Description

The SocioCommunicative Style Scale (SCSS-20) is a psychometric instrument designed to assess an individual’s socio-communicative style and patterns of interpersonal communication. The scale evaluates different dimensions of social interaction, including communication behaviours, interpersonal expression, responsiveness, and cooperation.

The instrument consists of a series of statements in which individuals indicate how frequently they demonstrate specific behaviours or reactions in social and communicative contexts.

Objective

The main objective of the SCSS-20 is to provide a clear and reliable method for evaluating socio-communicative abilities.

The assessment of communication style is particularly useful in educational settings, professional training, and psychological evaluation, where communication skills play an important role in personal and professional development.

The results can help professionals identify areas requiring improvement and design interventions aimed at strengthening interpersonal and communication skills.

Structure and Content

The SCSS-20 examines key dimensions of socio-communicative behaviour, including:

Expressiveness: The ability to communicate thoughts, emotions, and attitudes effectively during social interactions.

Responsiveness: The ability to understand, react, and adapt appropriately to the communication of others.

Cooperation: The ability to interact constructively and maintain effective social relationships.

The scale focuses on behavioural tendencies that characterize an individual’s communication style in interpersonal situations.

Scoring Method

The SCSS-20 uses a Likert-type response scale, where participants evaluate each statement according to the frequency with which they display the described behaviour, ranging from:

“Never”

to

“Always.”

Scores are calculated based on responses across items and are used to estimate the individual’s socio-communicative characteristics. Higher scores indicate greater competence and effectiveness in the corresponding communication dimensions, whereas lower scores may suggest areas requiring further development.

Data Analysis and Use

Data from the SCSS-20 can be analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, factor analysis, and comparative methods.

The scale can be applied in educational research, organizational psychology, communication studies, and interpersonal skills assessment. It can support the identification of communication strengths and difficulties and contribute to the design of targeted training programs.

Validity and Reliability

The psychometric evaluation of the SCSS-20 focuses on examining the consistency and structure of the measured socio-communicative dimensions.

Previous research has investigated the reliability and separation of factors related to assertiveness and responsiveness, supporting the use of communication style measures in interpersonal research.

References

McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (1996). Fundamentals of Human Communication: An Interpersonal Perspective. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.

Richmond, V. P., & McCroskey, J. C. (1990). Reliability and separation of factors on the assertiveness-responsiveness scale. Psychological Reports, 67, 449–450.