How to develop social intelligence (SQ): levels, types and disorders

In one of his works, the famous Roman thinker and wise emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote that people exist for people! Some will agree with this statement, while others will say that man is a self-centered creature. It doesn't matter whether you belong to the first or second category of people. The important thing is that we all have to live in society and constantly interact with the people around us!

Both everyone's favorites, who love to be in the center of events, and hermits, who want to stay as far as possible from people and isolate themselves from the whole noisy and bustling world, must be able to build relationships with other people as effectively as possible, otherwise their existence will turn into sheer torture!

A person who does not have sufficiently developed social intelligence very often does not behave quite adequately in society, and therefore, in the eyes of other people, he looks like some kind of narrow-minded individual who does not deserve respect. In order not to become a person who does not know how to find a common language with other people, because he constantly jokes out of place, tells boring and situationally inappropriate jokes, laughs when he should remain silent, etc., it is necessary to systematically work on developing one’s own social intelligence!

What is social intelligence? What levels, types and disorders of social intelligence exist? Is it possible to improve your social intelligence? In this article we will discuss these important issues and consider the most effective and popular ways to develop social intelligence!

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.

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.

Subtest No. 2 “Expression groups”

In this subtest you will deal with pictures that depict postures, gestures, facial expressions, that is, expressive movements that reflect the state of a person.

To explain the essence of the task, consider an example. In this example, the three pictures located on the left illustrate the same state of a person, the same thoughts, feelings, intentions.

One of the four pictures on the right expresses the same state, the same thoughts, feelings or intentions. You need to find this picture.

The correct answer would be picture No. 2, which expresses the same state (tension or nervousness) as the pictures on the left. Therefore, on the Answer Form, the number 2 is circled. Pictures No. 1, 3, 4 are not suitable, as they reflect other states (joy and well-being).

So, in each subtest task, among the four drawings on the right, you must choose the one that fits the group of three drawings on the left, because it reflects a similar state of a person. The number of the selected picture is circled on the Answer Form.

You have 7 minutes to complete the subtest. You will be notified one minute before the end of work. Work as quickly as possible. Don't spend a lot of time on one task. If you find it difficult to answer, go to the next point. You can return to difficult tasks at the end if you have enough time. In difficult cases, give an answer, even if you are not entirely sure of its correctness.

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.

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.

Psychologist Daria Milai

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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.

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.

Interpretation of results

Interpretation of individual subtests

After completion of the results processing procedure, standard scores are obtained for each subtest, reflecting the level of development of the corresponding abilities for cognitive behavior.

In this case, the general meaning of standard scores can be defined as follows:

1. score – low ability to cognition of behavior;

2. points – ability to cognition of behavior is below average (moderately weak);

3. points – average ability to cognition of behavior (average sample norm);

4. points – ability to understand behavior is above average (medium strong);

5. points – high abilities for cognitive behavior.

When receiving a standard score of 1 point on any subtest, you must first check whether the subject understood the instructions correctly.

Procedure

Depending on the purposes of the study, the methodology allows both the conduct of a full battery and the use of individual subtests. Individual and group testing options are available.

When using the full version of the technique, subtests are presented in the order of their numbering. However, these recommendations from the authors of the methodology are not immutable.

The time allotted for each subtest is limited and amounts to:

§ 6 minutes (1 subtest - “Stories with completion”),

§ 7 minutes (subtest 2 - “Expression groups”),

§ 5 minutes (subtest 3 - “Verbal Expression”),

§ 10 minutes (subtest 4 - “Stories with additions”).

The total testing time, including instructions, is 30-35 minutes.

Testing rules

1. Distribute test books only at the time of this subtest.

2. Make sure each time that the subjects correctly understood the instructions for the subtests.

3. Encourage subjects to assimilate the information described in the instructions about Barney and Ferdinand, the characters of the first and last subtests.

4. Orient subjects to select answers that reflect the most typical behavior of the characters in a given situation, excluding original and humorous interpretations.

