Defining Social, Emotional, and Behavioral SKills
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.
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  • 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:
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Measuring SOcial, Emotional, And Behavioral Skills
Next, we developed and validated the Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Skills Inventory (BESSI) as a reliable, valid, efficient, and comprehensive measure of SEB skills.

  • 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.
  • We developed short forms of the BESSI to assess SEB skills in just a few minutes.
  • We collaborated with international colleagues to adapt the BESSI into other languages and cultural contexts including German, Italian, and Spanish.

For more information, see:
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For information regarding translations of the BESSI, see:​

PREDICTING LIFE OUTCOMES
​We are now 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, standardized test performance, 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.
  • We found that SEB skills predict adolescents' prosocial volunteering behavior.

For more information, see:​ ​For related work, see:

development and volitional change
​We are also examining how social, emotional, and behavioral skills develop across the lifespan, whether people are motivated to improve their SEB skills, and whether interventions can help people practice and improve their skills.

  • We showed that SEB skills show individual-level changes during adolescence.
  • We found that a weekly behavioral challenge intervention can help people practice and improve their SEB skills.
  • We found that both natural and volitional gains in SEB skills are linked with positive life outcomes.
  • We showed that people are often more interested in improving their SEB skills than changing their personality traits.

For more information, see:​ ​For related work, see:

Current Projects
We are now conducting additional research on the assessment, development, and outcomes of SEB skills. Our current projects include:
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  • Translating the BESSI into additional languages and cultural contexts including Chinese, French, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, and Swedish.
  • Investigating when and how SEB skills change across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
  • Testing whether people can intentionally develop their SEB skills through goal-setting and practice.
  • Examining whether young adults’ civic engagement experiences predict skill development.​

Future Projects
We’re planning to further investigate key questions about SEB skills in future research. We invite other researchers to collaborate on this work or investigate these questions independently:
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  • ​How stable or malleable are skills over time? 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?