Social skills in childhood: what are they?

In recent times, there has been a greater awareness of the importance attributed to the acquisition of adaptive social skills during the first years of human life.

In a generic way, It has been possible to demonstrate how this type of aptitude conditions future functioning both on a social and psychological level of an individual. It could be said that the influence is limited to all the vital areas of the person: the professional, academic, interpersonal and personal areas.

The concept of social skills

Horse in 1986 defines the concept of social skills What the set of behaviors performed by an individual in an interpersonal context in which they express feelings, attitudes, wishes, opinions or rights in a way appropriate to the situation, respecting those behaviors in others, and where generally solves the immediate problems of the situation while reducing the likelihood that future ones will appear problems.

Multiple are the specific behaviors that can be included within the category of social skills. A simple classification differentiates two main main areas:

verbal behavior and non-verbal behavior. Each of these categories consists of different more specific dimensions

Non-verbal behavior: gestures, tics, gestures ...

Regarding the non-verbal aspects of communication The following variables can be assessed: facial expression (which indicates the level of interest and / or understanding of the message transmitted by the interlocutor), the look (useful in the expression of emotions), posture (describes the attitude, emotional state and feelings of one's own and others), gestures (increase or substitute the meaning of the transmitted message), proximity and contact physical (both reflect the type of relationship and bond between the interlocutors - approaching or distancing -), vocal cues (both tone and volume, speed, pauses, fluency, etc. they modulate the meaning of the verbal message expressed) and personal appearance (it offers information about interests and own affinities) become the main ones.

Verbal behavior: what we express through language

On the other hand, verbal behavior It is used to communicate both cognitive aspects (such as thoughts, reflections, opinions or ideas) and emotions or feelings. It also allows you to report past events, request information, justify an opinion, etc.

In this type of behavior, it is relevant to consider the influence exerted by the factors related to the situation in which the produces the message about the characteristics of the interlocutors, as well as the objectives that are intended to be achieved with said information. A fundamental requirement for the success of the communicative process lies in the need for the sender and receiver to share the code (the language) through which this verbal behavior is carried out.

Learning social skills in early childhood

More explicitly, learning social skills is significantly more important in the first years of life Because it is during the preschool and primary schooling stages when the processes of child socialization begin.

These first social experiences will condition the way in which the child will relate to his parents and other relatives, peers and other figures more or less far from her social environment. In order to achieve an adequate emotional and cognitive growth and development process, it is essential that the child acquires behavioral guidelines that allow him to achieve the objectives both at the personal (self-esteem, autonomy, decision-making capacity and coping) as well as at an interpersonal level (establishment of healthy friendly, romantic, family, professional relationships, coexistence in society, etc.).

Another reason that motivates to highlight the importance of specifically allocating a part of the teachings to enhance social skills in stages early is the erroneous and traditional widely extended conception of considering that this type of aptitude is assimilated automatically with the passage of weather. As a consequence of this belief, the importance of emphasizing this type of learning is downplayed. and, consequently, the child ends up not internalizing these aspects that are so relevant to her development.

Finally, knowing that you are competent in the area of ​​social skills enables the child to ability to assimilate in a more profound and complete way other types of capacities such as intellectual or other cognitive.

What is the cause of children's social skills deficits?

A behavioral deficit in the management of social skills can be due to the following causes:

• Skills deficit in general: motivated by the absence of its acquisition or by the expression of inappropriate social behaviors.
• Conditioned anxiety: in the face of past aversive experiences or due to observational learning through a model little appropriate, the person may present a high level of anxiety that prevents him from giving that answer adaptive.
• Poor cognitive assessment: when the individual presents a selfconcept Negative combined with a pessimistic cognitive functioning can avoid executing certain actions because it questions one's own competence in such a situation. In order to avoid the discomfort produced by this self-assessment, the child will avoid emitting such behaviors.
• Lack of motivation to act: if the consequence following the performance of an appropriate social behavior does not occur or is neutral for the individual, such behavior will lose its reinforcing value and will cease to be be issued.
• The subject does not know discriminatesA: Faced with the ignorance of the assertive rights that every person must have, they cannot differentiate whether or not such rights are being violated in a given situation. Therefore, it will not issue that socially competent and assertive action.
• Restrictive environmental obstacles: If the environment makes it difficult for appropriate social behaviors to be manifested openly, these tend not to occur in such a context (especially in authoritarian, controlling and non-controlling family settings). affective).

