Can higher grades result in fewer friends? A reexamination of the relation between academic and social competence

Although it has been widely assumed that the two domains of social and academic competence are independent, significant positive correlations have recently been found. The present study focused on peer judgments of social competence. Data on 157 secondary school students revealed significant negative correlations. Further analysis was based on Coleman's (1961) explanation that intellectual students are willing to work hard at a relatively unrewarded activity. The results here confirm this view; a significant interaction effect was found for academic effort, academic subject, and academic achievement. It is argued that the contrasting correlations between academic and social competence may be explained by the various operationalizations of social competence.