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This study investigated the effects of an intensive prereading intervention on the beginning reading skills and social behavior of kindergarten children at risk for behavioral disorders and reading difficulties. Children identified through a systematic screening process were assigned randomly to experimental or nonspecific treatment conditions. Children who received the intensive prereading intervention showed statistically and educationally significant gains in their beginning reading skills relative to their counterparts in the nonspecific treatment condition. In contrast, improvements in teacher ratings of the classroom competence, emotional and behavioral self-control, and self-confidence of children in the experimental and nonspecific treatment conditions were not statistically significant from one another., Children with behavioral disorders (BD) consistently show moderate to severe academic achievement deficits relative to normally achieving students (e.g., Greenbaum et al., 1996; Mattison, Spitznagel, & Felix, 1998; Meadows, Neel, [...]

In a previous study, a significant negative correlation between shyness with affiliative humor and a significant positive one with self-defeating humor were reported. Since shyness and loneliness share many of the same characteristics, poor social skills and negative affect, for example, significant negative correlations of loneliness with affiliative and self-enhancing humor and a significant positive one with selfdefeating humor were hypothesized. 106 community college students (34 men, 72 women) ranging in age from 17 to 52 years (M=23.5, SD=7.7) were tested. The hypotheses were supported. Interrelationships among humor, shyness, and loneliness should be examined within one study.

The early adolescent years are a critical period for social skill development, especially for children at risk for social failure. Data from the Adolescent Development Research Program (ADRP) were used [...]

Emotional intelligence has been popularly portrayed as critical to human success and sometimes even more important than IQ (e.g., D. Goleman, 1995), yet sparse evidence exists supporting such a claim. The purpose of this study was to measure emotional intelligence, as conceptualized by J. D. Mayer and P. Salovey (1997), in order to better understand its contribution to the success of gifted adolescents. An adolescent version of the unpublished Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS-A) was used to measure emotional intelligence, while measures of interpersonal relations, social stress, and grade point average were utilized to gauge success. Thirty-nine gifted adolescents (mean age = 16.5) participated. The results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that emotional intelligence did not significantly contribute to the social and academic success of these adolescents. Recommendations for future research in this area are provided, including suggestions for designing studies that could be more practical for educators and other helping professionals., The concept of emotional intelligence became popularized by the publication of Daniel Goleman's (1995) best-selling book on this construct and many subsequent magazine and newspaper articles (e.g., Henig, 1996; Peterson, [...]

The authors conducted 4 studies to test the hypothesis that the relationship between Conscientiousness and job performance reflecting interpersonal effectiveness is more strongly positive among workers who are higher rather than lower in social skill. Results of hierarchical moderated regression analyses supported the hypothesis in all 4 studies. Among workers high in social skill, Conscientiousness was positively related to performance. Among workers low in social skill, the relationship between Conscientiousness and performance was essentially irrelevant in Study 2 but was negative in the other 3 studies. Potential implications of these results are discussed as are directions for future research.

Byline: W. Alex Mason (1), Rick Kosterman (1), J. David Hawkins (1), Kevin P. Haggerty (1), Richard L. Spoth (2) Keywords: substance use; delinquency; adolescence; parent-training; prevention Abstract: The relationship between growth in adolescent substance use and delinquency was examined in a longitudinal, randomized controlled study of the Preparing for the Drug Free Years Program (PDFY), a universal family-focused prevention intervention. Latent growth curve modeling was used to analyze 5 waves of data collected from 429 rural adolescents. Results showed that adolescents assigned to the PDFY intervention condition had a slower rate of linear increase over time in both substance use and delinquency compared with adolescents assigned to the control condition. Moreover, pretest level of delinquency was a reliable, positive predictor of growth in substance use, whereas pretest level of substance use did not predict growth in delinquency. Author Affiliation: (1) Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (2) Institute for Social and Behavioral Research, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa Article History: Registration Date: 28/09/2004