5. Warn subjects that in case of corrections, they must clearly cross out incorrect answers on the form.

6. In general, while not encouraging random answers, you should point out to subjects that it is better to still give answers, even if they are not entirely sure of their correctness.

7. If questions arise during testing, it is necessary to refer the subjects to the written instructions, not allowing discussion out loud.

8. Accurately measure time and ensure that subjects do not start working ahead of time.

Before testing begins, subjects are given answer forms on which they record some information about themselves. After this, they receive test books with the first subtest and begin to familiarize themselves with the instructions as the experimenter reads them. While reading the instructions, the experimenter pauses after reading the example to make sure that the subjects understood it correctly. At the end of the instructions, time is allotted to answer questions. After this, the experimenter gives the command “Turn the page. Let's start" and starts the stopwatch.

A minute before the end of work on the subtest, subjects are warned about this. After the operating time has expired, the command “Stop” is given. Put your pens down,” subjects rest for a few minutes and move on to the next subtest.

Subtest No. 1 - “Stories with completion”

Individuals with high scores on the subtest are able to anticipate the consequences of behavior. They are able to anticipate people’s future actions based on an analysis of real communication situations (family, business, friendly), and predict events based on an understanding of the feelings, thoughts, and intentions of the participants in communication. Their predictions may turn out to be wrong if they deal with people who behave in the most unexpected, atypical ways. Such people know how to clearly build a strategy for their own behavior to achieve their goal. Successful completion of the subtest presupposes the ability to navigate the nonverbal reactions of interaction participants and knowledge of normative role models and rules governing people's behavior.

Individuals with low subtest scores have poor understanding of the relationship between behavior and its consequences. Such people can often make mistakes (including illegal actions), find themselves in conflict, and possibly dangerous situations because they incorrectly imagine the results of their actions or the actions of others. They are poorly versed in generally accepted norms and rules of behavior.

The success of this subtest is positively correlated with the following psychological characteristics:

§ the ability to fully and accurately describe the personality of a stranger from a photograph;

§ ability to decipher non-verbal messages;

§ differentiation of the self-concept, saturation of the self-image with an understanding of intellectual, volitional characteristics, as well as a description of the characteristics of the spiritual organization of the individual.

Subtest No. 2 - “Expression groups”

Persons with high scores on the subtest are able to correctly assess the states, feelings, and intentions of people by their nonverbal manifestations, facial expressions, postures, and gestures. Such people most likely attach great importance to nonverbal communication and pay a lot of attention to the nonverbal reactions of communication participants. Sensitivity to nonverbal expression greatly enhances the ability to understand others. The ability to read the nonverbal signals of another person, be aware of them and compare them with verbal ones, according to A. Pease, underlies the “sixth sense” - intuition. There are widely known studies in psychology that prove the great importance of nonverbal means of communication. Thus, R. Bedswill discovered that in a conversation verbal communication takes up less than 35%, and more than 65% of information is transmitted non-verbally.

Persons with low scores on the subtest have poor command of the language of body movements, glances and gestures, which is mastered earlier in ontogenesis and inspires more confidence than verbal language). In communication, such people are more focused on the verbal content of messages. And they may be mistaken in understanding the meaning of the interlocutor’s words because they do not take into account (or incorrectly take into account) the nonverbal reactions accompanying them.

Success in completing the subtest is positively correlated with:

§ with accuracy, completeness, non-stereotyping and plasticity when describing the personality of a stranger from a photograph;

§ with sensitivity to the emotional states of others in business communication situations;

§ with a variety of expressive repertoire in communication;

§ with openness and friendliness in communication;

§ with emotional stability;

§ with sensitivity to feedback in communication, receptivity to criticism, conscientiousness;

§ with high self-esteem and a degree of self-acceptance;

§ with the saturation of the self-image with a description of the volitional characteristics of the personality, activity, sthenicity;

§ with depth of reflection;

§ with an accurate understanding of how a person’s own emotional state is perceived by his communication partners, which is an indicator of the congruence of communicative behavior, a prerequisite for successful self-presentation;

§ with empathy, with non-verbal sensitivity.

