Handbook of Interpersonal Competence Research

364 Pages·1989·6.803 MB·English

by  Brian H. Spitzberg, William R. Cupach (auth.)

Recent Research in Psychology
Brian H. Spitzberg William R. Cupach
Handbook of Interpersonal
Competence Research
Springer-Verlag
New York Berlin Heidelberg
London Paris Tokyo
Brian H. Spitzberg
Division of Communication
and Public Address
University of North Texas
Denton, TX 76203-5266
USA
William R. Cupach
Department of Communication
Illinois State University
Normal, IL 61761-6901
USA
With I Illustration
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Spitzberg, Brian H.
Handbook of interpersonal competence research.
(Recent research in psychology)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
I. Social skills-Handbooks, manuals, etc.
2. Social skills-Bibliography. I. Cupach,
William R. II. Title. III. Series.
HM299.S67 1988 302 88-24954
Printed on acid-free paper.
© 1989 by Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Reprint of the original edition 1989
All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written
permission of the publisher (Springer-Verlag, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA),
except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with
any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar
or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden.
The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc. in this publication, even if the
former are not especially identified, is not to be taken as a sign that such names, as understood by
the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks Act, may accordingly be used freely by anyone.
Camera-ready copy provided by the author.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
ISBN-13:978-0-387-96866-7 e-ISBN-13:978-1-4612-3572-9
DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4612-3572-9
PREFACE
Having been interested and actively involved in the study of
interpersonal competence for almost a decade, we have become
acutely aware of some distressing trends and troublesome
roadblocks. Interpersonal competence is an enormously broad and
encompassing notion. A myriad of constructs and theories are
either entailed by this notion, or so closely associated with it
that they often seem indistinguishable. Social skills,
communication competence, social intelligence, empathy,
assertiveness, adjustment, and a host of other constructs are
inextricably affiliated with the study of competence in
interpersonal relations. Add to this the ambiguity, redundancy,
and ever-expanding nature of terminology in the area, and the
systematic study of interpersonal competence begins to seem a
lost cause. Finally, those who would assess interpersonal
competence are faced with a deluge of conflicting advice and
diverse measurement options.
This book is intended to be a "handbook" for scholars
interested in studying the construct broadly entailed by the term
"interpersonal competence." As such, it will not read like a
typical scholarly book. As a handbook, it is intended to present
as comprehensive and systematic a set of information on
interpersonal competence research issues as possible. The book
should provide assistance in several realms. Chapter one offers
a review of current approaches to introduce readers to the major
metatheoretical perspectives toward competence in interpersonal
relations. Chapter two provides a review of evidence regarding
the relationship of competence to socially valued phenomena, such
as mental health, educational achievement, heterosocial success,
and the like. A critical review of issues in assessment is
presented in chapter three to identify some of the important
decisions involved in research and assessment.
vi
Chapter four accomplishes several ends. First, it
establishes a grammar of assessment terms. Next, it identifies a
domain of assessment instruments that are considered directly
relevant to interpersonal competence, yet are beyond the scope of
this handbook. Third, the factor analytic research regarding
competence is examined. Fourth, some 80 measures of
interpersonal competence are reviewed. Chapter five examines the
state of the "art" in interpersonal competence research.
Finally, what we believe is the most comprehensive bibliography
available on the subject of interpersonal competence finishes off
the handbook.
This handbook should be a useful reference source for
researchers who already have made interpersonal competence their
area of study, those for whom the subject is peripherally related
to their studies, as well as those who are novices to the subject
area. Part of the motivation behind this book was a deep sense
that many scholars were (1) not representing the depth and
breadth of the literature available in their writing, and/or (2)
creating measures of their own with little or no attention to
extant measures and measurement options. In some instances such
oversights may be pernicious, but more often it seems that the
sheer ubiquity of the literature relevant to competence makes it
difficult to research the subject "competently." In addition,
our observations have led us to conclude that in order to
understand what people mean by the term competence, the
operationalizations of competence must be understood. In other
words, look first at what researchers do, and then look at what
they say they are doing. These frequently are disparate causes
in which the researcher engages. clearly, we reasoned, a
systematic review of the literature regarding assessment would
assist researchers in their attempts to overcome these problems.
These are among the motivations providing impetus for this
handbook. We hope that it serves these purposes, and more.
To those who will peruse the bibliography and become
frustrated by the number of unpublished entries, we offer some
defense of our decisions. First, we refuse to discount knowledge
vii
simply because it is unpublished. Several meta-analytic
examinations have now made it clear that unpublished studies may
suffer undue prejudice more because of the statistical
significance of their results rather than their methods or
contributions. In our own judgment, most of the unpublished
papers seem as sound as most of the published works, although
there are notable exceptions. We attempted to avoid such harsh
judgments when deciding which sources to include and exclude,
opting instead for maximum exposure of knowledge to the readers.
Second, these sources are available. No reference was
included in the bibliography that we did not hold in our hands.
We recommend that those persons who wish to locate some of these
sources go through the same means we did. To assist this
