 1
School Psychology International (1991), Vol . 12
include the use of reinforcement techniques (e.g. DRO and DRL),
groupcontingencies and mild aversive techniques (e .g. reprimands,
time-out, response cost, overcorrection) . Thus, for social skills acquisition deficits that are accompanied by significant interfering behaviors,
the intervention objectives are to teach and increase the frequency ofa
prosocial behavior and concurrently to decrease or eliminate the
interfering problem behavior .
Social skills performance deficits with interfering problem behaviors
Children with a social skill performance deficit accompanied by
interfering problem behaviors have a given social skill in their
behavior repertories, but performance of the skill is hindered by an
emotional or overt problem behavior response and by problems in
antecedent or consequent control . Self-control strategies to teach
inhibition of inappropriate behavior, stimulus control training to teach
discrimination skills and contingent reinforcement to increase display
of appropriate social behavior are often used to ameliorate this social
skill problem . Occasionally, when the interfering behaviors persist,
reductive methods may also be necessary .
An implementation framework for social skills assessment and
intervention
A general framework for social skills training can be described by the
acronym DATE (Define-Assess-Teach-Evaluate) . First, behaviors are
defined and stated in observable terms . In addition, the conditions
(antecedent and consequent) surrounding the behavior are also
defined . Second, behaviors are assessed, preferably via multiple methods, including rating scales, direct observations of the child, interviews
with teachers and/or parents and occasionally a structured role play to
confirm deficits and to refine intervention plans. Third, teaching
strategies are prescribed to fit the student's needs as determined by the
assessment results and the classification that best characterizes the
social skills deficit(s). Fourth, the effects of the teaching procedures are
evaluated empirically with the assessment methods used to select
students and target behaviors . The DATE model is applied continuously to each deficient social behavior that the student exhibits.
The DATE model can be implemented by a teacher, psychologist or
other specialist through five steps: (1) establishing the need for
performing the behavior, (2) identifying the specific behavioral components of the skill or task analysis, (3) modeling the behavior using
either live or filmed procedures, (4) behavior rehearsal and response
feedback and (5) generalization training. These five steps represent an
easilv implemented and generic approach to teaching social behavior
Elliott and Busse: Social Skills Training
using the intervention procedures which have consistently been found
to be most effective . The intervention options available for young
children with a social skills deficit are numerous, but the majority of
effective interventions combine the manipulation of antecedents or
consequences with modeling/coaching procedures . When a child's
social difficulty results from a lack of knowledge ofa particular skill, it
is generally necessary to use a direct intervention that involves
modeling, coaching and role playing techniques . Conversely, when a
child fails to perform a social behavior he/she is capable of, it is likely
that interventions involving the manipulation of antecedents and/or
consequences will be successful .
Summary
In this article, we have outlined- how one's assessment of social skills
can be linked conceptually and practically to an intervention plan, and
have described and reviewed research on three approaches to social
skills intervention or training . These approaches were the behavioral
approach, the social learning approach and the cognitive-behavioral
approach . The behavioral and social learning based approaches have
been shown to lead to the most effective interventions for developing
skill building interaction behaviors. The article concluded with the
presentation of a model, the DATE (Define-Assess-Teach-Evaluate)
model, for implementing social skills interventions .
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