General Psychology

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CHAPTER ELEVEN:
SOCIAL SKILLS

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Prepared by Abubeker A.
(BED,BA,MBA)
At the end of this unit, you are expected to:

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 Describe features of intercultural diversity and diversity management

 Differentiate gender differences and similarities

 Explain reasons of social inclusions and exclusions

 Describe interpersonal communication skills

 Demonstrate social influences and peer pressure with examples

 Define assertiveness

 Give details of conflict and conflict resolution

 Illustrate characteristics of teamwork

 Explain techniques of overcoming risky behavior

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has become the defining characteristic of our social
and cultural worlds.
Ethnicity, nationality, gender, religion, occupation, political

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
affiliation, skin color, profession, and others can define our
identity.
 Our social and cultural worlds are increasingly unassailably
and multifaceted.
 For instance, Ethiopian population is made up varieties of
peoples, languages, religions, cultures, political orientations,
and many more.
 Culture is the criteria with which we evaluate everything
around us. We evaluate what is proper or improper, normal
or abnormal through our culture.
 The term “culturally diverse” is often used interchangeably
with the concept of “multiculturalism.” Multiculturalism is
defined as: ―…a system of beliefs and behaviors that
recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in
an organization or society, acknowledges and values their
socio cultural differences, and encourages and enables their
continued contribution within an inclusive cultural context
which empowers all within the organization or society 3
(Belfield, 2012).
 The key to manage diversity is to capitalize more effectively on our
capacity for multiple social identities.

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 All individuals have multicultural heritage, and all of us are capable of
juggling multiple identities across a lifetime (Seelye & Wasilewski, 1996).
 Hence, to manage cultural diversities and live with others in
harmony, we need to;
 Increase level of understanding about each other‘s cultures by
interacting with people outside of one‘s own culture
 Avoid imposing values on one other that may conflict or be
inconsistent with cultures.
 When interacting with others who may not be proficient in one‘s
language, recognize that their limitations in the language
proficiency in no way reflects their level of intellectual
functioning.
 Recognize and understand that concepts within the helping
profession, such as family, gender roles, spirituality, and
emotional well-being, vary significantly among cultures and
influence behavior.
 Within the workplace, educational setting, and/or clinical setting,
advocate for the use of materials that are representative of the
various cultural groups within the local community and the
society in general. 4
 The term ―sex‖ usually refers to biological phenomena
such as hormones and reproduction.
 Gender is an organizing principle of all social systems,

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including families, work, schools, economic and legal systems,
and everyday interactions.
 Scholarship conceptualizing gender as an institution
encompasses three levels of analysis: individual, interactional,
and structural (e.g., Risman, 1998).
refers to stable traits of men and women
that endure over time in the process of human life span
development, such as differences believed to be rooted in biology
or early childhood socialization.
examines the ways in which social
behavior is constrained or facilitated by expectations that
people have regarding the traits men and women possess, the
ways they should act, and the beliefs they should hold.
addresses how macro level patterns, such
as the positions to which people are assigned in society or the
rewards attached to those positions, lead to differences in the
behavior or experiences of men and women. 5
 women should benefit from education, economy,

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leadership system, development programs and legal
system.
 Build a culture of gender inclusion across implementing
the following is important. •
Encourage inclusive engagement in all areas of
development and cross-cutting initiatives;
Apply gender-inclusive approaches of development
Promote good practices in gender inclusion; and
Optimize resources and prosperity for all 6
is the language used
and the non-verbal messages sent through tone of voice,

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facial expressions, gestures and body language.
are essential for
effective interpersonal interactions include the
following: Self-awareness, effective listening,
questioning, oral communication, helping or
facilitating, reflecting, assertiveness and nonverbal
communications (Facial expressions, gaze, gestures,
posture, paralinguistic cues).
Interpersonal communication is the process by which
people exchange information, feelings, and meaning
through verbal and non-verbal messages.
It is face-to-face communication.
Interpersonal skills can be defined broadly as “those
skills which one needs in order to communicate7
effectively with another person or a group of people
 Social influence occurs when one person (the source) engages in
some behavior (such as persuading, threatening, promising, or
issuing orders) that causes another person (the target) to behave

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differently from how he or she would otherwise behave.
 In some cases, the influencing source may produce attitude change -
a change in the target‘s beliefs and attitudes about some issue,
person, or situation.
 Attitude change is a fairly common result of social influence.
Peer Pressure
 Peer pressure is the influence to go along with the beliefs and
actions of one‘s peers.
 Peer pressure may be positive when it inspires a person to do
something worthwhile.
 Positive peer pressure uses encouraging words and expressions.
 Negative peer pressure tries to get a person to do something
harmful. It may involve threats, bribes, teasing, and name-calling.
 Peers can exert a negative pressure or a positive influence upon 8
each other, for example: using drugs, misbehaving in class, stealing,
making fun of someone, and the like.
When faced with overt or indirect pressure to do something you're not
sure about, try using the following strategies:

