A further search for social intelligence.

Previous research has failed to identify an empirically coherent domain of social intelligence despite widespread intuitions among both laypersons and experts that social and academic abilities are at least partly distinct phenomena. The present study resolved this discrepancy between formal and informal observations by employing a behavioral effectiveness criterion to conceptually and operationally define social intelligence. D. P. Keating's (see record 1979-09784-001) methodological model was employed to examine 4 measures of academic intelligence and 6 measures of social intelligence using 3 correlational procedures. 690 9th and 12th graders participated. Univariate correlations demonstrated both convergent and discriminant validity; factor analyses revealed a distinct Social Intelligence factor; and a stepwise multiple regression confirmed the greater power of the social measures to predict a behavioral measure of social effectiveness. Implications for research on social cognition and social competence and for the design of educational programs intended to promote social abilities are discussed. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)