ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the core elements of skilled performance as identified in the study of perceptual-motor skill, and related them directly to the analysis of social skill. It provides a reference point for the entire book, by delineating the nature, and defining features, of interpersonal skill. Ability was linked to goal-related performance by A. Kelly, F. Fincham, and S. Beach when they pointed out that 'Communication skills refer to the ability to realize communicative goals while behaving in a socially appropriate manner'. The study of perceptual-motor skill has a long and rich tradition within psychology. While there are commonalities across definitions, theorists tend to emphasise different features, such that Irion, in tracing the history of the research, concluded that there was difficulty in achieving an agreed definition of motor skill. Four main theories for explaining and predicting goal-directed intentions and behaviours have been proposed: the theory of reasoned action, theory of planned behaviour, theory of self-regulation, theory of trying.
