Nezlek, J. B. (2001). Causal relationships between social skills and day-to-day social interaction: Extending the sociometer hypothesis. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 18, 387-404.

Twice over two years, participants described their day-to-day social interactions for two weeks, and they described their social skills. Within each phase of the study, social skill and quality of social interaction were positively related. Moreover, the results of cross-lagged panel analyses suggested that changes in the quality of day-to-day interaction lead to changes in social skills, whereas changes in social skills did not lead to changes in quality of interaction. In contrast, quantity of interaction and social skills were not related either within or across time. Consistent with some aspects of the sociometer hypothesis, improvements in the quality of people's social relationships lead to increases in social skills, and declines in the quality of social relationships lead to a decreases in social skills.