Social intelligence: what is it in psychology, tests, diagnostic methods and development

Description

This term denotes a set of talents and skills with the help of which an individual manages to become successful when interacting with other people and to find his place in the world. It includes 3 main skills:

1. The ability to accurately understand the behavior of others, the reasons for a particular step.
2. The ability to be aware of my own actions (why am I behaving this way, what goal am I pursuing, can I achieve the desired result).
3. The ability to act according to a specific situation, taking into account all its features and nuances.

In many ways, this skill overlaps with the so-called emotional intelligence, which allows you to correctly identify and evaluate the feelings of others. The simultaneous development of these two abilities at once is guaranteed to increase the effectiveness of interaction, but if innate talent is extremely important for emotional intelligence, then social is perfectly trainable.

How to develop social intelligence

Naturally, the presence of social intelligence provides good opportunities. The essence of correct interaction with people is to receive information from a person and formulate a response in such a way as to take into account the person’s opinion and intentions.

The presence of social abilities is individual for each person. An analogy can be drawn with musical abilities. For example, some people have truly perfect pitch, while others cannot sing a few notes. The same thing happens with social intelligence. This is why difficulties often arise in communicating with people. The issue of communication is important precisely in the society where a person will truly find his place.

If a person still wants to actively develop his social intelligence, then he should turn to an appropriate specialist for help. A psychotherapist will help you begin to develop yourself in this matter. To begin with, it is recommended to observe people, and it is worth analyzing what they might be thinking about at the moment. You should try to foresee events and some actions. Some psychologists recommend doing a little training on TV series. You should carefully monitor the behavior of the characters and try to predict events.

Observing other people is the surest tool that will really help develop your social abilities. An attentive attitude towards your interlocutor will also help to achieve the desired effect. By actively analyzing the conversation, trying to understand the person's point of view, you can achieve an ideal result.

Approaches to definition

Everyone defines the nature of the emergence of skills differently. I will note three main settings:

1. Social intelligence is one of the cognitive abilities of a person, ranking alongside mathematical talents or the ability to quickly master foreign languages. In this case, it can be considered congenital.
2. Social intelligence is more of an acquired experience; absolutely every person can achieve it with some training, regardless of initial knowledge.
3. This is a certain personality and character trait that initially either exists in an individual or is absent in him.

Thorndike introduced the term social intelligence back in 1920, in which several psychological schools were actively developing - behaviorist, Soviet, psychoanalytic. Each of the three approaches listed is valid and should be used as a basis for the development of knowledge.

In what year did Thorndike coin the term and what is the history of the SQ concept?

The concept of intelligence was introduced by Cicero as the ability to understand . Then his thought was continued by Plato, Aristotle and others. The definition of social intelligence was first introduced by E. Thorndike in 1920, so this concept can be considered relatively young for psychology. It sounds like the ability of people to act wisely in human relationships. But this definition was far from the only one.

In total, the following time periods can be distinguished in history:

Historical reference

The history of social intelligence research began in the early 20th century, when Edward Thorndike first coined this term to define a person's ability to achieve success and effectiveness when interacting with other people in a variety of situations. Somewhat later, his idea was picked up by the Briton Philip Vernon. He expanded the concept to conclude that individuals have a responsibility to get along with each other.

In 1937, American psychologist Gordon Allport, based on the judgments of his colleagues, defined social intelligence as the ability to quickly and clearly judge the people around him and predict their likely behavior. In contrast, Auguste Comte and Hans Eysenck believed in the social nature of the phenomenon, considering it the individual’s adaptation to life in society.

The first attempt to measure the level of mental processes was made by the American psychologist Joy Gilford. He developed a test that is still used today. We will talk about it in detail a little later, as well as about the Eysenck model, which also became very popular.

What is social intelligence and what makes it special?

Social intelligence is knowledge, skills and abilities that help Ushakov D.V. Social intelligence as a type of intelligence.
Social intelligence: theory, measurement, research. M. 2004 for a person to successfully interact with others. The ability to understand the behavior of other people and one’s own, to act according to circumstances - these are the components of this concept. The Lifehacker Telegram channel contains only the best texts about technology, relationships, sports, cinema and much more. Subscribe!

