General Psychology Group Assignment

ASSIGNMENT ON: CHAPTER 11- SOCIAL SKILLS

Group Members ID No.

1. Nahom Belay ETS 1010/15
2. Nahom Tsegaye ETS 1004/15
3. Namus Telha ETS 1016/15 Section: 21
4. Naol Ejersa ETS 1022/15
5. Natan Geremew ETS 1029/15 Group: 5
6. Natan Girma ETS 1028/15
7. Natanim Teshome ETS 1034/15
8. Natay Tesfaye ETS 1035/15
9. Nathan Ashebir ETS 1040/15
10. Nathan Haylemaryam ETS 1041/15
11. Natinael Desta ETS 1047/15
12. Natinael Solomon ETS 1046/15

Date of submission: may 4, 2023

Submitted to: Mr. Mengesha Eyasu.
 Table of Contents
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1
11.1 Understanding Cultural Diversity ........................................................................................... 2
Managing Diversity ............................................................................................................................. 3
11.2 GENDER AND SOCIAL INCLUSION ........................................................................................ 3
11.3 INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS ..................................................................... 4
11.4. SOCIAL INFLUENCES ................................................................................................................ 5
11.5. PEER PRESSURE......................................................................................................................... 5
How to handle Peer pressure .......................................................................................................... 6
11.6 ASSERTIVENESS .......................................................................................................................... 7
11.7. CONFLICT AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION .......................................................................... 8
Sources of conflict ............................................................................................................................... 8
Levels of conflict ...................................................................................................................................... 9
Methods of conflict resolution. ....................................................................................................... 9
11.8 TEAM WORK ................................................................................................................................. 10
11.9 OVERCOMING RISKY BEHAVIOR ......................................................................................... 10
Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 11
References ............................................................................................................................................... 12
Introduction

What are social skills?

Social skills refer to the ability of an individual to interact and communicate
effectively with others. They are the skills that enable individuals to build and
maintain relationships, understand and empathize with others, and navigate social
situations with ease. Social skills are essential for success in many areas of life,
including personal relationships, school, and work

One of the most important aspects of social skills is the ability to communicate
effectively. This includes both verbal and nonverbal communication. Effective
communicators are able to express their thoughts and feelings clearly, listen actively,
and respond appropriately to others. They are also able to read body language and
other nonverbal cues, which helps them understand what others are thinking and
feeling.
Another important aspect of social skills is the ability to build and maintain
relationships. This involves being able to connect with others on a deeper level,
understand their needs and desires, and work together to achieve common goals.
Individuals with strong social skills are able to form friendships easily, and they are
often seen as trustworthy and reliable.
The major goal (Importance) social skills is to be able to establish and maintain a
harmonious, peaceful social relationship with others. Establishing peaceful and happy
social relationships with others in your life requires strong social skills. To accomplish
this crucial objective, you must understand and adopt diversity, gender, and Social
isolation, interpersonal communication, peer pressure, social influences,
assertiveness, handling conflict and finding a solution to it, teamwork, and the ability
to control risky behaviors

In this writing, the following topics from Chapter 11 of the module will be
discussed.

11.1. Understanding cultural Diversity 11.7. Conflict and Conflict Resolution

11.2. Gender and Social Inclusion 11.8. Team Work
11.3. Interpersonal Communication Skills 11.9. Overcoming Risky Behaviors
11.4. Social Influences
11.5. Peer Pressure
11.6. Assertiveness

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 11.1 Understanding Cultural Diversity

Diversity is the term used to describe the distinctions and variances that exist
amongst individuals, including their racial or ethnic background, gender, age, religion,
social level, and other traits. Within a society or group of people, cultural diversity
specifically refers to the diversity of cultures and cultural practices that exist.
Diversity has become an essential feature of our cultural environment. There are
many ways in which we can identify and differentiate our cultures from others.
Gender, Ethnicity, skin color, nationality, occupation, political affiliation, social groups
and so many other ways in which we can identify ourselves. The world is no longer in
the homogenized phase where several of the behaviors that we showed were similar. In
turn this world becoming more and more culturally diverse. Let’s take an example in
the context of Ethiopia. The country is a very culturally diverse country having various
differences in Ethnicity, gender, religions, cultures, political orientations and many
more.
Culture is the criteria in which we try to mark everything around us as good or
bad, normal or abnormal, proper or improper. We try to evaluate our environment as
our cultural principles. But since we live in a world where there are different cultures,
when we are introduced into another culture than our own familiar one, we might
experience culture shock. Culture shock refers to the feelings of disorientation,
confusion, and anxiety that people experience when they encounter a culture that is
different from their own. When this happens, usually we tend to think of our own
culture and try to evaluate that culture in our own cultural values and principles. This
condition is usually known as Ethnocentrism.

