Social skills training with children: proceed with caution.
Role-play boosts test scores, but you must program for real-life use or the skill stays on the shelf.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team ran group social-skills lessons in a special-ed classroom. They used coaching, modeling, practice, and feedback.
Kids rehearsed scenes like asking to join a game. The researchers filmed role-play tests to see if the skills stuck.
What they found
Role-play scores rose right after training. On the real playground, nothing changed. Peer acceptance stayed flat.
The authors warned: practice in a fake scene does not equal real-life use.
How this fits with other research
Jones et al. (1977) had already shown generalization with the same four-step package. Their kids used the new assertive moves in untrained spots. The 1982 study missed that step, so gains stayed in the classroom.
Tallant et al. (1989) later added problem-solving to BST. Their teens with ID kept new work-talk skills on the job. The tweak beat the 1982 role-play-only plan.
EGranieri et al. (2020) pooled 18 newer trials. The meta still credits the 1982 paper, yet shows medium-to-large effects when programs add generalization tricks like homework or peer coaches.
Why it matters
If you run social-skills groups, add real-world practice. Send the child to recess with a peer buddy. Have the lunch aide cue the skill. Without these extras, you may win in the clinic but lose on the playground.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Three learning disabled children, selected on the basis of peer sociometric ratings and teacher referral, received social skills training. A group training procedure consisting of coaching, modeling, behavior rehearsal, and feedback was used to teach children the target, behaviors of eye contact and appropriate verbal responses. The multiple baseline analysis across target behaviors was used to demonstrate treatment effectiveness on role-play scenes trained during treatment sessions. Duration of speech was measured as an untrained, corollary measure. The following measures were also obtained during baseline, posttreatment, and 1-mo follow up for experimental subjects and three control subjects: (a) performance on role-play scenes not trained during treatment sessions; (b) behavioral observations in a free play setting, and (c) sociometric ratings. In addition, the trained and untrained role-play scenes were administered by novel experimenters following treatment. The results indicated that socially unskilled, learning disabled children can be taught to respond appropriately to role-play situations. However, improved performance did not generalize to the natural school setting and treatment did not effect ratings of peer acceptance. The implications of these findings for future social skills training with children are discussed.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1982 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1982.15-41