Past research has provided evidence that social skills are correlated to both academic achievement and language skills. In addition, Piaget’s... Show morePast research has provided evidence that social skills are correlated to both academic achievement and language skills. In addition, Piaget’s theory asserts that certain cognitive abilities develop independent of learning (both language and academic skills) that occurs in school. The present study examined the impact of cognitive developmental level as a moderator for the relationship between social skills and academic achievement. Cognitive developmental level was measured using conservation tasks. Social skills were measured with the Social Skills Inventory System. Academic achievement was measured by the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement, Third Edition, Normative Update. This study also assessed cognitive developmental level as a moderator between social skills and language skills. Language skills were measured with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. A hierarchical linear regression yielded results indicating that when controlling for IQ, gender and ethnicity, cognitive developmental level did not moderate relationships between social skills and language and social skills and academic achievement. However, post hoc analyses demonstrated that ethnicity provides a significant amount of the variance and acts as a covariate. This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence that ethnicity significantly impacts teacher ratings of social skills. M.S. in Psychology, December 2012 Show less