painstaking effort, several reference books will be important
tools:
The national faculty directory-1988. (1987, 18th ed.) .
Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company.
1987 APA membership directory. (1987). Washington, D.C. :
American Psychological Association.
1987 speech communication directory. (1987) . Annandale, VA:
Speech Communication Association.
These directories are likely to be in the reference sections of
most university and college libraries, and provide invaluable
information for locating authors. Finally, there are other
sources that offer reviews and locations of measures in areas
relevant to interpersonal competence research. Some of the major
references are provided below:
Buros, O.K. (1972) . Seventh mental measurement yearbook.
Highland Park, NJ: Gryphon Press.
Chin, K., Cobb, S., & French, J.R.P. (1975). Measures for
psychological assessment. Ann Arbor, MI: Instit ute for
Social Research, University of Michigan.
viii
Corcoran, K. & Fischer, J. (1987) . Measures for clinical
practice: A sourcebook. New York: Macmillan.
Goldman, B.A. & Busch, J.C. (1978). Directory of
unpublished experimental mental measures (Vol. 2). New
York: Human Sciences Press.
Keyser, D.J. & Sweetland, R.C. (1984). Test critiques (Vol.
1). Kansas City, MO: Test corporation of America.
Lake, D.G., Miles. M.B., & Earle, R.B., Jr. (1973).
Measuring human behavior. New York: Teachers
College, Columbia University.
Larson, C., Backlund, P., Redmond, M & Barbour, A. (1978).
Assessing functional communication. Falls Church, VA:
Speech Communication Association/ERIC.
Lyerly, S.B. & Abbott, P.S. (n.d.). Handbook of
psychiatric rating scales (1950-1964). (public Health
Service Publication No. 1495). Bethesda, MD: National
Institutes of Mental Health.
Pfeiffer, J.W., Heslin, R., & Jones, J.E. (1976, 2nd ed.).
1nstrumentation in human relations training. La Jolla,
CA: University Associates.
Robinson, J.P. & Shaver, P.R. (1973). Measures of social
psychological attitudes. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for
Social Research, university of Michigan.
Rubin, D.L. & Mead, N.A. (1984). Large scale assessment of
oral communication skills: Kindergarten through grade
12. Annandale, VA: Speech communication
Association/ERIC.
Rubin, R.B., Sisco, J., Moore, M.R. & Quianthy, R. (1983).
Oral communication assessment procedures and instrument
development in higher education. Annandale, VA:
Speech Communication Association.
Sweetland, R.C. & Keyser, D.J. (1983). Tests. Kansas City,
MO: Test Corporation of America.
Obviously, other directories and measurement sourcebooks are
ix
available, and those that we have listed are likely to be updated
and revised in future editions.
As the invisible college of competence research expands
through continual cross-breeding of ideas, references, and
contacts, advances in knowledge and understanding seem far more
likely to occur. This handbook is an initial effort to integrate
the interdisciplinary study of interpersonal competence.
Brian H. spitzberg
University of North Texas
William R. Cupach
Illinois state University
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project involved long periods of enormous tedium. Most
projects of this sort seem destined to share similar fates.
While we endeavored to take the brunt of this work on ourselves,
there are many who clearly distinguished themselves through their
selfless aid and assistance. We extend our heartfelt
appreciation to the following persons, without whom this project
would still be a mass of illegible scribbles: Jill Baumgartner,
Scott Barbour, Cora Cochran, Betty cupach, Laurie Martin,
Maihuong Nguyen, Marjorie Spitzberg, Brenda Wilkins, Teresa Kube
and her diligent (if occasionally reluctant) slaves, and a host
of colleagues and students at San Diego State University,
Illinois State University, and University of North Texas, who are
nameless here, but are remembered clearly in our thoughts.
Those scholars and researchers who graciously supplied us
with their reprints, papers, and original measures truly deserve
recognition. The vast majority of those who we could track down
through normal means were extremely cooperativ e. There were
others who either because of distractions, loss of materials, or
apathy for the cause, did not fulfill our requests. These were a
very small minority.
We apologize in advance to those whose measures we
inadvertently have overlooked. We attempted to be comprehensive,
but no doubt missed some deserving measures and authors.
Obviously, in a project as encompassing, detailed, and
interpretive as this, we no doubt have committed errors in
representing the works of others. Again, we apologize in advance
to these scholars, and urge them to contact us and inform us of
such errors in the event that corrections may be made in future
work.
CONTENTS
Preface v
Acknowledgments xi
CHAPTER 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO INTERPERSONAL COMPETENCE 1
Definitions 5
competence .......•..........••.•••••••••...••...•....... 5
Skill(s) ••••••........••.•.•.....•.•••••••••.•.••••••••. 8
Knowledge ••••••..••.••••.••.........•••••••••••••.•••••• 14
Motivation ................•••••••••••..................• 16
Themes in the competence Literature ........•••••••••••••••••. 17
Control ...•..•••••••••••••••••••••••.................... 18
Collaboration •••••••••••••..••.......................... 20
Adaptability ••••••••••••••••••••••••••.................. 22
Summary •••••................................................. 24
CHAPTER 2: THE SOCIAL RELEVANCE OF COMPETENCE ............... 25
Mental Disorders ........................•••••.•........•••••• 26
Mental Illness and Schizophrenia ....•••••••••••••.•••••• 26
Depression .............................................. 30
Anxiety Disorders •••..•.••.••.••••••••••••••••••••.•••••••.•. 34
Stress-Related Disorders •••••••.•••.................•••• 34
Anxiety •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••..•••.....••..•. 36
Shyness .................................•.•.••••...•.••. 37
Relational Disorders .••.•...•....•..•••••••.•..•.••.••••••••• 38
Heterosocial Anxiety and Skills ..•..•.•••••..•...•.••••• 38
Lonel iness •••••••.•.••••••.•.•..•.•..................... 40
Network Adjustment ..•....•............•..•.......••••••. 41
Academic Disorders ...••.•••••••••••••••••••••••.....•......•. 43
Developmental Disorders of Children .......................... 45
Other socially Relevant Phenomena •.•.••••.•••••.•••...••••••. 46
Juvenile Delinquency ••••••••••.•••.•••••••.•••••.••••••• 46
Drug Abuse ••••••••••••..•...•.........•................• 47
Mental Retardation ...••••••••........•..•••••••••.•••••• 48
Sexual Offense ••••.....•••.••••••••••..........••••••... 48