This mechanism of evaluating other cultures in our own cultural terms often
leads to cultural discrimination and the idea of one’s own culture is superior to any
other culture. And eventually we start to fear other cultures that are different from our
own. Believing in Cultural diversity is the opposite of this notion in which it brings a
sense of equality between cultures and bring respect, understanding and a mutual
trusting relationship between cultures.
Furthermore, Cultural diversity promotes the sharing of different skills and
knowledges from people coming from different cultural backgrounds. This makes the
country a very interesting place to live as we can obtain different experiences from
people coming from various cultures. Additionally different institutions, schools,
workplaces consists of people from different ethnicities and cultures. We can learn
from those people but in order to learn from them we have to have a certain notion of
understanding their culture.

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 Managing Diversity
Utilizing our ability to hold multiple social identities more effectively is the key to
managing diversity. All people have a multicultural background, and we may all
manage several identities throughout our lifetimes (Seelye & Wasilewski, 1996).
Therefore, in order to manage cultural diversity and coexist peacefully with others, we
must:

 Deepen our understanding of one another's cultures by engaging with those

from cultures other than our own
 Refrain from imposing values that might be incompatible with one another's
cultures.
 Recognize that a person's language limitations have nothing to do with how
intelligent they are when speaking to people who may not be fluent in your own
tongue.
 Intervene appropriately when we notice behaviors that are insensitive towards
cultural diversity.
 Being willing to learn from, understand, and accept others’ Ideas that are
different from us

11.2 GENDER AND SOCIAL INCLUSION

Although there is the misconception that the terms gender and sex are the same
thing there is a difference between the two. “Sex” refers to a biological phenomenon
linked to hormones and reproduction. “Gender” refers to the socially constructed roles,
behaviors, expressions, and identities that are associated with being male or female.
Scholarship conceptualizing gender as an institution encompasses three levels of
analysis: individual, interactional, and structural.

1. Individual level: The term "individual level" refers to characteristics of men and
women that remain constant across time in the process of human life span
development, such as distinctions thought to have biological roots or
socialization in early childhood.
2. Interactional level: The expectations that people have about the
characteristics that men and women possess, the behaviors they should engage
in, and the beliefs they should have are examined at the interactional level.
3. Structural level: The structural level discusses how societal norms, such as
the roles people are allocated in society or the benefits that come with those
roles, can affect how men and women behave or have different experiences.
Women's responsibilities and advantages in the social, political, and economic
spheres have often been excluded or restricted throughout human history. The
cultural orientation of a certain nation, which denied women benefits despite their
enormous contribution to development, was a major factor in the development
operations of that nation. Nations, right-leaning organizations, national politicians,

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and academics have therefore been calling for increased rights for women and the
inclusion of developmental activities. Women should therefore gain from the legal
system, leadership system, economic system, and educational system. It's crucial to
create a culture of gender inclusiveness by putting the following into action. We can
build a culture of gender inclusion by implementing the following.

 Supporting and encouraging inclusive engagement of all areas of development

 Our approaches to development has to be gender inclusive
 Optimize resource and benefits for all
 Promote good practices in gender inclusion

11.3 INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Interpersonal communication is not just about what is actually said, the language
used. It includes non-verbal cues like tone of voice, gestures, and body language in
addition to the words that are actually said and the language that is used. Self-
awareness, effective listening, questioning, oral communication, helping or facilitating,
reflecting, assertiveness, and nonverbal communications (facial expressions, gaze,
gestures, posture, and paralinguistic cues) are among the core competencies that are
necessary for successful interpersonal interactions. Interpersonal communication is
the process by which individuals convey ideas, emotions, and meaning to one another
through spoken and nonverbal cues. Face-to-face communication is involved.
The broad definition of interpersonal skills is "those skills one needs in order to
communicate effectively with another person or a group of people"
Some interpersonal communication skills include:

1. Active listening: The ability to pay attention and understand what the other
person is saying.
2. Verbal communication: The ability to express thoughts, ideas, and feelings clearly
and effectively through spoken words.
3. Nonverbal communication: The ability to use body language, facial expressions,
and other nonverbal cues to convey messages.
4. Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.

