Social Problem Solving

Rationale for Teaching Social Problem-Solving Skills

Programing that targets social problem solving is an essential component of social-emotional learning. Problem solving is a critical, life-long skill for handling complex problem situations more effectively, improving self-regulation, fostering social skills, and improving social competence. Moreover, by providing skills necessary for behavioral self-regulation, social problem-solving instruction can serve as a preventive approach for students at risk for problematic behavior.

Social problem-solving interventions can be used in Response to Intervention (RTI) models and multitiered systems of support to address the significant challenges presented by school behavior and discipline problems. In RTI models, evidence-based interventions are provided in tiers of increasing intensity, based on student responsiveness to instruction. Social problem solving can be used at any level in these systems, depending on individual needs and types of instructional delivery available.

Typically, students with or at risk for significant behavior problems are poor problem solvers. These students are at increased risk for school failure, drop out, and other negative outcomes, often due to social skill deficits, inadequate social interactions, and difficulty controlling impulses and regulating their own emotions and behaviors. Students who exhibit aggression, for example, typically have deficits in specific stages of the social problem-solving process. They are likely to view their own problem-solving abilities negatively, generate fewer problem solutions, and impulsively choose a solution. For students with or at risk for behavioral difficulties, therefore, social problem solving should be taught through explicit instruction as a step-by-step skill. Moreover, as for students with any academic or behavioral deficit, more intense, targeted instruction may be indicated, possibly through tier 2 or tier 3 interventions.

Social Problem-Solving Steps

Social problem-solving instruction is a specific cognitive-behavioral intervention to teach sequential steps that facilitate solving social problems effectively. Students learn to use verbal self-talk to guide this process, such that internalizing the problem-solving steps can alter cognition and thereby affect the resulting behavior. Social problem-solving instruction involves a combination of cognitive and behavioral components that include modeling, self-talk, and reinforcement. Thus, this cognitive-behavioral approach is an effective way to teach the problem-solving process explicitly and systematically and concurrently to improve self-regulation, foster generalization, and provide cognitive strategies that support independence.

...