Two studies focused on attachment-style differences in people's social skills. Study 1 had a sample of 237 students who completed questionnaires assessing their own attachment styles and social skills (based on Riggio's six dimensions of social skill). Study 2, which focused on partner-reports, used data from 258 couples to determine whether people's perceptions of a partner's social skill would vary based on the partner's self-reported attachment style. The results revealed attachment-style differences in various social skills across self-and partner-reports; however, these differences were generally less robust for partner-reports. Differences in self-reported social skill were consistent with Bartholomew's two-factor conceptualization of attachment. Dismissive and fearful individuals rated themselves as relatively antisocial and unexpressive, in line with their negative models of others; preoccupied and fearful individuals rated themselves as overly sensitive, in line with their negative models of self. Preoccupied individuals were also perceived as the most socially sensitive by their partners, and across all the analyses, secures were ostensibly the most socially skilled. KEY CONCEPTS attachment, social skills, communication, emotion, expressiveness, sensitivity

A meta-analysis of 119 effect sizes from 14 papers examined the heterosocial competence of sex offenders. Rapists had significantly lower heterosocial competence than non-sex-offenders, but this effect was relatively small. Rapists in prison differed from non-sex-offenders who were not in prison; however, they did not differ from non-sex-offending prisoners. When unreliable measures were excluded from the analysis, nonincarcerated students and other volunteers who reported committing rape did not differ from nonincarcerated non-sex-offenders. The difference in heterosocial competence between child molesters and non-sex-offenders was significantly larger than the difference between rapists and non-sex-offenders. Also, child molesters had significantly less heterosocial competence than rapists. Findings clarify the relationship between heterosocial competence, rape, and child sexual abuse. Implications for the research and treatment of sex offenders are discussed., Clinical psychologists (e.g., Abel, Blanchard, & Becker, 1976) have found that many of the sex offenders they treated had poor heterosocial skills, that is, they lacked the social skills necessary [...]

Four studies demonstrated that fears of rejection prompt individuals to exhibit a signal amplification bias, whereby they perceive that their overtures communicate more romantic interest to potential partners than is actually the case. The link between rejection anxieties and the bias was evident regardless of whether fears of rejection were assessed in terms of chronic attachment anxiety or were induced by reflection on a previous rejection experience. Mediation analyses suggested that the bias stems in part from an expected-augmenting process, whereby persons with strong fears of rejection incorrectly assume that the recipient of their overtures will take their inhibitions into account when interpreting their behavior. Implications for understanding the link between attachment anxiety and loneliness and for designing social skills interventions are discussed.

Anticipating and responding to a partner's emotional reactions are key components in the comprehension of daily social discourse. Kindergarten children with language impairment (LI) and age-matched controls (CA) were asked to label facial expressions depicting 1 of 4 emotions (happy, surprised, sad, mad) and to identify those expressions when given a verbal label. Children then chose among these facial expressions when asked to infer emotional reactions from stories (3-sentence scenarios) presented in 1 of 3 modalities: verbal, visual, and combined. Although all children were able to identify and label the facial expressions, children with LI had difficulty integrating emotion knowledge with event context in order to infer a character's feelings. When these inferencing errors occurred, children in the LI group were more likely to provide emotions of a different valence (e.g., substituting happy for mad) than were children in the CA group. Inferencing ability was related to language comprehension performance on a standardized test. The findings suggest that inferencing errors made by children with LI occur during the early stages of social processing and may contribute to social difficulties often experienced by this group of children. KEY WORDS: comprehension, language impairment, emotion, inferences, children, Comprehension deficits experienced by children with language impairment (LI) are generally accounted for by assessing literal knowledge of semantics, morphology, and syntax. However, research has demonstrated that impairments in making [...]

