Social Development

Social development refers to the process of learning the knowledge and skills necessary to relate well to others effectively within cultural norms and to adapt communication to a range of communication partners and contexts. Social skills are important to developing relationships and to a growing awareness of moral and social values, practices, and expectations. Social development is closely tied with emotional development in that the ability to relate to others in an effective and healthy way can build self-esteem, assist the individual in resolving conflicts, and allow one to maintain a positive attitude. Considering social development, the term often refers to a number of [Page 1728]skills with language, cognitive, and social correlates including the ability to use language to clearly communicate a number of communicative ...