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News | Blog:

Measure Social Competence with the Social Skills Inventory

 
Banner: Measure Social Competence with the Social Skills Inventory

Posted on 13 August 2018
by Issa Coultas

Humans are hard-wired to be social beings. Therefore, emotional and social skills are some of the most important skills we can possess. These skills represent the underlying mechanisms for initiating, maintaining, and growing good interpersonal relationships. Relationships that — according to research — influence our psychological health, physical health, and professional success.

Here are some ways research has shown that interpersonal relationships impact our lives:
  • Our identities are strongly influenced by our relationship with others — it is through interacting with others that we have a better understanding of ourselves, leading to better personal well-being.
  • Positive relationships reduce psychological distress, while they increase autonomy, self-esteem, and self-efficacy.
  • An inability to initiate and sustain constructive relationships with others can often lead to anxiety, depression, loneliness, frustration, and further isolation.
  • High-quality relationships are associated with longevity, and to quicker recovery from illness and injury.
  • The level of our social skills has also been shown to correlate with increased job opportunities, higher paying jobs, promotions, and generally higher ratings by our peers.

With all of these impacts, emotional and social skills are important to consider for personal and professional development. There are many assessments and workshops dedicated to measuring and developing emotional and social skills - but all too often they require formal training and large capital investments.

The Social Skills Inventory from Mind Garden (SSI, developed by Ronald Riggio 1989, 2003), is a cost-effective and easily administered self-assessment that measures basic social communication skill dimensions to interpret global social skills and social/emotional competence. The SSI does not require formal training or certification, and is priced for non-commercial users.

Also available from Mind Garden: Social Skills Training Guide
Design your own social skills workshop!

Social Skills Inventory Basics

Originally developed for use in personality and social psychology research, the SSI measures emotional and social communication skills as they relate to overall social competence. The SSI has become widely used in personnel selection, in clinical settings, and for training. More recently, it has been validated to measure Emotional Intelligence (EQ).

Quick Facts about the SSI
90-item (or 30-item) self-report measure, first introduced by Ronald Riggio in 1986
Appropriate for individuals aged 14+ at 8th grade reading level or above
Six scales represent the possession of basic emotional and social communication skills, including expressive skills, sensitivity skills, and control skills.
Used to predict if an individual is likely to use socially skilled behavior in the classroom, on the job, in the laboratory, or in everyday social interaction.

The SSI consists of six scales that measure communication skills on two dimensions - emotional (nonverbal) and social (verbal). Expressivity, sensitivity, and control are evaluated in each dimension. Expressivity refers to the skill with which individuals communicate or send messages to others; sensitivity refers to the skill with which they receive and interpret the communicated messages of others; and control refers to the skill with which they are able to regulate and manage the communication process.

The SSI also evaluates the balance of an individual's global social skill (Equilibrium Index). Possessing too much of any one basic component of social skill, relative to other key social skill components, may be dysfunctional. A high Equilibrium Index suggests good balance among the SSI dimensions and indicates higher global social skills/competence.

Description of each SSI scale
Summary of Contributions and Caveats Associated with the SSI

Now Available from Mind Garden: the Brief Form of the SSI

In an effort to streamline social skill measurement, a shortened form of the SSI was developed in 2003 (Brief SSI). The Brief SSI is administered with the same instructions and under the same conditions as the original SSI. The Brief SSI is now available in your License to Reproduce and Remote Online Survey License purchase.

Brief SSI Facts, Benefits, and Proper Use

    References
  • 1Riggio, R., & Carney, D. R. (2003). Social Skills Inventory Manual (2nd ed.). Redwood City, CA: Mind Garden Inc.
  • 2Rubin, R. S., Carney, D. R., & Riggio, R. E. (2003). Screening for social skills: A psychometric evaluation of the Brief Social Skills Inventory. Manuscript submitted for publication. [Note: cited in Riggo and Carney (2003).]
  • 3Groves, K. (2003). The contribution of leader emotional and social skills to leadership effectiveness during strategic organizational change. Leadership Review, 3. Retrieved from www.leadershipreview.org. [Note: Leadership Review is a discontinued online periodical, managed by the Kravis Leadership Institute.]
  • See also: Groves, K. (2005). Gender differences in social and emotional skills and charismatic leadership. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 11(3), 30-46.

Uses of the SSI

The SSI has many uses including Emotional Intelligence measurement, leadership development, personnel selection, social and personality research, and counseling. Below are some examples of use.

Emotional Intelligence Measurement
Leadership Development
Personnel Selection
Research
Counseling and Therapy


Assess social competence now! SSI Manual, Licenses, Reports, and Training Guide are available here.

SSI Manual    SSI Individual Report    Social Skills Training Guide