5. Conflict resolution: The ability to resolve disagreements and conflicts in a

constructive and positive way.
6. Assertiveness: The ability to express opinions and needs in a clear and confident
manner without being aggressive.
7. Emotional intelligence: The ability to understand and manage one's own emotions
and the emotions of others.
8. Problem-solving: The ability to identify and solve problems collaboratively with
others.

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9. Relationship building: The ability to establish and maintain positive and
meaningful relationships with others.
10. Adaptability: The ability to adjust communication style and approach to meet the
needs of different people and situations.

11.4. SOCIAL INFLUENCES

By definition, social influence happens when one person (the source) acts in a
way that prompts another person (the target) to act differently from how he or she
would ordinarily act, such as persuading, threatening, promising, or giving
commands. Social influences refer to the ways in which people's behavior, attitudes,
beliefs, and values are shaped by the social environment in which they live, including
their family, peers, culture, media, and other social institutions. Social influences can
be positive or negative, intentional or unintentional, and can affect individuals in
different ways depending on various factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, and social
status. Some examples of social influences include peer pressure, group norms,
socialization, role models, media messages, and cultural traditions.
When social influence is sought, various results may occur. When an influencing
source succeeds, the target's beliefs and attitudes regarding a certain problem, person,
or circumstance may change. Changes in attitude are a fairly typical effect of social
influence. However, in other situations, the source might only be interested in
obtaining compliance rather than genuinely trying to change the target's attitudes.
When the target's actions match the expectations or requests of the source,
compliance happens.

11.5. PEER PRESSURE

The influence to adopt the opinions and behavior of one's peers is known as peer
pressure. When it motivates someone to take action that is worthwhile, peer pressure
could even be a good thing. It's common to want to fit in and feel like you belong to a
group, and most people experience this occasionally, especially as teens and young
adults. Peer pressure, the notion that you must act in a certain way in order to blend
in, be liked, or be respected, can be difficult to manage. It may be obvious or indirect.
Positive peer pressure makes use of motivating language and gestures.

Peer pressure that is negative seeks to persuade someone to do something bad.

Threats, bribes, taunting, and slurs are all possible components. Peers can have a bad
influence.

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 How to handle Peer pressure

Peer pressure is an unfortunate reality of growing up. It's difficult to avoid, and it
can be challenging to resist. However, it's essential to learn how to say "no" and stand
up for yourself when faced with peer pressure. You are extremely likely to meet
persons in college environments who have a wide range of views and behaviors. It
could seem simple at times to know where you stand and take appropriate action, but
other times, you might feel perplexed, under pressure, or inclined to go against your
better judgement. Additionally, college may be a time when you have more freedom to
make your own decisions than in the past because you are away from home and
family. Here are some tips on how to avoid peer pressure:

1. Be confident in yourself: Know your values and what you stand for. When you're
confident in who you are, you're less likely to be swayed by others' opinions.

2. Surround yourself with positive influences: Spend time with friends who share
your values and support your decisions. When you're around people who are positive
and supportive, you're less likely to feel pressured to do something you're not
comfortable with.
3. Practice saying "no": It's okay to say "no" when you don't want to do something.
Practice saying it in front of a mirror or with a trusted friend. When you're confident in
saying "no," it becomes easier to resist peer pressure.

4. Be aware of your triggers: Know what situations make you more susceptible to
peer pressure and avoid those situations if possible.

5. Have a plan: If you're going to a party or event where you know there might be peer
pressure, have a plan in place. Decide ahead of time what you're comfortable with and
stick to that plan.
Additionally:

 Give yourself permission to avoid people or situations that don't feel right
and leave a situation that becomes uncomfortable,
 Spend time with people who respect your decisions and won't put unfair
pressure on you,
 Remember that you can't (and don't have to) please everyone or be liked by
everyone. This can be hard to accept, but it helps to try.
 When people or situations that make you feel pressured are not avoidable,
try the "delay tactic": Give yourself time to think about your decision instead
of giving an immediate answer.

