Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a critical evaluation of the concept of social competence. On the basis of a discussion of literature dealing with theory, models, and assessment of social competence as well as empirical research with regard to social competence, it is argued that the terminology used and the interpretation of the empirical findings do not characterize the development of children but rather the environment in which they must function socially. Hence, many of the abilities that have been assessed and that are thought to involve “social skills” merely reflect children’s abilities to conform to the demands and expectations of the social environment. Consequently, the development of socially desirable behavior has been studied, not the development of social competence. To understand the latter development, a dynamic interactional model of development (i.e., an activity-levels model of development) will be presented. The interaction between the needs of the organism, the expectations and demands of the developing child and those of the social environment are presented. On the basis of this model, empirical data will be discussed and reinterpreted.
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Oppenheimer, L. (1989). The Nature of Social Action: Social Competence Versus Social Conformism. In: Schneider, B.H., Attili, G., Nadel, J., Weissberg, R.P. (eds) Social Competence in Developmental Perspective. NATO ASI Series, vol 51. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2442-0_3
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