Subtest No. 3 - “Verbal Expression”

Individuals with high scores on the subtest have high sensitivity to the nature and nuances of human relationships, which helps them quickly and correctly understand what people say to each other (verbal expression) in the context of a certain situation, specific relationships. Such people are able to find the appropriate tone of communication with different interlocutors in different situations and have a large repertoire of role behavior (that is, they exhibit role plasticity).

Persons with low scores on the subtest poorly recognize the different meanings that the same verbal messages can take, depending on the nature of the relationships between people and the context of the communication situation. Such people often “speak out of place” and make mistakes in interpreting the words of their interlocutor.

The success of the subtest also positively correlates with the accuracy of describing the personality of a stranger from a photograph, the saturation of the self-image with a description of spiritual values, and the empathy scale.

Subtest No. 4 - “Stories with additions”

Individuals with high scores on the subtest are able to recognize the structure of interpersonal situations in dynamics. They are able to analyze complex situations of interaction between people, understand the logic of their development, feel the change in the meaning of the situation when various participants are included in the communication. Through logical conclusions, they can complete the unknown, missing links in the chain of these interactions, predict how a person will behave in the future, and find the reasons for certain behavior. For example, the subtest allows one to predict the success of an investigator in constructing a holistic picture of a crime based on incomplete data. Successful completion of the subtest presupposes the ability to adequately reflect the goals, intentions, and needs of communication participants, and predict the consequences of their behavior. In addition, it requires the ability to navigate a person’s non-verbal reactions, as well as the norms and rules governing behavior in society.

Persons with low scores on the subtest experience difficulties in analyzing situations of interpersonal interaction and, as a result, poorly adapt to various types of relationships between people (family, business, friendship, etc.).

The subtest is the most comprehensive and informative in terms of overall factor weight in the structure of social intelligence.

The success of the subtest is positively correlated with the accuracy, completeness, differentiation and flexibility of describing a stranger from a photograph, with the differentiation of self-concept, depth of reflection, with self-acceptance, self-esteem, with interest in social problems, social activity, and with exam success.

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.

"A" = "Authenticity"

Albrecht breaks authenticity down into three parts: self-respect, faith in your personal values ​​and beliefs, and honesty with others. When you get this trifecta right, others perceive you as authentic.

The basis of authenticity, however, lies in our self-awareness, in which a deep understanding of our values ​​plays a key role. We will never become who we want to be if we don't know what that person looks like.

To clarify your values, Albrecht suggests writing a personal mission statement. This may seem like a daunting task, but don't overcomplicate it. Use Oprah Winfrey's mission statement as a guide: “Be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.”

It may sound basic, but within these two short sentences you can find the values ​​of community, growth, responsibility, kindness, and influence. Watching Oprah, it's clear she lives up to her mission.

When you write your mission statement, Christopher D. Connors, author of Your Worth, recommends clarifying your five core values ​​and then writing a copy of no more than 50 words to serve as your guiding light. Follow Chris's advice and ask yourself:

• What are my natural gifts and talents?
• What lights me up and motivates me?
• What have I learned from my experiences and how have they made me a better person?
• How can my gifts best serve my community?

According to Chris, these questions will not only give you clarity about your values ​​and increase your self-awareness. It will also improve your decision making process. It's hard to be honest with people if you don't know when you should say yes and when you should say no.

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.

Subtest No. 3 “Verbal Expression”

In each task of this subtest, a phrase is written on the left that one person says to another, and three communication situations are listed on the right. Moreover, only in one of them the phrase given on the left will take on a different meaning. Let's look at an example.

A somewhat deaf person to a friend: “Repeat, please.”