Byline: Jennifer A. Epstein (1), Kenneth W. Griffin (1), Gilbert J. Botvin (1) Keywords: alcohol use; adolescents; psychological wellness; personal competence Abstract: Research has shown that competence enhancement prevention programs for substance use are effective in reducing alcohol use and other problem behaviors. However, less is known about the mechanisms by which high competence helps youth avoid negative outcomes. This study explored whether greater competence is associated with increased levels of psychological wellness that in turn deters subsequent alcohol use. Specifically, 1,459 students attending 22 middle and junior high schools in New York City completed surveys that included measures of competence (decision making, self-efficacy), psychological wellness, and alcohol use. Students completed surveys at baseline, 1-year follow-up, and 2-year follow-up. Data collectors administered the questionnaire following a standardized protocol during a regular 40-min class period. On the basis of a longitudinal structural equation model, adolescents who were highly competent reported greater psychological wellness, which was then associated with less drinking. These findings highlight the potential of alcohol prevention programs designed to enhance competence and psychological wellness. Author Affiliation: (1) Institute for Prevention Research, Weill Medical College, Cornell University, New York Article History: Registration Date: 13/10/2004

The Social Skills Inventory is a 90-item self-report procedure designed to measure social and communication skills. The inventory measures six dimensions, namely, Emotional Expressivity, Emotional Sensitivity, Emotional Control, Social Expressivity, Social Sensitivity, and Social Control. The Italian version was administered in several cities in Northern Italy to 500 Italian participants ranging in age from 15 to 59 years. Factor analysis appears to confirm the adequacy of the inventory for the Italian adult population. Results indicate strong similarities between the Italian and American populations with respect to the measure of social skills. Indexes of internal reliability and test-retest reliability are good for almost all subscales of the inventory, which should encourage the use of this inventory with Italian samples.

Byline: Kenneth W. Griffin (1), Gilbert J. Botvin (1), Lawrence M. Scheier (1), Jennifer A. Epstein (1), Margaret M. Doyle (1) Keywords: substance use; urban; minority; competence; well-being Abstract: Several previous studies have investigated the relationship between psychological distress and substance use among youth. However, less research has investigated the potentially protective role of psychological well-being on adolescent substance use, and the extent to which personal competence skills may promote well-being. The present study examined personal competence skills, psychological distress and well-being, and adolescent substance use over a 3-year period in a predominantly minority sample of urban students (N = 1,184) attending 13 junior high schools in New York City. Structural equation modeling indicated that greater competence skills predicted less distress and greater well-being over time. Although psychological well-being was associated with less subsequent substance use, distress did not predict later substance use. Findings indicate that competence skills promote resilience against early stage substance use in part by enhancing psychological well-being, and suggest that school-based prevention programs should include competence enhancement components in order to promote resilience. Author Affiliation: (1) Institute for Prevention Research, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York Article History: Registration Date: 13/10/2004

Byline: Mark P. Mostert (1) Keywords: facilitated communication; autism; literature review Abstract: Previous reviews of Facilitated Communication (FC) studies have clearly established that proponents' claims are largely unsubstantiated and that using FC as an intervention for communicatively impaired or noncommunicative individuals is not recommended. However, while FC is less prominent than in the recent past, investigations of the technique's efficacy continue. This review examines published FC studies since the previous major reviews by Jacobson, Mulick, and Schwartz (1995) and Simpson and Myles (1995a). Findings support the conclusions of previous reviews. Furthermore, this review critiques and discounts the claims of two studies purporting to offer empirical evidence of FC efficacy using control procedures. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Early Childhood, Speech Language Pathology, &amp Special Education, Darden College of Education, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, 23529-0136 Article History: Registration Date: 16/10/2004

Dominance-submission in interpersonal interaction typically has been conceptualized as largely a function of either highly stable characteristics of individual actors (e.g., basic temperament, genetic heritage, fixed social roles) or highly dynamic properties of situations (e.g., relational control sequences). Too, the dominance end of the continuum frequently has been infused with negative connotations. Here it is argued that a more balanced and comprehensive perspective is achieved by conceptualizing interpersonal dominance as influenced by. a combination of person, situation, and relationship factors and as including positive qualities that also underwrite social competence. Experimental data relevant to this interactionist perspective were examined for the impacts of one trait-like actor variable (self-reported social skills), two situational factors (communication format and message goal), and one relationship factor (acquaintanceship) on dominance displays during dyadic interactions. Sender and receiver perceptions were also triangulated with observational data from trained coders. Results support an interactionist conceptualization of dominance. Key words: Dominance, Relational Control, Interpersonal Interaction, Social Skill, Family Studies

