MSCE Social and Life Skills cheat sheet

Self-awareness = ability to recognise one's own thoughts, feelings, strengths, weaknesses and values, and how these affect behaviour.

Self-esteem = evaluative judgement of one's own worth; high self-esteem correlates with assertiveness, low self-esteem with people-pleasing or withdrawal.

Personal identity = stable sense of who one is across time and situations, shaped by culture, family, peers, experiences and choices.

Johari Window quadrants: open (known to self and others), blind (known to others only), hidden (known to self only), unknown (neither).

Self-concept components: self-image (how I see myself), self-esteem (how I value myself), ideal self (how I want to be).

Identity formation is a psychosocial task of adolescence; exploration followed by commitment produces a more stable identity than foreclosure or diffusion.

Self-efficacy (Bandura) = belief in one's capacity to execute actions needed for a goal; built through mastery experiences, vicarious models, verbal persuasion and physiological states.

Reflective practice cycle: describe the experience → identify feelings → evaluate what went well or poorly → analyse causes → plan alternative action.

Communication process: sender → encoding → message → channel → receiver → decoding → feedback; noise can distort at any stage.

Active listening components: attention, paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, clarifying questions, summarising, withholding judgement.

Assertive message formula: state the behaviour → state its impact → state your need or request (e.g., 'When you…, I feel…, I need…').

Conflict styles (Thomas–Kilmann): competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, accommodating; collaborating is best for long-term relationship outcomes when time allows.

Family life cycle stages: leaving home, joining families, families with young children, families with adolescents, launching children, later life.

Parenting styles (Baumrind): authoritative (high warmth, high demand) associated with best outcomes; authoritarian, permissive and neglectful associated with poorer outcomes.

Consent in relationships requires being informed, voluntary, specific and revocable; pressure, coercion or intoxication negates consent.

Gottman's 'four horsemen' that predict relationship breakdown: criticism, contempt, defensiveness, stonewalling.

HIV transmission routes: unprotected sexual intercourse, mother-to-child (pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding), contaminated blood or needles, and occupational exposure.

HIV is not transmitted by hugging, sharing food, mosquito bites, toilets, or sweat; saliva, tears and sweat have negligible infectious risk.

HIV progression: acute infection → clinical latency → symptomatic stage → AIDS (CD4 count <200 cells/mm³ or AIDS-defining illness).

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) suppresses viral load; undetectable viral load means no sexual transmission (U=U).

Prevention: correct and consistent condom use, voluntary medical male circumcision (reduces female-to-male transmission by about 60%), PrEP, PEP within 72 hours of exposure.

Reproductive health rights include access to contraception, safe motherhood, STI treatment, and freedom from coerced sex or sterilisation.

Emergency contraception reduces pregnancy risk if taken as soon as possible, ideally within 72 hours (levonorgestrel) or 120 hours (ulipristal acetate).

STI prevention: barrier methods, regular testing, partner notification and treatment; many STIs are asymptomatic, especially in women.

Balanced diet includes carbohydrates (energy), proteins (growth and repair), fats (energy and hormone function), vitamins, minerals, fibre and water.

BMI = weight (kg) ÷ height (m)²; underweight <18.5, normal 18.5–24.9, overweight 25–29.9, obese ≥30.

Substance abuse = continued use despite harmful consequences; dependence involves tolerance, withdrawal, craving and loss of control.

Transtheoretical model stages: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance (and relapse).

Harm-reduction approach: reduce negative consequences without requiring abstinence (e.g., needle exchange, supervised consumption).

Health promotion (Ottawa Charter) action areas: build healthy public policy, create supportive environments, strengthen community action, develop personal skills, reorient health services.

Alcohol and drug use impair judgement and increase risk of risky sexual behaviour, injury and violence.

Nutrition label literacy: compare serving size, total energy, added sugars, sodium and saturated fat per 100 g to make healthier choices.

Citizenship = legal membership of a state plus the rights, duties and participation that membership entails.

Human rights are universal, inalienable, indivisible and interdependent; they apply to all persons regardless of status.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) sets out civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

Rights carry corresponding responsibilities: e.g., right to free expression carries responsibility not to incite violence or defame.

Categories of rights: civil (life, liberty, fair trial), political (vote, assemble), economic (work, fair wage), social (education, health), cultural (language, religion).

Duties of a citizen include obeying the law, paying taxes, respecting others' rights, jury service where applicable, and participating in public life.

Human rights instruments include the ICCPR (civil and political) and ICESCR (economic, social and cultural), both adopted in 1966.

Limitations on rights must be lawful, necessary in a democratic society, proportionate and non-discriminatory.

Democracy = system in which power is exercised by the people, directly or through freely elected representatives.

Core democratic principles: popular sovereignty, majority rule with minority rights, political equality, free and fair elections, rule of law, transparency and accountability.

Rule of law = everyone, including government, is subject to the law; laws are clear, public, prospective, applied equally, and adjudicated independently.

Separation of powers: legislature makes law, executive implements, judiciary interprets; checks and balances prevent abuse.

Good governance characteristics: participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus orientation, equity, effectiveness, accountability.

Electoral integrity requires independent electoral management, secret ballot, freedom of association and expression, and peaceful transfer of power.

Corruption = abuse of entrusted power for private gain; forms include bribery, embezzlement, nepotism, extortion and conflict of interest.

Civil society and a free press function as accountability mechanisms by monitoring government and exposing abuses.

Natural resources are classified as renewable (solar, wind, biomass), non-renewable (fossil fuels, minerals) and potentially renewable (water, soil, forests) if used within regeneration rates.

Sustainable development = meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs (Brundtland, 1987).

The 3Rs hierarchy: reduce > reuse > recycle; prevention at source is preferred over waste management.

Greenhouse gases include CO₂, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases; methane has far higher short-term warming potential than CO₂.

Ecosystem services: provisioning (food, water), regulating (climate, water purification), supporting (nutrient cycling), cultural (recreation, identity).

Pollution control principles: precautionary principle, polluter-pays principle, prevention at source, and integrated pollution management.

Biodiversity loss drivers: habitat destruction, overexploitation, invasive species, pollution and climate change (IPBES).

Water conservation measures: drip irrigation, rainwater harvesting, fixing leaks, recycling greywater and pricing water to reflect scarcity.

Decision-making steps: identify the problem → gather information → list options → weigh consequences → choose → act → review.

SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.

Problem-solving cycle: define the problem → analyse causes → generate alternatives → select and implement → evaluate outcomes.

SWOT analysis: internal Strengths and Weaknesses; external Opportunities and Threats.

Cost–benefit analysis compares total expected benefits against total expected costs of each option.

Critical thinking involves questioning assumptions, evaluating evidence quality and distinguishing fact from opinion.

Time management tools: prioritisation matrices (urgent vs important), to-do lists with deadlines, and breaking large tasks into smaller steps.

Coping with stress: identify the stressor, use relaxation or exercise, seek social support, and reframe unhelpful thoughts.

Career planning cycle: self-assessment → explore options → decide → plan → act → review and adjust.

Entrepreneurship = identifying an opportunity, mobilising resources and taking calculated risks to create value.

Business plan components: description, market analysis, marketing and sales strategy, operations, management, financial projections.

Break-even point = fixed costs ÷ (unit price − variable cost per unit).

Sources of finance: personal savings, family and friends, bank loans, microfinance, grants, equity investors, crowdfunding.

Market research methods: surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, competitor analysis and secondary data.

Employability skills include communication, teamwork, problem solving, digital literacy, numeracy, and reliability.

Intellectual property protection: copyright (creative works), trademark (brands), patent (inventions), trade secret (confidential information).