Changes in children's social skills performance as a function of preassessment experiences

Abstract

The present investigation examined the extent to which the assessment of children's social skills could be influenced by a positive affect induction experience. Thirty‐two psychiatric inpatient children, ages 6 to 12, completed behavioral and self‐report measures of social skills on two separate occasions. Prior to the second assessment, half of the children engaged in a laboratory task, unrelated to social skills, that provided a success experience designed to induce positive affect. The other half of the children were tested under standard assessment conditions without the positive‐induction experience. Children who received the positive‐induction experience showed significantly higher levels of social skills, as reflected in concrete responses (e.g., number of words spoken, motor movements) and molar behaviors (e.g., making requests, responding to provocation) and self‐reported confidence in their social behavior. The results suggest that social skills performance can be readily altered as a function of nontreatment experiences. The implications of the results for the design and interpretation of social skills assessment are discussed.