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 11.6 ASSERTIVENESS
Assertiveness is an important communication skill that involves expressing your
thoughts, feelings, and needs in a clear and respectful way. It's the ability to stand up
for yourself and communicate your boundaries without being aggressive or passive.
Being assertive can help you build self-confidence, improve your relationships, and
achieve your goals.
Assertiveness involves a few key elements. First, it's important to clearly state what
you want or need. Second, it's important to express your feelings in a clear and
respectful way. Finally, it's important to listen to the other person's perspective and
find a compromise that works for both parties.
Learning to be assertive can take time and practice, but it's a valuable skill that
can benefit in all areas of life. It can help build stronger relationships, communicate
more effectively, and achieve our goals.
The main effect of the absence of assertiveness is that we might feel low self-esteem
(The feeling that our opinions and ideas or even contributions in general are not as
important.) which may have us conceal our thoughts, feelings and ideas and we might
end up agreeing with other peoples’ ideas all the time and fulfilling their needs rather
than our own. This leads to anxiousness, stress, unhealthy relationships and
resentfulness.
Assertiveness also can be explained as the mid-ground between the two extremes
that are passive behavior and aggressive behavior. Passive behavior includes most of
the traits mentioned above while an aggressive person sees their Ideas as the superior
ones, no room for negotiating with others and always try to make their ideas dominant
over the ideas of others without consideration.
Some assertive qualities are:
 Openly expressing one's desires, thoughts, and feelings while encouraging
others to do the same.
 Paying attention to what others have to say and responding appropriately,
whether or not you agree with them.
 Taking on obligations and having the ability to represent to others.
 Consistently expressing gratitude to others for their actions or efforts.
 The capacity to acknowledge errors and apologies.
 Exercising restraint (Self- control)
 Treating other people equally

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 11.7. CONFLICT AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

People fight with one another in various kinds of interpersonal interactions and
social contexts.
The absence of conflict typically indicates the absence of meaningful engagement
because of the large variety of potential differences among people. Conflict by itself is
neither good nor bad. Conflict can be constructive or destructive, depending on how it
is managed (Deutsch & Coleman, 2000).

Conflict occurs when two or more parties have a difference or incompatibility in

goals and start to develop antagonistic views towards each other and involves
opposing actions and hostile emotions.

Conflict can either cause a great deal of damage and destruction to a relationship
or be the start of a creative solution for a certain problem. Thus it is preferable to
maximize the productive outcomes of the conflict than the destructive side of it.

Sources of conflict
One of the early theorists on conflict, Daniel Katz (1965), created a typology that
Distinguishes three main sources of conflict: economic, value, and power.

Economic conflict: Caused due to the competition of two or more parties for the
benefit gained from the majority of a limited resource. Each party wants to increase
their gain from that resource and the conflict arises towards deciding who gains the
most.

Value Conflict: Caused due to the difference and incompatibility between the values
and ways of lives of different parties who live within different principles, values, beliefs
and norms.

Power conflict: Arises when each party wants to gain more control of the relationship
or the social setting and assert more dominance on the other one.

 Another source of conflict can be Miscommunication. Miscommunication can lead

to conflicts even when there are no incompatibilities or things to argue about.
Additionally parties may have different knowledge or perception on the fact that led
to the conflicts. So the best way to avoid these types of conflicts is for the parties to
be able to solve their problems by clarifying their perceptions on causes of the
conflict. Lack of communication skills, self-centeredness, selective perception,
emotional bias and such traits can cause harm, confusion and anger which fuels
the conflict.

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 Levels of conflict
 There are several levels of conflict depending on the parties involved in the conflict.

Intrapersonal conflict - conflict in your head between opposing motives or ideas

Interpersonal conflict - occurs when two people have incompatible needs, goals, or
approaches in their relationship.

Role conflict- involves very real differences in role definitions, expectations or

Responsibilities between individuals who are interdependent in a social system

Intergroup conflict - occurs between collections of people such as ethnic or racial

groups, departments or levels of decision making in the same organization, and union
and management.

Multi-party Conflict - occurs in societies when different interest groups and

organizations have varying priorities over resource management and policy
development.