A message from a deaf person to a friend is a polite request. The same phrase in situations No. 2, 3 will have the same meaning. And only in situation No. 1 in the mouth of an offended person will it acquire a completely different meaning. Therefore, on the Answer Form, the number 1 is circled.

So, in each task it is necessary to select a communication situation in which the phrase given on the left will take on a different meaning and will be associated with a different intention than in the other two situations.

You have 5 minutes to complete the subtest. You will be notified one minute before the end of work. Work as quickly as possible. Don't spend a lot of time on one task. If you find it difficult to answer, go to the next point. You can return to difficult tasks at the end if you have enough time. In difficult cases, give an answer, even if you are not entirely sure of its correctness.

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.

Subtest No. 1 “Stories with completion”

In this subtest you will deal with pictures that depict everyday situations that happen to the character Barney. Barney is a bald man whose profession is a waiter. The situations also involve Barney's wife, little son and friends, whom he meets at home or in a cafe.

In each task, on the left is a picture depicting a specific situation. Determine the feelings and intentions of the characters in it and choose among the three pictures on the right the one that shows the most plausible option for continuing (completion) of this situation.

Let's look at an example:

In the picture on the left, Barney, caught on the edge of the roof, is frightened and asks his young son for help. The boy is excited to see his father in such a difficult situation.

Selecting picture #1 is the correct answer in this case. Therefore, on the Answer Form, the number 1 is circled. Figure No. 1 most logically and plausibly continues the given situation: Barney’s wife and son put a ladder against the wall in order to help him get down.

The choice of drawings No. 2 and No. 3 is less correct. As for picture #2, it is unlikely that, hanging in the air in such a frightened and helpless state, Barney would be able to climb onto the roof on his own. Since Barney's situation is dangerous, his wife and son would be unlikely to mock him as shown in Figure 3.

So, in each task you must predict what will happen after the situation depicted in the left picture, based on the feelings and intentions of the characters acting in it.

Don't choose a picture to answer just because you thought it was the funniest continuation. Offer the most typical and logical continuation of a given situation. The number of the selected picture (indicated in the lower right corner of the picture) is circled on the Answer Form. You cannot make any notes in the test notebooks themselves.

You have 6 minutes to complete the subtest. You will be notified one minute before the end of work. Work as quickly as possible. Don't spend a lot of time on one task. If you find it difficult to answer, go to the next point. You can return to difficult tasks at the end if you have enough time. In difficult cases, give an answer, even if you are not entirely sure of its correctness.

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.

Subtest No. 4 “Stories with additions”

In this subtest you will deal with pictures that depict stories about Ferdinand. Ferdinand has a wife and a small child. He works as a boss, so his co-workers will also take part in the stories.

Each task consists of eight pictures. The top four pictures reflect a certain story that happens to Ferdinand. One of these pictures is always missing. You need to choose from among the four pictures in the bottom row the one that, when substituted in place of the empty square at the top, will complement the story with Ferdinand in meaning. If you choose the missing drawing correctly, the meaning of the story will become completely clear, the feelings and intentions of the characters in it will become clear.

Let's look at an example:

There is a third picture missing from this story. At the end of the story, we see that Ferdinand, who dreamed of dinner, does not receive it, contrary to his expectations, and leaves the house annoyed. Ferdinand's wife is angry and pretends to read a book to her son. The boy sits calmly. All this is due to the fact that Ferdinand, while washing his face after work, left dirt in the kitchen, which angered his wife. Thus, a logical addition to the story is Figure 4. Therefore, in the Answer Form, the number 4 is circled.

Pictures No. 1, 2, 3 do not correspond to this story in meaning.

So, in each task you need to find a drawing that complements the story about Ferdinand in meaning. You have 10 minutes to complete the subtest. You will be notified one minute before the end of work. Work as quickly as possible. Don't spend a lot of time on one task. If you find it difficult to answer, go to the next point. You can return to difficult tasks at the end if you have enough time. In difficult cases, give an answer, even if you are not entirely sure of its correctness.