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of Shyness and Social Skills on Self-disclosure. Three scales, the Trait Shyness Scale, the Scale of Social Skill, and the Self-disclosure Questionnaire were administered to 443 university students. Scores on Shyness were highly negatively correlated with those on Social Skills and moderately negatively correlated with Self-disclosure. Furthermore, Self-disclosure scores correlated positively with Social Skills. Separate factor analyses of the Shyness and Social Skills scales yielded four and two factors, respectively. Findings suggest that shy people may have low interpersonal skills and thus, they may hesitate to engage in self-disclosure.

High and low socially-skilled adolescents, ranging in age from 11 to 16 years, were led to be verbally deceptive or truthful about their enjoyment of a drink that either tasted good or bad. Short, silent videotaped samples of the adolescents while they were being deceptive or truthful were shown to a group of judges, who were asked to indicate how much each adolescent actually enjoyed the drink on the basis of their nonverbal behavior. Results indicated that, as predicted, adolescents with higher levels of social competence were generally better at deceiving than adolescents of lower social competence. However, these finding held primarily for younger adolescents. Furthermore, older adolescents were better at being deceptive than younger ones, and younger females were more proficient liars than younger males.

In this study, we used a four-step social validation process to identify and validate critical skill components that constitute high school students' conversational behavior. The four steps were nominating target behaviors, establishing a normative range of performance, manipulating simulations of behavioral dimensions, and comparing ratings of judges to levels of performance on those behavioral dimensions. Multiple measures, both quantitative and qualitative, suggested that the rate and percentage of time initiating and responding verbally, the percentage of time attending, and the percentage of time not engaging in distracting motor behavior related to favorable ratings by a wide variety of 60 judges. Findings are discussed in relation to the utility of the multistep social validation process and the identification of critical social skill components as targets of interventions. DESCRIPTORS: social validation, high school students, mental retardation, conversational social skills

Byline: Shannon Langland (1), Teri Lewis-Palmer (2), George Sugai (3) Keywords: encourage prosocial behavior; efficient and effective teaching approach; adaptable lesson plan format Abstract: Teachers frequently are asked to address misbehavior in the classroom. To minimize the negative effects of reactive, punishment-based classroom management strategies, proactive instructional approaches are recommended. The Cool Tool is a social skills strategy designed to teach and encourage prosocial behaviors in the classroom and larger school environment. This case study utilized the Cool Tool with 26 middle school students across two classroom settings to teach 'Respect to Adults' and 'Respect to Peers.' A decrease in inappropriate behaviors was observed across both settings when the Cool Tool was initiated. Decreased rates of inappropriate behavior maintained for two months. Implications, limitations, and recommendations are discussed. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Special Education and Community Resources, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon (2) Department of Special Education and Community Resources, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon (3) Department of Special Education and Community Resources, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon Article History: Registration Date: 28/09/2004

Social skills priming was used to increase the spontaneous social initiations of 2 socially withdrawn preschoolers, 1 of whom had been diagnosed with autism. During priming sessions, the teacher prompted and reinforced social behaviors (e.g., smiling, verbal initiations). We varied the rate of reinforcement during priming sessions and measured the effects of this manipulation on the rate of spontaneous social initiations during the subsequent classroom activity. Spontaneous initiations were more frequent after high rates of reinforcement than after low rates of reinforcement. DESCRIPTORS: priming, reinforcement rate, social skills

The social competence and self-concept of college students who have experienced physical abuse during childhood and the role of students' perception of parental relationship in alleviating the consequences of child abuse on social adjustment are studied. Test results involving 660 subjects show that child abuse severely affected self-concept but not social competence.

