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Defining Social, Emotional, and Behavioral SKills |
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We started our research on social, emotional, and behavioral skills by defining SEB skills, identifying the most prominent skill domains, considering different approaches for measuring skills, and setting an agenda for future skills research.
For more information, see:
- We defined SEB skills as someone’s capacity to perform in social, emotional, and behavioral domains, which helps distinguish skills from personality traits and intelligence.
- We focused on developing an integrative model of SEB skills that organizes many specific skills within five broad domains: Self-Management, Social Engagement, Cooperation, Emotional Resilience, and Innovation Skills.
- We argued that skill inventories can combine the advantages of different measurement approaches, such as personality tests and behavioral tasks.
- We used a developmental perspective to consider how SEB skills emerge and grow with age and experience.
For more information, see:
- Soto, C. J., Napolitano, C. M., & Roberts, B. W. (2021). Taking skills seriously: Toward an integrative model and agenda for social, emotional, and behavioral skills. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 30, 26-33.
- Napolitano, C. M., Sewell, M. N., Yoon, H. J., Soto, C. J., & Roberts, B. W. (2021). Social, emotional, and behavioral skills: An integrative model of the skills associated with success during adolescence and across the life span. Frontiers in Education, 6, 679561.
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Measuring SOcial, Emotional, And Behavioral Skills |
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Next, we developed and validated the Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Skills Inventory (BESSI) as a reliable, valid, efficient, and comprehensive measure of SEB skills.
For information regarding translations of the BESSI, see:
- We identified 32 specific skill facets within five broad domains (Self-Management, Social Engagement, Cooperation, Emotional Resilience, and Innovation Skills), and wrote hundreds of inventory items to measure these skills.
- We used self-report and observer-report data from thousands of adolescents and adults to refine this initial pool of inventory items into the BESSI.
- We showed that the BESSI converges with existing measures of character and developmental strengths, social and emotional learning competencies, and personality traits, while also providing unique information beyond these other measures.
- Soto, C. J., Napolitano, C. M., Sewell, M. N., Yoon, H. R., & Roberts, B. W. (2022). An integrative framework for conceptualizing and assessing social, emotional, and behavioral skills: The BESSI. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123(1), 192-222.
- Soto, C. J., Napolitano, C. M., Sewell, M. N., Yoon, H. J., & Roberts, B. W. (2021, May). An integrative framework for conceptualizing and assessing social, emotional, and behavioral skills: The BESSI. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science.
For information regarding translations of the BESSI, see:
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PREDICTING LIFE OUTCOMES |
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soto_et_al_2022.pdfNow we are investigating how social, emotional, and behavioral skills relate with success in life.
- We showed that SEB skills predict important outcomes during adolescence, including school grades, academic engagement, occupational interests, social status, relationship quality, civic engagement, and well-being.
- We found that SEB skills predict these consequential outcomes even after accounting for the Big Five personality traits.
- Soto, C. J., Napolitano, C. M., Sewell, M. N., Yoon, H. R., & Roberts, B. W. (2022). An integrative framework for conceptualizing and assessing social, emotional, and behavioral skills: The BESSI. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123(1), 192-222.
- Soto, C. J., Napolitano, C. M., Sewell, M. N., Yoon, H. R., & Roberts, B. W. (in press). Going beyond traits: Social, emotional, and behavioral skills matter for adolescents' success. Social Psychological and Personality Science.
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Current Projects |
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We are now conducting additional research on the assessment, development, and outcomes of SEB skills. Our current projects include:
- Developing abbreviated versions of the BESSI for users who want to quickly measure SEB skills in a limited amount of time.
- Translating the BESSI into additional languages and cultural contexts, including German, Brazilian Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
- Testing whether SEB skills predict students’ scores on academic achievement tests.
- Testing whether SEB skills predict young adults’ civic engagement experiences predict skill development.
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Future Projects |
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We’re planning to further investigate key questions about SEB skills in future research:
- How do SEB skills develop across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood? What kinds of life experience predict skill development?
- What are the most effective ways to promote skill development? Can people intentionally improve their skills? Can educational, occupational, clinical, and personal interventions facilitate skill development?
- What other life outcomes do SEB skills predict? Do they predict these outcomes above and beyond demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, intelligence, and personality traits? What kinds of outcomes are most affected by SEB skills?
- What is the best way to measure SEB skills? Do self-reports, observer ratings, or other assessment methods provide the most accurate measurement?