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This concept itself is broader than what is called emotional intelligence, which is understood by Drigas AS, Papoutsi C. A New Layered Model on Emotional Intelligence. Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) the ability to manage your emotions and empathize with other people. Such a skill, rather, can be considered a component of social intelligence, since the ability to empathy—recognize one’s own and others’ feelings—is an important part of communication.

Social intelligence is weak Ushakov D.V. Social intelligence as a type of intelligence. Social intelligence: theory, measurement, research. M. 2004 is associated with the general mental development of a person. When we communicate with others, we inevitably evaluate them and ourselves. However, people usually are not aware of the criteria for these assessments, and when they try to formulate them, the assessment itself changes. Thus, intuition and personal qualities are of great importance in social intelligence.

In fact, social intelligence is an indicator of how much a person understands people and everyday situations. In ordinary life, such skills are called Riggo ER What Is Social Intelligence? Why Does It Matter? Psychology Today with tact and common sense. However, there is no generally accepted definition of social intelligence, and its structure and place in the human mind have not yet been fully developed Grieve R., Mahar D. Can social intelligence be measured? Psychometric properties of the Tromsø Social Intelligence Scale – English Version. The Irish Journal of Psychology. For example, some interpretations also include the ability to evaluate oneself from the outside.

The concept of social intelligence as the ability to understand people dates back to 1920. The then president of the American Psychological Association (APA), Edward Lee Thorndike, used Thorndike EL Intelligence and its uses. Harper's Magazine it along with two other types of intelligence:

• mechanical, or technical (the ability to handle objects and equipment);
• abstract (the ability to understand ideas and symbols).

Thorndike also considered Thorndike EL Intelligence and its uses. Harper's Magazine Social intelligence is the key to success in life and meaningful behavior in a situation where you need to make a sound decision.

This idea was later developed by Filippovskaya T.V. Knowledge and social intelligence: a sociological approach to understanding the relationship. Journal of new economy Gordon Allport, who developed the theory of personality traits, Joy Guilford, who created a model of the structure of intelligence, and Hans Eysenck, the author of the factor theory of personality structure.

The social intelligence hypothesis has become the basis for many fascinating concepts. Robert Strenberg's theory of investment creativity, for example, says Sternberg RJ, Lubart TI Defying the Crowd: Simple Solutions to the Most Common Relationship Problems. Simon and Schuster. 2002, that creative people invest their energy in some idea, which, once developed, brings them dividends in the future.

Science psychology

Like any other talents and skills, mental performance can be measured using tests. At the same time, mental indicators are recorded from the point of view of the development of various abilities, the main ones among which are:

1. The ability to recognize the internal state of another person.
2. Interpret the connection between it and behavior.
3. React flexibly to changes.
4. Predict options for the development of the situation.
5. Behave in accordance with the information received and processed.

An individual who has intellectual qualities can determine the desires, needs and emotions of his interlocutor and structure his own behavior so that his partner feels comfortable. As a result, an effective communication model is formed and better results are achieved.

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Levels of social intelligence

The ability to understand the people around you can be developed, and for some it is easier and faster due to their innate talents, while for others it requires a lot of effort. At the same time, skill can be measured using several techniques. Main degrees of development:

1. Low social intelligence – suggests that a person does not know how to effectively interact with the world around him. His behavior can be called inadequate, and his attractiveness in the eyes of other individuals is seriously reduced.
2. Average - means that in most situations a person is able to understand his interlocutor and adjust his behavior to his needs, with rare exceptions - when it is necessary to find a common language with someone who does not reciprocate.
3. High - assumes that an individual can establish contact with absolutely any partner, but no more than 11% of all people on Earth have such skills.

In any case, you can develop your abilities, although you will have to make a lot of effort.

Concept

The term social intelligence appeared thanks to the American psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike. As the specialist himself stated, the phenomenon is especially pronounced in children who interact with their environment, for example, playing on the playground.

According to the psychologist, social intelligence helps to find a common language with others, especially with the opposite sex. Knowledge alone in this matter is not enough; it is important to gain practical skills. Features of social intelligence can also be used to achieve career success. Lack of certain skills can prevent career advancement.