The development of competence holds great interest for parents and society alike. This article considers implications from research on competence and resilience in children and adolescents for policy and interventions designed to foster better outcomes among children at risk. Foundations of competence in early development are discussed, focusing on the role of attachment relationships and self-regulation. Results from studies of competence in the domains of peer relations, conduct, school, work, and activities are highlighted. Lessons are drawn from studies of naturally occurring resilience among children at risk because of disadvantage or trauma and also from efforts to deliberately alter the course of competence through early childhood education and preventive interventions. Converging evidence suggests that the same powerful adaptive systems protect development in both favorable and unfavorable environments.

The present investigation examines the process of seeking affinity during first encounters between strangers. It tests a process model of affinity-seeking competence and examines the relationships between and among the model's components. This study examined the affinity-seeking process in initial interactions by focusing on the relationships among: (a) Antecedent Factors, (b) Constraints, (c) Strategic Activity, and (d) Target Responses. The results of this study support the overall structure of the Bell and Daly (1984) affinity-seeking model: (a) antecedents (measured here as motives for communicating) were connected to constraints, (b) strategic activity (perceived affinity-seeking competence and strategy use) were connected to target responses (affinity generated), and (c) several of the constraint measures were interrelated. However, the anticipated relationship between constraints and strategic activity was not evident.

Research was conducted to examine the social competence and affective characteristics of students with mild disabilities which included children with learning disabilities, those with mild mental retardation, behavior disorders and those with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Results showed that children with mild disabilities exhibited poorer social skills. Suggestions on the methodological issues that should be addressed for the benefit of students with mild disabilities are discussed.

THIS article summarizes a series of studies conducted by our group that examined the social perceptual deficits of schizophrenia. Research suggested that social perceptual deficits are more pronounced in patients with nonparanoid schizophrenia than comparison groups comprising normal controls or individuals with paranoid schizophrenia. The social perceptual deficits of schizophrenia were affected by the level of abstraction of cue descriptors; the level of emotional arousal engendered by the situation; the presence of extraneous, emotionally arousing stimuli; and the familiarity of the situation. These deficits were not found in standardization and cross-validation samples of normal controls, suggesting that these differential deficits represent a characteristic of the disorder rather than a psychometric confound. Social perceptual deficits in schizophrenia were significantly associated with verbal recall memory and relatively unrelated to visual vigilance. These latter findings were used in a study on rehabilitation of cue perception which showed that memory rehabilitation significantly improved cue perception whereas attention focusing strategies had no appreciable effects.

THIS study examines the relationship of nonverbal social perception to other areas of social functioning in schizophrenia. One model of interpersonal problem-solving skills presents a sequence of receiving, processing, and sending skills. Social perception skills best fit the first stage in this model: receiving skills. As expected, schizophrenic subjects (N = 29) were less skillful than normal subjects (N = 15) on measures of social problem solving, understanding of social sequences, and social judgment. In addition, performance on these tasks was significantly related to nonverbal social perception, but only for the schizophrenic group. Thus, deficits in nonverbal social perception are related to other measures of social functioning in schizophrenia. Implications of these findings for understanding and treating social deficits in schizophrenia are discussed.

THIS article reviews three studies investigating the relationship between information processing and social functioning in schizophrenia. The most consistent finding is the association between vigilance performance on a hybrid continuous performance/span of apprehension task and various indices of social functioning (e.g., ward behavior). However, the nature of the information processing-social functioning relationships is mutable and appears dependent on a number of factors (e.g., cross-sectional versus longitudinal designs). This article concludes with a discussion of treatment implications and future research directions.

The psychometric properties of a rating measure for parents and teachers for social competence, conceptualized as social skills and behaviors, were studied. The rating measure was constructed from factor analyses on 4 samples of school-age children. Factor analyses identified 2 moderately correlated competence aspects, valid for both sexes and for children from varying socioeconomic backgrounds. The first factor, Prosocial Orientation, captured a style promoting positive social interactions; the second factor, Social Initiative, described initiative as opposed to withdrawal in social situations. Scales based on the 2 factors showed reliability in internal consistency and stability across 1 year, validity in interrater agreement concurrently and across 1 year, correspondence with observed peer behavior, and the capacity to discriminate between children of different peer status.

