Professional Competencies and Social Skills of Psychology Graduates: A Possible Approach

Abstract

Social skills, learned through natural daily contingencies or specific training, encompass various classes of behaviors involved in social interaction, while professional competencies refer to behaviors and skills that define the quality of one’s work. The academic environment should provide opportunities for the development of such competencies. The present study aimed to analyze the relationship between professional competencies and social skills in 50 tenth-semester Psychology students from a university in the Vale do Itajaí region, through a descriptive qualitative-quantitative survey. The results indicated average levels of social skills and competencies, suggesting the need for Social Skills Training in areas such as communication and assertiveness. Despite limitations in the scale used, there was a correlation (r = 0.342*) between the constructs. It is recommended to improve the instrument and deepen the understanding of the relationship between social skills and professional competencies in future studies.