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Give yourself permission to avoid people or situations that don't feel
right and leave a situation that becomes uncomfortable.
Check in with yourself. Ask, "How am I feeling about this?" "Does
this seem right to me?" "What are the pros and cons of making this
decision?"
Recognize unhealthy dynamics: It's not OK for others to pressure,
force,
Spend time with people who respect your decisions
When people or situations that make you feel pressured are not
avoidable, try the "delay tactic": Give yourself time to think about
your decision instead of giving an immediate answer: "Let me think
about that," "Can I get back to you?" or "Check back with me in an
hour.“
When you can't avoid or delay a pressure-filled situation, practice
saying "No thanks" or just "No!" If "no" feels uncomfortable, practice
using other responses, such as "Not today," "Maybe another time," or
"Thanks, but I can't." 9
 Assertiveness is a communication style.
It is being able to express your feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and

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
opinions in an open manner that does not violate the rights of
others.
 Assertiveness is about having confidence in yourself, a positive
attitude about yourself and towards others, and it is about behaving
towards others in a way which is direct and honest.
 Assertive behavior includes:
Being open in expressing wishes, thoughts and feelings and
encouraging others to do likewise.
Listening to the views of others and responding appropriately,
whether in agreement with those views or not.
Accepting responsibilities and being able to delegate to others.
Regularly expressing appreciation of others for what they have
done or are doing.
Being able to admit to mistakes and apologise.
Maintaining self-control.
Behaving as an equal to others. 10
is defined as an incompatibility of goals or values between
two or more parties in a relationship, combined with attempts to control
each other and antagonistic feelings toward each other.

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 One of the early theorists on conflict, Daniel Katz (1965), created a
typology that distinguishes three main sources of conflict:
economic, value, and power.
- involves competing motives to attain scarce
resources. Each party wants to get the most that it can, and the
behavior and emotions of each party are directed toward maximizing its
gain.
- involves incompatibility in ways of life, ideologies
– the preferences, principles and practices that people believe
in.
- occurs when each party wishes to maintain or
maximize the amount of influence that it exerts in the
relationship and the social setting.
 Another important source of conflict is ineffective communication.
Miscommunication and misunderstanding can create conflict 11
even where there are no basic incompatibilities.
- conflict in your head between
opposing motives or ideas

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 - occurs when two people have
incompatible needs, goals, or approaches in their
relationship.
- involves very real differences in role
definitions, expectations or responsibilities between
individuals who are interdependent in a social system.
- occurs between collections of
people such as ethnic or racial groups, departments or
levels of decision making in the same organization, and
union and management.
- occurs in societies when different
interest groups and organizations have varying priorities
over resource management and policy development.
- occurs between states at the
global level. 12
– situations result when only one side
perceives the outcome as positive. Thus, win-lose outcomes are less

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likely to be accepted voluntarily.
all parties end up being worse off. In some
lose-lose situations, all parties understand that losses are
unavoidable and that they will be evenly distributed. In such
situations, lose-lose outcomes can be preferable to win-lose
outcomes because the distribution is at least considered to be fair
- is a conscious and systematic attempt to
maximize the goals of both parties through collaborative
problem solving. The conflict is seen as a problem to be solved
rather than a war to be won. The important distinction is we (both
parties) versus the problem, rather than we (one party) versus they
(the other party). This method focuses on the needs and constraints
of both parties rather than emphasizing strategies designed to
conquer.
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Teams are groups of people with complementary skills
who are committed to a common purpose and hold

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themselves mutually accountable for its achievement.
Effective teamwork results from:
a team whose membership, size and resources
match the task
good leadership and attention to team-building
commitment by team members to understand and
identify with one another's goals
the development of team goals – a shared vision
a sense of common ownership of the task at hand
and joint responsibility for its achievement
coordinated effort and planned sharing of tasks
evenly across the team
the open exchange of information within the team
honesty and frankness among team members.
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Taking risks is fairly common in adolescence.

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can be associated with serious,
long-term, and–in some cases–life-threatening
consequences.
These strategies are to:
1. Support and strengthen family functioning;
2. Increase connections between students and
their schools;
3. Make communities safe and supportive for
children and youth;
4. Promote involvement in high quality out-of-
school-time programs;
5. Promote the development of sustained
relationships with caring adults;
6. Provide children and youth opportunities to
build social and emotional competence;
7. Provide children and youth with high quality 15
education during early and middle childhood.