Byline: Kathleen M. Zanolli (1), Pamela Paden (2), Koren Cox (3) Keywords: aggression; social skills; affectionate behavior; turn-taking; toddlers Abstract: Toddlers in day care have more toy conflicts, aggression, and peer-inflicted injuries than any other age group. Toddlers are also capable of turn-taking and affectionate behavior, but exhibit these prosocial behaviors less often than aggression and toy-taking. We explored the usefulness and feasibility of contextual and teacher-directed social skills intervention for increasing toddlers' turn-taking and affectionate behavior to peers. Results showed that adding tangible consequences to a basic package of contextual arrangement, prompts, and praise was the most effective strategy for increasing both turn-taking and affection. Aggression decreased when affection or turn-taking increased. Author Affiliation: (1) Human Development and Family Life, University of Kansas, 4001 Dole, Lawrence, KS, 66045 (2) USDA Preschool Program, Topeka, KS (3) Hilltop Child Development Center, Lawrence, KS Article History: Registration Date: 10/09/2004

Byline: Debra M. Kamps (1), Jessica Potucek (2), Adriana G. Lopez (3), Tammy Kravits (4), Katie Kemmerer (3) Keywords: autism; social skills; peer mediation; networks; social interaction Abstract: A multiple probe design across activities was used to monitor the effects of peer networks and reinforcement on social interaction time for three students with autism. The social intervention (networks) was individualized and implemented in a sequential modification fashion across 4 activities for the students, with baseline conditions remaining in effect for 2 activities. Baseline consisted of students and peers in proximity for the designated activity, with prompting and reinforcement for task completion or behaviors. Intervention consisted of the selection of a group of 2-5 peers as a support network during the activity, structuring the activity to promote interaction for a 10-20 minute time block, the use of task and social scripts, peer and target training/prompting in social skills, verbal and tangible reinforcement for peer interaction, and student feedback. Results indicated increased interaction time for all target students with generalization to non-intervention settings for two students. Author Affiliation: (1) Juniper Gardens Children's Project, University of Kansas, 650 Minnesota Ave., 2nd floor, Kansas City, KS, 66101 (2) Project Sail--Autism Consultants, Kansas City, KS (3) Lawrence Public Schools, Lawrence, KS (4) Juniper Gardens Children's Project, University of Kansas, Kansas City, KS Article History: Registration Date: 10/09/2004

The goal of the present study was to explore the relationship between emotional reactivity toward parents and interpersonal competence. It was asserted that the types of present day interactions that are experienced with parents may be related to the level of comfort and competence experienced in interpersonal relationships outside the family. Interactions with parents were assessed with the Behavioral and Emotional Reactivity Index, a newly developed scale [S. E. Bartle and R. M. Sabatelli, (1995) 'The Behavioral and Emotional Reactivity Index: Preliminary Evidence for Construct Validity from Three Studies,' Family Relations, Vol. 44, pp. 267-277]. In addition, much of the past research investigating these issues has failed to make a distinction between intimacy in same-sex vs. intimacy in opposite-sex relationships. In an effort to be sensitive to the possibility that family dynamics and gender may be differentially related to the development of the capacity for intimacy within these two types of relationships, interpersonal competence in both same-sex friend and dating partner relationships were explored. The results of a doubly repeated multivariate analysis of variance suggested that emotional reactivity toward parents was related to interpersonal competence in both same-sex friend and dating partner relationships regardless of gender. The results also demonstrated a gender by gender of partner interaction.

The present study simulates an enduring intergroup conflict in which each of two interacting groups is represented by a single representative elected for a given period. The authors assume that [...]

