What is Sociometry? Characteristics, objectives and methods
In different university careers, the subject of sociometry is studied, in one way or another. But, What exactly is this research method, what are its characteristics and what are its objectives?
Sociometry is a quantitative (numerical) research method used in sociology, social psychology and related fields. It aims to measure social relations within a specific group, to evaluate both individual and general data.
What is sociometry and what is it for?
Sociometry contributes to the application of quantitative measurement methods in the yes of certain groups and social structures, and helps us to understand the capacities, interactions and mental well-being both at the group level and at each of its members.
This method was engineered by psychologist and therapist Jacob Levy Moreno. Since its inception, sociometry has been a very valuable instrument when evaluating and measuring the interaction between components of different groups, for example in the academic, educational, labor or sports fields.
The sociometric method employs several methodological resources belonging to the quantitative approach , for example the questionnaire and the survey, which belong to the spectrum of sociometric test methodologies.
History of sociometry
Sociometry was born at the beginning of the 20th century in the United States, where Jacob Levy Moreno resided. This new conceptualization gave rise to the methods that would make sociometry a technique with the capacity to study, diagnose and predict dynamics of group and social interaction, both in groups of few members and in social contexts of much more complexity and size.
The influence of Jacob Levy Moreno
The Viennese psychiatrist and student of Sigmund Freud had his first contact with the sociometric study when he collaborated in the organization of a refugee colony in his country. Thus, knowing first hand the different problems that arose in groups of people, Moreno tried to organize these groups and their members through a sociometric planning.
From the year 1925, Jacob Levy Moreno moved to New York and in that context he developed a solid theoretical basis for his sociometric method. He tested his method on a large scale in Sing-Sing prison, in the city where he resided . This test would give you a much more detailed view about the multiple variables that influence personal relationships between different groups within a specific physical context.
With the collected data and using his best experience, he refined the method and developed a more polished version of the sociograms, a visual form as diagrams that allow to study the good or bad relationships between individuals in the context of a larger group.
From that moment, Moreno would publicize his sociograms among the American academic and scientific community. Its methodology was valued in a very positive way, and became part of the most used and effective tools at the time of initiating quantitative and psychosocial analyzes.
Five years after his first draft, already in the thirties, Jacob Levy Moreno published a work on interpersonal relationships that would end up laying the foundations of sociometry. It is from that moment that the methodology created by Moreno experiences a boom and is applied in many contexts and projects. In fact, he even had his own specialized academic journal from the year 1936. In addition, the Institute of Sociometry in New York, later renamed Instituto Moreno, in honor of Jacob Levy, would be founded.
Objectives of sociometry
Sociometry pursues different objectives and has different uses. According to Jacob Levy Moreno himself, the main objectives of sociometry are the following:
- Evaluate the level of sympathy a person awakens in a group of people.
- Deepen the reasons why this is so.
- Analyze the degree of cohesion between the different components of the same group.
1. Detect rejected people
One of the objectives of sociometry is to detect and classify those individuals who suffer greater rejection by the other components of the group . Likewise, it also deals with the opposite cases: identify and classify those individuals most valued by the rest.
In this way, the aim is to work with the former to promote their social skills and strengthen their communication and relationships with the rest, while the most valued ones can enhance their leadership capacity.
2. Detect isolated people
Another objective of sociometry is detect people who consider themselves isolated or isolated from the group . How is this measured? They are individuals who do not generate influence, positive or negative, in the dynamics and relationships within the group.
3. Analyze group dynamics
Another opportunity that it offers us to be able to foresee, after studying the dynamics of the group, how it will react and adapt to certain changes , such as the inclusion of new individuals or the exit of others.
These three objectives can be found by sociometry in educational and professional contexts, which are the two groups most commonly analyzed by this technique.
How does the sociometric method work?
The sociometric method developed by Jacob Levy Moreno is commonly used in educational contexts . It is used to have more data and elements of analysis on the level of interaction, sympathy / antipathy and cohesion among peers. It also serves to detect certain positive patterns, or disagreements, that may exist between several of these members, and how these dynamics influence the group.
The basic functions of sociometry are basically two: first, the identification of personal relationships within a group. It should be borne in mind that sociometry rarely addresses the study of large groups, to ensure that the variables at play can be well identified. Detected the patterns of behavior within the group, the method is applied, through the sociometric test.
The sociometric test is a questionnaire that must be completed by each member of the group that has been analyzed. It must be administered without compromising or putting pressure on the participants. The test proposes different scenarios and gives the participant the freedom to choose which other members would prefer forming a subgroup, and their reasons. In this way, and through the answers of each member, you can know firsthand the intra-group dynamics and the reasons why each participant has a greater or lesser appreciation towards other individuals.
Finally, the method is used to make forecasts . That is, it can help to visualize the most appropriate and effective dynamics to resolve tensions between participants and stimulate the good dynamics that have already been detected in the past.
Bibliographic references:
- Forselledo, A. G. (2010). Introduction to sociometry and its applications. Montevideo: University of Higher Studies.
- Jennings, H.H. (1987) Sociometry in Group Relations. 2nd ed. Westport: Greenwood.
- Moreno, J. L. (1951). Sociometry, Experimental Method and the Science of Society: An Approach to a New Political Orientation. Beacon House.
- Page, J. 1988/9. Education and Acculturation in Malaita: An ethnography of intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic affinities. Journal of Intercultural Studies. 15/16: 74-81. Online: //eprints.qut.edu.au/3566/
