Issues in the Assessment of Social Competence in Children

Abstract

Recent interest in children's social competence has been prompted by findings of correlational and retrospective studies that indicate a positive relationship between early social adjustment problems of children and their adjustment later in life. To date, the assessment methodology in the area has pursued two directions: (1) sociometric measures (peer nomination and peer rating scales), which have provided the major means of identifying the socially competent child, and (2) direct observation, principally employed in the specification of socially competent behaviors. The current uses and the inherent assets and limitations of both strategies are discussed along with suggestions for enhancing current data collection methods. Issues concerning the definition of social competence, generalizability of current findings, and social norms are also examined.

Impact of organizational socialization towards employees' social adaptation

“…In some definitions of social competences (Foster andRitchey, 1979, Anderson andMessick, 1974), the emphasis is on the outcomes of socially desirable behavior in terms of effectiveness in achieving social goals, such as making friends, popularity, success in social interactions with others, etc. On the other hand, Marlowe (1986) believes that the essence of social competences is in the orientation toward the others and the ability to understand both the others' and the own feelings, thoughts and behaviors in interpersonal situations.…”

The Nature of Behavioral Assessment: A Commentary

“…Two articles in this issue, however, provide good examples of the screening stage of behavioral assessment, in this case, screening children for possible problems of social withdrawal. Foster and Ritchey (1979) discuss the assets and limitations of sociometric measures (peer nomination and peer rating scales) in identifying socially competent and incompetent children. Greenwood, Walker, Todd, and Hops (1979) establish an empirical relationship between two screening measures, teacher judgment (rankings and ratings) and peer judgment (sociometric ratings), and interactive behavior observed in the criterion situations of free play and structured tasks.…”

“…Devices used during screening should be less costly in terms of time and money than devices used to monitor a target behavior during intervention (Hawkins, 1979). This is one reason why Foster and Ritchey (1979) and Greenwood et al (1979) theoretically and empirically examined the use of a relatively inexpensive screening device-peer judgments-to predict children's observed social withdrawal. If resources were no object it would be better to measure the behavior directly.…”

“…For example, the specific behaviors comprising desirable social interactions by children may be identified in relation to their ability to produce positive social ratings by peers and/or teachers (Foster and Ritchey, 1979;Greenwood et al, 1979). It may be important, however, to show that changes in these behaviors result in other positive benefits beyond the verbal evaluation by others.…”

“…Two articles in this issue are concerned that mediocrity may become the standard by which behavior analysts evaluate the need for and outcome of treatment. Foster and Ritchey (1979) argue that children's social competence is more than the absence of incompetence, stating that "socially competent behavior [are] those responses which within a given situation prove effective, or, in other words, maximize the probability of producing, maintaining, or enhancing positive effects for the interactor." Van Houten (1979) asserts that, in general, competency or excellence should be the standard of evaluation.…”