American scientist David Wexler developed scales that allow one to determine the level of social intelligence of adults and children. However, the scientist perceived social intelligence as the general intellectual abilities that a person uses in society. In the process of research, Wexler came to the conclusion that social intelligence is the ability to manipulate others and do it quite masterfully.

In Russia, the first studies were carried out by sociologist and psychologist Margarita Bobneva . In the process of research, it was revealed that a person’s general intelligence is not related to the development of social intelligence.

Techniques

I will list the main ways of developing and measuring mental activity within the framework of the most popular psychological concepts.

G. Eysenck's model of the structure of intelligence

This British psychologist suggested that any person has three different types of intellectual formation, which determine his skills. This is about:

1. Biological, that is, innate information processing skills. They originate directly in the structures of the brain and form the basis of all knowledge that will be acquired by an individual in the course of life.
2. Psychometric, that is, the very indicators that are measured using tests.
3. Social – formed during socialization, developing gradually and largely determined by the environment and people.

Intellectual abilities can simultaneously include the development of cognitive processes such as memory, attention, the ability to reason, adapt, and interact.

J. Guilford's model of the structure of intelligence

This concept is more complex. The intellectual manifestations of an individual are represented in it in the form of a cube consisting of many small cubes. This model includes more than 100 factors that determine the degree of development of a person's skills, but they are all based on three variables that help determine how information is processed:

1. Data content.
2. Mental actions.
3. Results.

It is important to note that among all the “cubes” identified by the technique, mental activity lies in only one small column - the ability to cognize and understand behavior. This little piece reveals 6 separate factors:

1. The ability to highlight verbal and non-verbal information from an interlocutor.
2. Perceive something common in the entire data stream.
3. Understand relationships.
4. See the logic of the development of situations.
5. Notice changes.
6. Predict possible consequences.

It is these factors that are measured using test methods and ultimately determine the final level of development of social intelligence, which you can find out if you take the online Guilford test.

Research from domestic psychologists

Margarita Bobneva was the first to describe the term when she studied the formation of personality as a part of society in 1979. She believed that the impetus for the emergence of skills is the socialization that every individual living in human society undergoes.

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Another famous psychologist, Yuri Emelyanov, explored the concept within the framework of the psychology of practical activity. He believed that in order to develop communication abilities, it is necessary to actively learn, and this process should last constantly and continuously.

Alla Yuzhaninova went further in her research and came to the conclusion that social intelligence is just part of the intellectual structure, which also includes practice and logic. To improve your communication skills, you need to train all 3 areas.

Diagnosis of social intelligence

The interest of specialists in studying the relationships of society led to the fact that already in 1928 the first multifactor test was prepared, designed to determine the level of mental development of a particular individual. Its author was T. Khan. The technique evaluates several components:

1. Judgments when participating in any situation.
2. Memory.
3. Ability to observe behavior.
4. Recognition of internal states.

The method will determine whether a person knows how to interact with others and how effective this interaction is. However, the test did not become popular, but provided the necessary basis for the preparation of another research method, much more well-known and accurate. We'll talk about it a little later.

Methodology for identifying social intelligence from Guilford

It was this testing that quickly gained approval from other specialists involved in the study of communication abilities. It is still used today as the main method of work.

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The measurement is carried out using 4 separate subtests, 3 of which are performed using non-verbal material. The purpose of testing is to determine whether an individual has special skills:

1. Knowledge of classes and systems.
2. Transformation of information.
3. Behavioral results.

You can get tested as early as 9 years of age. At the same time, the time to solve all the proposed problems is limited. In our country, it is not the original, but an adapted technique that is used. It was prepared by E.S. Mikhailova, based not only on the work of the author, but also on the peculiarities of our mentality.

The concept of “social intelligence” in psychology

The concept of “social intelligence” in psychology

In modern psychology, the issue of studying social intelligence is gaining great interest..

The rapidly changing world places high demands on individuals to actively master new social knowledge and skills. The acquired skills should contribute to the understanding and interpretation of ongoing social changes, awareness of the behavior and actions of other people.

Personalities today have to quickly develop and improve themselves. A person needs to update his capabilities in order to be in demand in society. Social intelligence is the leading component of a person’s successful adaptation in society. Despite the results of numerous theoretical and empirical studies of social intelligence, questions remain that require resolution.

