RealLife:Social Competence

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Social competence is a term covering a variety of diverse internal factors and external behaviors that influence the likelihood and quality of social interaction. Competence implies an overall level of success in social interaction as it occurs in the contexts of daily life. The term has broad applications and encompasses many complex developmental factors, rendering most brief definitions simplistic. For example, the terms social skills and social competence are frequently been used interchangeably, but social competence has been conceptualized as a broader dimension comprised of not only social skills but also the neurological, temperamental, and environmental factors that both help and hinder the ability to evaluate social situations and determine what is expected or required; to recognize the feelings and intentions of others; and to select social behaviors that are most appropriate for that given context.