In spite of the fact that the investigation of the relationship of these two factors would be very important, there is still hardly any research done on this topic. It can be assumed that mastery motivation has a significant role in the acquisition and mastery of social abilities. On the other hand, the development of social abilities and the mastery of this ability system can enhance the growth of the system of mastery motives.

The basic research aim of our study is to describe the relationship of mastery motivation and social competence. Our objective is to develop a complex model and verify it empirically. Because of the expected complexity of the model, a large number of factors influencing development must be included in the study as background variables. We will investigate how the interrelation of the development of social skills and that of mastery motivation can be described as a function of age. A further objective of our research is to design the theoretical foundation of programs aiming at the development of social skills and social mastery motives. This involves the definition of social skills that are considered to be of basic importance in childhood. We will try to describe the development of these skills and motives throughout a wide age range. We would also like to work out a theoretical background for the simultaneous training of skills and motives, and for programs aiming at the optimal acquisition of these.

The aim of the first phase of our research is to find out how social competence and mastery motivation relate to each other. In order to achieve this, we have to form sound theoretical basis. We must define primary skills and motives, the acquisition of which can be defined later as an objecitve of develepment.

To discover the relationship between social competence and mastery motivation and to describe their development we will conduct an empirical research. Data will be gathered both longitudinally and cross-sectionally. In addition to already existing instruments we plan to design and adapt further ones that can help us in investigating this complex network of relationships. The results of the empirical study can serve as a basis for the simultaneous development of skills and motives. We can also rely on them when working out the theoretical background of training programs aiming at optimal acquisition.

The expected benefits of the research are manyfold: we will be in a position to characterize the development of social skills and motives, the relationship of mastery motivation and social competence, how this relationship changes with age, and we can define social skills and motives of primary importance in childhood. Research results will help us in constructing the theoretical basis for global training programs aiming at optimal acquisition and mastery.