The notion of social skills training has evolved over time In its beginnings it was associated with interventions in people with a severe mental disorder, and although this method is still used for such cases, after the appearance of social learning theories, it became an instrument to improve people’s skills in their relationships.
Like any other skill, these communication skills can be learned, practiced, and therefore greatly improved; without the need for the person to suffer from any type of disorder in order to benefit from them.
Related article: “14 Top Soft Skills to Succeed in Life”
There is no single and concrete description of what social skills are, however this concept can be explained as the set of behaviors and actions acquired naturally, susceptible to being learned and exercised, that occur in interpersonal contexts; taking into consideration its social norms and with the aim of achieving social support or self-reinforcement.
The importance of social skills is given by their relationship with a better psychosocial adjustment of the person thus avoiding isolation, lack of affection and possible associated affective disorders.
The usefulness of social skills in a person’s daily life is reflected in the following aspects:
Properties of social skills training
As noted in the previous point, social skills are behaviors learned throughout a person’s life, so it is possible to train them through appropriate learning experiences.
The basis or particular feature of this training consists of the observation of a third party who performs the target behavior appropriately, to later repeat, correct possible errors and gradually improve. To do this, the person trying to learn receives reinforcement, both positive and negative, from the professional.
The dynamic consists of repeating and practicing the desired behavior or behavior in the greatest number of situations in the most varied and real way possible.
The main characteristics of social skills training are:
The list of advantages common to the different types of training, which have made them a reference intervention, are:
Techniques for training social skills
From psychology, a series of techniques have been developed aimed at improving a person’s skills in their relationship with others. These techniques, explained below, should not be interpreted as serial steps that follow a specific order, but rather as independent elements that allow us to lengthen, expand or repeat them.
These elements are specified in six different techniques. They are the following.
1. Modeling
In this first technique, a person endowed with the skills to be learned performs a series of behaviors appropriately so that the apprentice or apprentices can imitate them.
The models can perform the behaviors live, or through recordings. The main requirement of the model for the technique to be effective is that it be as similar as possible to the observer. Whether by age, gender, reference group, etc.
An important point to keep in mind is that the model does not perform the behavior in an excessively skillful or expert manner, since this can demotivate the observer. The person who acts as a role model must express themselves in a friendly and close way to the learner. The emotional disposition of the observer is compensated with positive reinforcements.
Likewise, the effectiveness of the technique increases when the exposed situation is reproduced with the greatest possible clarity and precision, and always in a way in which its difficulty is graduated, from lowest to highest.
It is necessary for the viewer to understand that their obligation is to imitate the model, focusing interest on the model’s behavior, analyzing it and then exercising and rehearsing said behavior.
2. Behavioral assay
Behavioral rehearsal is the moment in which the person must carry out the actions that have previously been shown by the model. These tests can be:
These two ways of proceeding are not exclusive, the person can first take the test covertly and, once practiced enough, move on to the real test.
Regarding the intervention of the participants, The monitor can act as an interlocutor with the aim of controlling the situation In the event that a group intervention is being carried out, the rest of the participants can represent auxiliary tasks or representations.
3. Feedback
After the behavioral test, it is essential that there be a feedback period This feedback is based on providing information to the person about how he or she has executed the target behaviors, being as specific and concrete as possible.
It is an essential requirement to both reinforce what the person has done correctly, and how to communicate what things they need to improve on; providing guidance on how to improve.
For greater integration of information, it is essential that this feedback be immediate or even simultaneous with the person’s performance.
In these cases, Positive reinforcement consists of praising and praising the positive aspects of the learner’s performance, this being the best way for the behavior to be repeated in the future. An important point to keep in mind is that such reinforcements must be valuable and desired by the person.
Two types of reinforcements can be carried out:
Once the reinforcements have been administered continuously, we move on to intermittent reinforcement of the behavior. The goal of this type of reinforcement is to strengthen the behavior and maintain it over the long term.
5. Generalization
The primary purpose of all this training is not for the person to perform the behavior only in the test space but that it is capable of being carried out in real life situations.
Taking this into account, the execution of the behavior or behaviors must be extrapolated to all contexts or circumstances in which said behavior is useful for the person.
