Taking Skills Seriously: Toward an Integrative Model and Agenda for Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Skills

Success in life is influenced by more than cognitive ability and opportunity. Success is also influenced by social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills: a person’s capacities to maintain social relationships, regulate emotions, and manage goal- and learning-directed behaviors. In this article, we propose an integrative model that defines SEB skills as capacities (what someone is capable of doing) rather than personality traits (what someone tends to do) and identifies five major skill domains: social engagement, cooperation, self-management, emotional resilience, and innovation. We then argue that operational measures of SEB skills should reflect rather than obscure the distinction between skills and traits. Finally, we propose an agenda for future work by highlighting open questions and hypotheses about the assessment, development, and outcomes of SEB skills as well as interventions and public policy targeting these skills.