14 Facts About Social competence

Social competence reflects having an ability to take another's perspective concerning a situation, learn from past experiences, and apply that learning to the changes in social interactions.

Social competence is the foundation upon which expectations for future interaction with others are built, and upon which individuals develop perceptions of their own behavior.

Social competence frequently encompasses social skills, social communication, and interpersonal communication.

Study of social competence began in the early 20th century with research into how children interact with their peers, and function in social situations.

Research on social competence expanded greatly from this point on, as increasing amounts of evidence demonstrated the importance of social interactions.

Social competence began to be viewed in terms of problem-solving skills and strategies in social situations, and was conceptualized in terms of effective social functioning and information processing.

Social competence identified three sub-domains of social competence: adaptive behavior, social skills, and peer acceptance.

Social competence adjustment is defined as the extent to which an individual achieves society's developmentally appropriate goals.

Essential core elements of Social competence are theorized to consist of four superordinate sets of skills, abilities, and capacities: cognitive skills and abilities, behavioral skills, emotional competencies, and motivational and expectancy sets.

Social competence develops over time, and the mastery of social skills and interpersonal social interactions emerge at various time points on the developmental continuum and build on previously learned skills and knowledge.

Interventions did not take into account that social competence problems do not occur in isolation, but alongside other problems as well.

When children reach preschool age, social competence interventions focus on the preschool context and teach prosocial skills.

Social competence becomes more complicated as children grow older, and most intervention efforts for this age group target individual skills, the family, and the classroom setting.

Results of social competence interventions include decreased aggression, improved self-control, and increased conflict resolution skills.