Tested the general hypothesis that depressed persons, as a group, are less socially skillful than nondepressed individuals. Social skill was defined as the complex ability both to emit behaviors that are positively reinforced and not to emit behaviors that are punished by others. The interpersonal behaviors of 8 depressed and 11 nondepressed undergraduates in 2 groups were compared. All verbal interchanges among group members were coded. Results were cross-validated in both groups and were generally consistent in showing depressed Ss to be lower than controls on a number of operational measures of social skill (i.e., activity level, interpersonal range, rate of positive reactions emitted, and action latency). (32 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

• Authors:Libet, J.M. & Lewinsohn, P.M.
• Publication Year:1973
• Citation:Libet, J.M.,Lewinsohn, P.M. (1973). The concept of social skills with spe-cial reference to the behavior of de-pressed persons. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 40, 2,pp.304-312.
• Type:Articles in peer-reviewed academic journals
• Abstract:English
• Permanent Identifier:https://doi.org/10.1037/h0034530