Attitude Change and Social Skills Training: Potential Techniques

Abstract

At a recent British Association for Behavioural Psychotherapy (B.A.B.P.) conference* concerned with social skills training for adolescents, several speakers from both clinical and academic backgrounds pointed to the limitations of a purely behavioural approach to educating young people encountering difficulties in interpersonal relationships. More specifically, they questioned the analysis of social unease solely in terms of a skills deficit that can be countered by extending the behavioural repertoire of the person concerned. The expectation that, armed with this fresh weaponry, the client would willingly experiment, meet with significant success and change his attitudes accordingly, was exposed as a little naive. The general tenor of opinion was that changing the way the client thinks about himself and others should be a primary goal of social skills training. This is probably a legitimate analysis in all forms of social skills work, but is of singular relevance when dealing with adolescents for whom theorists of a range of persuasions have seen issues of identity and self-image, as of central developmental importance (Blos, 1967; Coleman, 1980; Erikson, 1968).