Social interactions are very common in people’s daily lives, and it is in these interactive situations in which people must develop and use their social skills, in order to maintain a conversation or social situation as appropriate as possible. Would you like to know what these social skills are? Do not hesitate to continue reading this Psychology-Online article: social skills (HHSS): what they are, types, list and examples.
What are social skills: definition
Social skills (HHSS) in psychology are a set of behaviors and habits observable and thoughts and emotions that promote effective communication, satisfactory relationships between people and respect for others, which leads to a better feeling of well-being. In other words, it is a set of operating guidelines for people that help in your relationships and in respect for the rights of others and their own.
What are social skills used for? The importance of social skills and social abilities for relationships is undeniable. The HHSS are fundamental in everyday life of people because they provide well-being and quality of life, as well as facilitate the development and maintenance of healthy self-esteem. On the contrary, people with poor social skills may feel stress, discomfort and, frequently (frustration, anger, feeling of being rejected or undervalued…), in addition, people with deficiency in social skills are more predisposed to suffer psychological alterations. as .
Thus, in order to define skilled behavior, three dimensions of social skill must be taken into account. Firstly, the behavioral dimension, which refers to the type of social skill. Secondly, the personal dimension, linked to the person’s cognitive variables. Finally, the situational dimension, referring to the environmental context.
Types of social skills
1. Basic social skills
Basic social skills are the first skills that people acquire, and they are essential to be able to initiate communication and to maintain it. Some of these skills are: knowing start, maintain and end a conversationknowing how to ask questions, etc.
2. Advanced social skills
These are the skills that people learn after acquiring the basic social skills above. Among complex social skills, we can find: knowing share an opinion, assertivenessknow ask for helpknowing how to apologize, give and follow instructions, among others.
3. Social emotional skills
These skills are characterized by being closely linked to the management and identification of feelings and emotions. We can find: identify and express feelings and emotions, empathy, respect, among others.
4. Social negotiation skills
They are those social skills that promote conflict management in an appropriate manner. We find skills such as the following: negotiation, altruism, sharing with others, etc.
5. Social organizing skills
These skills are beneficial to be able to organize day to day of people in a correct way, avoiding causing stress, anxiety and other negative aspects. Within this typology of social skills, we can distinguish: organizational capabilities, among others.
List of social skills
The most important HHSS to be able to maintain healthy and quality interpersonal relationships are those cited in the following list of social skills:
- Empathy: it is the ability to understand what happens to other people (putting yourself in the shoes of others).
- Assertiveness: is the ability to express one’s opinions and thoughts based on respect and defending one’s rights.
- I respect: ability to tolerate people, their opinions, their thoughts and their actions, even if these thoughts, opinions and so on are not shared.
- Active listening: is the ability to listen carefully to other people, showing them that they are being listened to.
- Negotiation: ability to negotiate with other people about different interests or specific benefits, so that all parties to the negotiation are intended to benefit.
- Communication and expressive skills: ability to communicate and in relation to specific situations. In addition, communication also includes the ability to listen to other people, being able to establish satisfactory conversations.
- Comprehension: ability to understand social and personal situations and respond to them assertively.
- Self-control: ability to understand and interpret private feelings and respond to them by controlling one’s impulses.
- Conflict resolution: ability to understand the reality of a conflict and look for alternatives to solve it, escaping aggressiveness. A good way to resolve a conflict can be negotiation.
Social skills: practical examples
HHSS are constantly used to relate to others. Depending on the level of social skill of the people involved, the situation will evolve differently. We can see it in the two practical examples of social skills presented below:
- Example 1: Marta decides to sell her motorcycle and already has a potential buyer. Both They will have to negotiate to resolve the situation so that everyone benefits. However, if these girls have a shortage of social skills, this negotiation will be difficult. For example, in this case, Marta could try to deceive the buyer by selling the motorcycle for a price above the appropriate price and, if the buyer realizes this, she may react aggressively and excessively against Marta.
- Example 2: Marc’s dog dies unexpectedly, which affects him emotionally. One of his classmates has a social skills deficit and is therefore not able to put yourself in the skin of Marc. When Marc decides to share his feelings with his classmates, the classmate responds inappropriately, which leads Marc to feel worse.
Social skills test
The best known test for assess social skills of people is the Elena Gismero Social Skills Scale. It is a scale that is administered to people ages 12 and older and it is estimated that it can be answered in approximately 15 minutes. This scale is made up of 33 items that investigate the individual’s habitual behavior in different situations. These 33 items are subdivided into 6 scales: self-expression in social situations, defense of one’s rights as a consumer, expression of anger or disagreement, saying “no” and cutting off interactions, making requests, initiating positive interactions with the opposite sex.
If you want to evaluate your social skills, in Psychology-Online you can find the one inspired by Elena Gismero’s Social Skills Scale.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- García, M. (sf). Social skills in boys and girls with intellectual disabilities.
- Rock, E. (2014). How to improve your social skills. Valencia: ACDE.
- Tea Editions. (sf). Social Skills Scale.
- Villasana, N., and Dorrego, E. (2007). Social skills in virtual collaborative work environments. ITEN, 10(2), 45-74.