International conflict - occurs between states at the global level.

Methods of conflict resolution.

As described by Blake, Shepard & Mouton in 1964, there are 3 general strategies of
conflict resolution. Those are Win-Lose, Lose-Lose and Win-Win strategies.

 Win-Lose approach- only works for one of the parties and the other one will be
receiving a negative outcome. Less likely to be accepted voluntarily because neither
side would want to be on the receiving end of the negative outcome
 Lose-Lose approach- when both sides are better off without the outcome of the
conflict. Or in other words all parties would be dis-benefited and it is more likely to
be accepted because it is at least fair.
 Win-Win approach- works to improve both parties’ benefits through collaboration
and seeing the conflict as a problem to be solved rather than a war to be won.

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 11.8 TEAM WORK

A team is a group of people that aims to achieve on common goal through

collaboration and taking parts in different parts of the objective to achieve the said
goal. Successful teams are characterized by a team spirit based around trust,
mutual respect, helpfulness and – at best – friendliness.

A team work is most effective when:

 The size of the team is compatible with the set goal/task
 Trust, honesty and good atmosphere among the team
 There is effective leadership
 Open exchange of information and flow of knowledge
 Shared vision
 A sense of common benefit and ownership of the task
 Even task distribution among the team etc…

11.9 OVERCOMING RISKY BEHAVIOR

Risky behavior and decisions are a common thing in adolescence. Sometimes people
take risks after balancing doubts and measuring the level of risks. But there are in
some cases serious risk taking that can lead to serious long term effects, which in
some cases are even life threatening. This happens when teens start to take more
decisions into their own hands and engage in more risky behaviors.
We can mention several solutions that can help minimize the damages caused by risky
behavior and minimizing this behavior as well.

 Provide the youth with appropriate, high quality education at an early level
 Promote high quality and healthy out-of-school activities
 Make the community safe and supportive to the children and youth
 Increase connections between students and their schools
 Support and strengthen family functioning etc…

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 Summary
 Cultural diversity/multiculturalism is defined as: "...a system of beliefs and
behaviors that recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an
organization or society, acknowledges and values their socio-cultural
differences, and encourages and enables their continued contribution within an
inclusive cultural context which empowers all within the organization or
society.
 Utilizing our ability to hold multiple social identities more effectively is the key
to managing diversity.
 Education, the economy, the leadership structure, development initiatives, and
the legal system should all be advantageous to women because they contribute
as much to these institutions.
 When one person (the source) acts in a way that alters the behavior of another
person (the target), this is known as social influence. Examples of such actions
include persuasion, making threats or promises, or giving commands.
 An assertive communication approach is the capacity to openly express your
feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and opinions without infringing on the rights of
others.
 Conflict is an incompatibility of goals or values between two or more parties in a
relationship which can either be constructive or destructive based on the
approach used to solve the conflict.
 Teams are made up of individuals with complementary abilities who are
dedicated to the accomplishment of a common goal and keep one another
accountable for achieving it.
 Risky behaviors can have negative, protracted, and in some circumstances even
have fatal repercussions.

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 References

1. General psychology Freshman module portion written by -Habtamu Disasa

(Dilla University)
2. https://socialself.com/blog/social-skills-definition/
3. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/social-skills
4. https://www.verywellfamily.com/seven-social-skills-for-kids-4589865
5. https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/what-is-cultural-diversity/
6. https://www.academicsources.co.uk/2018/11/30/why-is-cultural-
diversity-important-in-a-society/
7. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/social-inclusion
8. https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-sex-and-gender/
9. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-
letters/interpersonal-skills
10. https://www.coursera.org/articles/interpersonal-skills
11. https://virtualspeech.com/blog/interpersonal-communication-skills
12. https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/interpersonal-communication.html
13. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-peer-pressure-22246
14. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/peer-pressure-drugs
15. https://bing.com/search?q=social+influences+and+peer+pressure
16. https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2021/09/power-peers
17. https://sg.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/what-is-
conflict-resolution
18. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/relationships-
communication/conflict-resolution-skills.htm
19. https://positivepsychology.com/conflict-resolution-in-the-workplace/
20. https://www.publichealth.com.ng/risky-behavior-definition-types-
examples-importance/
21. https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/behavioral-addiction/risky-
behavior

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