The term “social intelligence” was introduced into science in 1920 by E. Thorndike. The author defined three types of intelligence: mechanical, abstract and social. Abstract intelligence or abstract scientific intelligence involves understanding and managing thoughts, ideas. Mechanical intelligence or visuospatial mechanics finds its application to specific objects. Social or practical intelligence refers to practical interactions with people.1

From the point of view of E. Thorndike, the object of social intelligence is the system of social relations. Social intelligence is the ability to understand and manage men and women, boys and girls, and the ability to act correctly in human relationships.

Social intelligence is a complex of abilities and capabilities of the “general” intelligence of an individual, aimed at analyzing the social situation. E. Thorndike defined social intelligence as the ability to understand and manage people.

Further development of the issue of studying social intelligence spread among such foreign psychologists as: G. Eysenck, H. Gardner, J. Guilford, J. Kihlstrom, N. Cantor, G. Allport, R. Selman, R. Sternberg. The following psychologists studied this topic in Russia: N.A. Aminov, M.I. Bobneva, Yu.N. Emelyanov, E.I. Ishutina, M.L. Kubyshkina, N.A. Kudryavtseva, V.N. Kunitsyna, E.S. Mikhailova, A.L. Yuzhaninova.

Psychologists consider intelligence as an individual, personal property of a person. At the same time, they note that the content of the functions of this phenomenon reflects the double conditionality of social intelligence. Those. it is determined by the internal and external world of the individual.

The promotion of the concept of social intelligence in psychology generates interest among scientists. Scientists in their research strive to understand and explain the specifics of this phenomenon. At the same time, they offer different ways to study social intelligence and highlight its various forms.

It is customary to distinguish several stages in the study of social intelligence.

At stage 1 - 1920 -1924. For the first time, the term “social intelligence” was introduced into scientific psychological use. In 1920, the American journal Psychology and Education organized a round table to explain the concept of “intelligence.”

At stage 2 in 1925-1938. psychometric study of social intelligence begins. Definitions of social intelligence have been developed according to a psychometric approach and translated into standard measures of individual differences.

At stage 3 at the end of the 30s 1965. social intelligence disappears from the subject field of psychology. Further work in this area was considered unpromising, and research was stopped.

Stage 4 1965 - 1969 — social intelligence is considered in the basic structure of the intelligence model.2

At the moment, in modern psychology there are some general scientific approaches to the study of the phenomenon of intelligence.

1. Structural-genetic approach, based on the ideas of J. Piaget and considering intelligence as the highest universal way of balancing the subject with the environment.

2. The cognitive approach is based on the understanding of intelligence as a cognitive structure. The specificity of intellectual structures is determined by the experience of the individual. The founders of this approach are J. Bruner and O.K. Tikhomirov.

3. The factor analytical approach is the most common in modern psychology. Its founder is Charles Spearman. He views intelligence as general "mental energy." In the opinion of the author, the level of which is determined by the success of any tests.

R. Cattell owns one of the common concepts that considers hierarchical models of intelligence. In this case, intellectual qualities are arranged into a hierarchy according to the level of generality.

The variety of approaches to defining social intelligence determines the ambiguity of the structure of this phenomenon.

Psychologists believe that this ability is necessary for a person to have effective interpersonal interaction and successful socialization. Social intelligence implements the cognitive processes of the individual. They are directly related to the display of a person as a partner in communication and activity.

Psychologists also suggest that intelligence can be manifested both in the effectiveness of solving test problems and in the way a person understands and evaluates the behavior of people around him, as well as himself.

G. Eysenck differentiated the concepts of “biological intelligence”, “social intelligence”, “psychometric intelligence”. D. Wechsler defines social intelligence as the degree of a person’s adaptability to life in his given society.3 In D. Wechsler’s intelligence scales, the indicators of the “Comprehension” and “Sequential Pictures” subtests are defined as related to the development of “social intelligence”. The ability to understand the reasons for actions, customs, traditions, the ability to grasp the logic and sequence of events is noted.

D. Goleman identifies two main categories in the structure of social intelligence: social awareness and social objects. He defined social consciousness as how we feel for others. The social object appears as what we then do with our awareness.

