Pragmatics: 6 Constructs of Formal Assessment
Pragmatic language is an interwoven set of linguistic skills people use to communicate in social contexts. It includes social, emotional, verbal, nonverbal, and other abilities.
Downloadable PDF
Share this Image On Your Site
6 CONSTRUCTS OF FORMAL ASSESSMENT
- Instrumental Performance Appraisal
- This skill set governs your awareness of social routines. It's how you judge whether someone is communicating in socially appropriate ways.
- Social Context Appraisal
- These skills involve correctly judging what other people's feelings and intentions are.
- Paralinguistic Decoding
- This ability involves accurately reading "micro-expressions," which communicate meaning beyond what a person is saying. Well-developed paralinguistic skills help you respond appropriately to what people say—as well as to what they don't say.
- Instrumental Performance
- This skill set affects your ability to communicate information according to social norms. Can you, for example, ask for help, directions, or permission in socially appropriate ways?
- Affective Expression
- This set of abilities controls how you express emotion as you're communicating. Many everyday social situations require people to convey emotion. These skills are vital to building and maintaining relationships.
- Paralinguistic Signals
- This group of skills governs the use of nonverbal forms of communication. It includes using facial expressions, gestures, and changes in the speed, rhythm, and tone of your voice to add meaning to what you're saying.
Pragmatic language differences are linked to autism, ADHD, developmental language disorder, social communication disorder, and other mental health difficulties, and these differences can be a powerful diagnostic tool.