This study investigated the relationships among sex, sex-role, perceived facial attractiveness, social self-esteem, and interest in clothing. Women, compared to men, indicated greater interest in clothing, while there were no significant sex differences on scores of perceived facial attractiveness or social self-esteem. Androgynous women scored higher than the feminine and undifferentiated women on their perceived facial attractiveness, social self-esteem, and interest in clothing. This finding supported the presupposition that androgynous women perceive themselves as having higher scores on social effectiveness and interest in clothing. Scores on perceived facial attractiveness were significantly related to women's and men's scores on social self-esteem and interest in clothing, implying that one's interest in clothing might be interpreted as a form of social skill which is associated with one's social self-esteem and one's facial attractiveness.

Social competence (SC) is the ability to respond to the needs of others through the employment of cognitive, emotional and behavior skills. Several opiate-dependent respondents were assessed to examine social competence in drug-addicted individuals. Results show that opiate-dependent individuals generally possess lower level of SC compared to the cocaine-abusing individuals. The measure of SC includes assessments of social skills and ability to interact with others appropriately.

Bivariate relationships were examined between scores on the Five-Factor Model of personality and four personality dimensions including Self-monitoring, Locus of Control, Type A Behavior, and Subjective Well-being. Data were collected from 307 franchise business owner/managers from four different industries. Scores for Self-monitoring were positively related to those on Extraversion; Self-monitoring was the only personality measure significantly correlated with scores on Openness to Experience. Scores for Type A Behavior, measured by the Jenkins Activity Survey, were negatively correlated with Agreeableness and positively correlated with those for Extra-version. Somewhat surprisingly, the score for Type A Behavior had a relatively low correlation with the score for Conscientiousness. Scores for Subjective Well-being and Locus of Control were most strongly correlated with the positive pole of Neuroticism (Emotional Stability), Conscientiousness, and Extraversion. Possible explanations for the observed relationships are discussed.

Social acuity has been identified as an important skill in promoting positive interpersonal and psychological functioning. Because research examining the accuracy of depressives' social perceptions has revealed inconsistent findings, the authors proposed that it may be helpful to consider the dimension of personality. Specifically, they examined whether dependency and self-criticism, 2 personality types that have been linked with depression, were related to social acuity. They hypothesized that whereas self-critical persons would show deficits in social acuity, dependent persons would be more skilled in this area. Ninety university students completed 2 measures of social acuity; the Interpersonal Perception Task and a task requiring subjects to estimate how they were perceived by peers on 10 trait dimensions. Results showed that self-critical persons were significantly less accurate on both tasks, even when controlling for depressive symptomatology. Dependency was unrelated to either measure of social acuity. Results support previous studies showing serious impairments in the interpersonal functioning of self-critical persons and point to distinct interpersonal correlates of dependency and self-criticism.

This study evaluated (a) whether chronic, medicated schizophrenia patients show deficits in emotion recognition compared to nonpatients, and (b) whether deficits in emotion recognition are related to poorer social competence. Two emotion recognition tests developed by S. L. Kerr and J. M. Neale (1993) and Benton's Test of Facial Recognition (A. Benton, M. VanAllen, K. Hamsher, & H. Levin, 1978) were given to patients with chronic schizophrenia and nonpatient controls. Patients' social skills, social adjustment, and symptomatology were assessed. Like Kerr and Neale's unmedicated patients, these patients performed worse than controls on both emotion recognition tests and the control test. For patients, facial perception was related to the chronicity of illness and social competence. Chronicity of illness may contribute to face perception deficits in schizophrenia, which may affect social competence.

The constructs of intelligence and ego-resiliency are discussed. The personality implications of 'pure intelligence' and 'pure ego-resilience' were identified. Intelligence (IQ) was indexed by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised and ego-resiliency by an inventory scale. Residual scores measuring 'pure intelligence' and 'pure ego-resilience' were correlated with the items of the observer-based California Q-sort, used to describe participants. Persons relatively high on ego-resilience tend to be more competent and comfortable in the 'fuzzier' interpersonal world; persons defined primarily by raw IQ tend to be effective in the 'clearer' world of structured work but tend also to be uneasy with affect and less able to realize satisfying human connections. Gender differences exist in the relations of ego-resilience and intelligence and in their adaptive relevance.