From the point of view of interpersonal relationships, K. Albrecht classifies behavior towards other people according to the principle of “Toxic” effect and “Nutritional” effect. Toxic behavior leads to the fact that a person begins to experience anger, disappointment, guilt and depression. Nourishing behavior results in people feeling respected, needed, and satisfied with life. The lingering effects of toxic behavior indicate low levels of social intelligence. The individual does not have the ability to communicate with people and effectively influence their behavior. The long-term effects of nurturing behavior tend to make a person much more effective at communicating with others. Such communication skills determine high levels of social intelligence.

Possibilities for measuring social intelligence include identifying key interpersonal skills of an individual. The possibility of assessing them behaviorally is also determined. All personal interactions occur with some context. Effectiveness involves mastering contexts in which one is called upon to interact with another context. By this logic, social intelligence means understanding context. By knowing how to navigate within and between different contexts, and by knowing how to behave in different contexts, the individual will be able to achieve his goals of effective interaction.

Social intelligence is understood as a combination of skills that are expressed through learned behavior. The individual assesses the impact of his behavior on others. The extent to which one's success in relationships with others provides the opportunity to experiment with new behaviors and try out new interaction strategies. Thus, social intelligence is defined as the ability to “get along with people.” This happens in the process of growing up and communicating, when a person gains experience in communicating with other people.

In adulthood, many people do not continue to learn and develop as they age. They do not try to acquire the understanding and skills needed to succeed in social, business, or professional situations. In doing so, adults who lack understanding and competence in communicating with others can make significant improvements in their social intelligence as a result of understanding basic concepts and evaluating themselves from a comprehensive model of interpersonal effectiveness.

Then the criterion of intellectual maturity becomes the subject’s readiness to accept any event as it is in its objective reality, as well as his readiness to change the original motives, turn goals into means, taking into account the objective requirements of activity. A low level of intellectual maturity initiates certain types of defensive behavior against the backdrop of vigorous, albeit very unique, intellectual activity.4

Let's consider the model of social intelligence presented in the concept of A.I. Savenkova. The author identifies three groups of components that make up social intelligence:

a) the cognitive component is social knowledge. Knowledge about people, knowledge of special rules, understanding of other people, social memory, i.e. memory for names, faces, social intuition, assessment of feelings, determination of mood, understanding of the motives of actions;

b) emotional component - social expressiveness is represented here, this is emotional expressiveness and emotional sensitivity, empathy as the ability to enter into the position of other people, to put oneself in the place of another, the ability for human self-regulation, i.e. the ability to regulate one’s own emotions and one’s own mood;

c) behavioral component - social perception as the ability to listen to an interlocutor, social interaction and social adaptation.5

V.N. Kunitsyna considers social intelligence as a complex and multidimensional psychological structure. The author of this concept identifies the following components.

1. Communication and personal potential. It is a complex of mental properties that facilitate or hinder children’s communication. On this basis, such integral communicative properties as psychological contact and communicative compatibility are formed. This, in the author’s opinion, is the main core of social intelligence.

2. The main characteristics of children’s self-awareness are a sense of self-respect and freedom from personal complexes.

3. Social perception is defined as children's ability to understand and model social phenomena. The main thing here is understanding people and their motives. The ability to predict the development of interpersonal situations is also the basis of their effectiveness.

V.N. Kunitsyna explains the choice of these components by the fact that, in her opinion, they are the main directions of social development of children during the period of senior preschool and primary school age.

Concept by D.V. Ushakov, the whole variety of approaches to defining, explaining and diagnosing social intelligence comes down to three main parameters:

1. Social intelligence is a special ability that is different from the rest.
2. Social intelligence is social competence, a system of knowledge, skills and abilities acquired throughout life.
3. Social intelligence is a personality trait that determines the success of social interaction.

The phenomenon of social intelligence is directly related to success in professional activities. The authors note that, first of all, in activities where interaction with people is of no small importance, social intelligence is determined by one of the components of creativity, as the ability to put forward an idea.

