Many people have less than ideal social skills. In some clinical conditions, people who are reasonably skilled suddenly lose this. For example, if a person suffers damage to the brain as a result of trauma from a motor vehicle accident s/he may become insensitive to others, egocentric and say things that are inappropriate without realising.

A study was conducted at UNSW to determine whether a social skills treatment program aimed at improving first impressions could improve impaired social skills. We enlisted 51 people with traumatic brain injuries and allocated them to treatment or control conditions. Results indicated that the treatment did improve social skills and also the ability to “read” social signals such as emotions in others.

Research Contact

Prof. Skye McDonald

Neuropsychology Webpage

http://www.psy.unsw.edu.au/research/groups/neuro.html

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