The adult as a model for children's social skills learning

As stated by the Bandura's Theories of Learning and other experts, two are the fundamental elements for the learning process to take place.

The first factor refers to the type of consequences and their temporal contingency after the issuance of a specific behavior. When a behavior is followed by a pleasant consequence, the behavior tends to increase in frequency, whereas in the case of that the consequence of the behavior is unpleasant and contingent, the tendency will be to decrease or eliminate such behaviour.

The second variable refers to the reproduction of behaviors from the observation of behavioral models or referents.

Since these are the main sources that motivate behavioral learning, it is very relevant the nature of the attitudes and the cognitive-behavioral typology of adults educators. These figures are in charge of applying certain consequences to the behaviors emitted by the little ones and they represent the models that will serve as a reference in the execution of behaviors by the children.

Educational keys in the field of social skills

For all this, it should be taken into account that, both due to the first case and the second, their practices should be appropriate to ensure that the child learns a competent behavioral repertoire and satisfactory. Specific, There are four fundamental attitudes that adults must present to achieve the stated purpose:

• Offer a suitable model: the figure of the model must execute appropriate behavioral repertoires at all times, since if the child observes behavioral divergences depending on the situation or the interlocutor will not be able to correctly internalize which one to apply, where and how. On the other hand, it should be taken into account that children are also susceptible to copying behaviors maladjustments observed in the models if they are carried out in the real context in a habitual. Reference figures must show competence in expressing their own opinion and feelings, make requests, assert yourself based on their point of view, and reject inappropriate verbalizations fairly and respectful.
• Assess the positives: As mentioned above, for an appropriate behavior to tend to increase its frequency, it is It is fundamental to reward the issuer of such action with a positive and contingent consequence on the weather. Numerous studies show that positive reinforcement is the most effective methodology of the four principles of conditioning operant (positive / negative reinforcement and positive / negative punishment), to a greater extent than criticism or threat to behaviors inadequate. An equally relevant aspect is offering the child the possibility of autonomously performing the behaviors that are considered appropriate, including the initial moments in which that action has not been completely executed in a correct. Repeated practice will provide the improvement of behavior, therefore it is not advisable for the model to deprive the child of this autonomous practice.
• Facilitate divergent thinking training: teaching as a habit the idea that there is, in many cases, a single solution to solve a certain problem can facilitate the establishment and development of creative capacity, as well as an active coping with possible adversities or events to get over.
• Provide occasions that facilitate the practice of HHSS: the more varied the situations in which the child must cope, the more competition they will have in the face of a greater number of social situations. An intrinsic characteristic of social situations is their spontaneity, with which they will facilitate that the child can start, in addition, the process of divergent reasoning previously indicated.

Some conclusions

By way of conclusion, it can be extracted from the above that the infant stage should be understood as a highly sensitive period for the acquisition of most of the learning.

The HHSS become a series of fundamental capacities that can be placed at the same level (and even higher) than other apprenticeships more instrumental, such as linguistic or mathematical aptitude, since the development and individual-relational emotional stability of a person in later life stages will derive from the consolidation of a repertoire of adaptive social skills during the periods initials.

The Learning Theories show how a large part of the teachings are transmitted by observation and imitation of models. Based on this premise, dThe fundamental role that falls on the main socializing figures during the childhood stage should be emphasized: parents and educators. Therefore, both parties must have sufficient and adequate resources to exert a positive and beneficial modeling on the recipient during their maturational growth.

Bibliographic references:

• Bandura, A. (1999a). A social cognitive theory of personality. In L. Pervin & O. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality (2nd ed., Pp. 154–196). New York: Guilford.
• Horse, V. (1993): Manual of therapy techniques and behavior modification. Madrid: XXl century.
• Horse, V. (1983). Training manual and evaluation of social skills. Madrid: XXI century.