George T. Solomon
The George Washington University

The central issue in acquiring and dealing with interpersonal competence is to have ample opportunity to understand and practice new modes of behavior. Since one cannot deal effectively with the issues of interpersonal competence alone, one needs to find another individual with whom to practice. To this end, I have developed a computer simulation exercise which allows individuals the opportunity to be interpersonally competent.

The computer simulation exercise was designed to be used with the Digital PDP­ll interactive computer because it allows individuals to respond and to receive feedback immediately from the computer.

The simulation exercise contains twenty­two situations/dilemmas which are displayed sequentially. After a particular situation/dilemma is displayed, the individual is required to generate a response to that particular dilemma.

Responses to the various situations require individuals to use elements from a sample vocabulary which is printed and distributed prior to beginning the exercise. The vocabulary contains sufficient nouns, verbs, modifiers and conjunctions to construct an adequate response to each case. The purpose in using the sample vocabulary is to allow the computer to rate the responses from the individuals. The basis for rating the individual response is Argyris' theoretical framework for competence acquisition and the set of categories he designed to measure interpersonal competence.

Once the individual response is rated, the computer in turn responds to the feedback from the individual. In all cases, if the individual responds incompetently to the situation/dilemma, as rated by the computer, the computer will respond with an incompetent message. The purpose of this design is to keep all communications relatively congruent.

If the individual responds incompetently to any given situation/dilemma, the system is also designed to allow the individual an opportunity to repeat the given situation/dilemma in an attempt to foster learning by attempting to correct the mistake from the initial encounter. The individual has the option to repeat the exercise or to move on to the next situation/dilemma. If the individual chooses to engage again in the same situation/dilemma, he/she will be allowed one additional opportunity and then will be shown the next situation/dilemma.

If an individual responds competently, as rated by the computer, the computer will respond with a competent message and display the next situation/dilemma. The individual's role is to deal with each situation/dilemma as a complete and separate entity, until all twenty­two situations/dilemmas are displayed or the individual quits. Individuals may engage in the exercise as many times as they feel they need to do so.

The exercise is an attempt to give participants the opportunity to learn new behavior(s) and attitude(s) and to support movement toward being interpersonally competent. The exercise allows individuals an opportunity to experiment and develop new models of behavior to become confident in their ability to use them. Also, the computer will be constantly offering feedback which can help the individual understand which behaviors manifested in the communication link are competent or incompetent, in Argyris' terms.

The use of the computer allows individuals an opportunity to engage in an interaction with a non­biased member. Also, most communications from the computer will be minimally distorted, evaluative, attributive or contradictory. Constant reinforcement of valid feedback may support movement toward being interpersonally competent. As such it will be supporting individuals to become more open to new ideas and feelings. It also will support individuals' rights to own up to their feelings and ideas without fear of punishment. Overall, the computer simulation exercise serves to create an environment supportive of the individual(s)' desire to experiment with new and relatively untested behaviors.