D.V. Ushakov identifies a number of characteristic structural features of social intelligence:

1. Continuous character.

2. Use of nonverbal representation.

3. Loss of accuracy of social assessment during verbalization.

4. Formation in the process of implicit learning.

5. Using “inner experience.”

Social intelligence is the ability to understand social phenomena. This phenomenon is one of the components of social skills and competence. This is an important ability that can help a person’s successful functioning in society and his effectiveness in a particular activity. Within the framework of structural-dynamic theory, social intelligence uses the same “formation potential” as other types of intelligence.

This assumption allows D.V. Ushakov put forward several hypotheses that can be tested within the framework of empirical research. If the formation potential is the same, in the author’s opinion, then the connection between social intelligence and other types of intelligence may or may not exist. This will depend on the degree of uniformity of the potential distribution in the sample of subjects. The degree of uniformity of this distribution will depend, for example, on the field of activity in which the subjects’ interests lie: in the subject or communicative sphere.6

The phenomenon of social intelligence must be considered in connection with the issue of intelligence as a whole. In this case, with social intelligence we are talking about the ability of this constructor to explain the specifics of an individual’s social cognition. From the very beginning, when the attention of psychologists was attracted by the problem of social interaction and the role of intelligence in it, the development of social intelligence occurred mainly within the framework of general theories of intelligence. Therefore, this question seems not only interesting, but also productive, to consider at least in general terms the dynamics of views on this phenomenon from a historical perspective and analytically comprehend these approaches in order to determine a new view in the interpretation and application of this category within the framework of psychological research.

The phenomenon of social intelligence, despite a fairly long history of study, today appears as a new concept. This is primarily due to the methodological difficulties of the psychology of intelligence. Different approaches to considering social intelligence in general and social psychology and other problems. The justification of social intelligence as a category of social psychology is due to the fact that there are still no sufficiently clear criteria for this concept. There is a need to indicate which concepts can be recognized as general and fundamental definitions that cover the problems of modern personality psychology, the most essential properties and relationships of the phenomena being studied.7

N.V. Bogdanovich notes that for modern psychology, which is experiencing a critical period of consideration and assessment of its methodological foundations, the role of categorical analysis is great. The categorical apparatus is intended to highlight and designate the system of concepts that are most promising for development in modern psychological theory. It often happens that modern researchers do not formulate clear definitions. There is a tendency to limit oneself to listing the characteristics of social intelligence within specific scientific areas or to one’s own conclusions.

Social intelligence is defined as a person's ability to respond to social situations in everyday life. Social intelligence will not include feelings or emotions evoked in us by other people. They involve an individual's ability to understand others and respond so that effective communication is achieved.

In this work, the definitions of E. Thorndike are used as a basis. Social intelligence —

This is the ability of an individual to understand and predict the behavior of other people in various life situations. Be able to recognize feelings, intentions and emotions by their verbal and non-verbal characteristics.

Development

The ability to interact with other people is truly a key aspect for every person living in society. Without it, an individual is not able to study normally at school, get a profession, work, or start a family. Naturally, many are concerned with the question of how to improve skills if innate talents are not enough.

There really is a way, but it also affects other forms of intellectual activity, including emotional activity. Training should take place constantly and everywhere. In this case, it is fixed at the cognitive level and allows adaptation.

Constantly being in the company of other people, copying their behavior, trying to understand their feelings and emotions, a person begins to react more adequately to the situations happening around him and, in the end, gives exactly the reactions that are expected of him. His attractiveness in the eyes of society is growing.

How to develop social intelligence

In order to learn how to interact with others, you need to follow several rules. They cannot be called simple and easily digestible. On the contrary, some will require a lot of work, but will ultimately lead to the desired result. Here are the main principles:

1. Learn to be more sensitive to other people. To do this, you need to constantly come into contact with them, observe them, try to understand them.
2. Get to know the basics of nonverbal communication and read the emotions of others by their faces and gestures.
3. Force yourself to hear what the other person is saying.
4. Notice people's moods. This is difficult only at first glance, but in fact, even in childhood, a person’s mood was noted by random steps, a slightly stronger slam of the door and other factors.
5. Sign up for acting classes. Interaction is a bit of a game, which is not for everyone.
6. Record your own feelings and manage them.
7. Be in public more often and don’t be shy about speaking.
8. Get into the habit of playing board games - Mafia.

The younger a person is, the easier it is for him to learn to understand the behavior of others, so you should start working as early as possible.