Every person, individual enters into the system of social relations. People by nature could not live alone, therefore they unite in collectives. Often, conflicts of interest arise in them, situations of rejection, alienation, and other issues that may interfere with fruitful activity. The sociometric method in sociology is an effective means of identifying such problems. It has been tested several times, and with its help you can quickly establish existing relationships and give them a description. The sociometric method was created by J. L. Moreno, an American scientist, researcher of the nature of human group relations.
Definition of the sociometric method
There are several approaches to the definition of this concept. Firstly, the sociometric method is a system for diagnosing emotional ties, relationships or mutual sympathies between members of the same group. In addition, in the process of research, the degree of disunity-cohesion of a group is measured, signs of sympathy-antipathy of community members in relation to authorities (rejected, leaders, stars) are revealed. Led by informal leaders , intra-group cohesive formations (informal groups) or closed communities, positive, tense or even conflicting relations, their specific motivational structure are established. That is, during the study of the group, not only the qualitative, but also the quantitative side of the preferences of the group members identified in the test is taken into account.
Secondly, the sociometric method of personality research also indicates an applied area, including the use and improvement of special tools in solving practical problems.
The origin and development of a sociometric experiment
The sociometric method was created in the 30s. XX century American psychiatrist and sociologist J. L. Moreno, he also introduced the concept of "sociometry", which means measuring the dynamics of interpersonal relationships of members of one group. According to the author himself, the essence of sociometry is to study the internal structure of social groups, which can be compared with the nuclear nature of an atom or the physiological structure of a cell. The theoretical foundations of the sociometric method are based on the fact that each side of social life - political, economic - is easily explained by the state of emotional relations between individuals. Specifically, this can be expressed in the manifestation by people of antipathy and sympathy for each other. That is, the author of the sociometric method believed that the change in psychological relations in small groups directly affects the entire social system. To date, this method has many modifications.
Bulgarian sociologist L. Desev identified three areas of research that use sociometric methods:
- Dynamic or “revolutionary” sociometry, the subject of study of which is a group in action (J. L. Moreno and others).
- Diagnostic sociometry, which classifies social groups (F. Chapin, J. H. H. Criswell, M. L. Northway, J. A. Landberg, E. Borgardus and others).
- Mathematical sociometry (S. C. C. Dodd, D. Stuart, L. Katz, etc.).
The Soviet psychologists who made a great contribution to the introduction of this method were I.P. Volkov, Ya. L. Kolominsky, E.S. Kuzmin, V.A. Yadov, and others.
According to Y. L. Kolominsky, the psychological basis for studying relationships is knowledge that the desire of one person for another comes from a desire to be closer to the object of attachment. Moreover, the expression in verbal form should be recognized as a significant real indicator of not only understanding, but also the overall presence of a person’s need.
The value of the method and scope
The sociometric method of studying small groups and collectives is used by sociologists and psychologists in schools, universities, enterprises and organizations, sports teams and other associations of people to diagnose interpersonal relationships. For example, the results of such a study are of great importance in establishing the psycho-emotional compatibility of spacecraft crews and Antarctic expeditions.
The sociometric method of group research, according to A.V. Petrovsky, is one of the few methods of analyzing interpersonal relationships in a small team, which are often hidden. At the present stage of scientific socio-psychological research , a creative beginning appears, aimed at studying this subject with new techniques. Subsequently, the development of such methods and their application in combination with other methods will significantly expand the capabilities of sociology and psychology in the analysis of small groups. The role of a small group for society should not be underestimated. It accumulates in itself social relations as a whole and transforms them into intra-group ones. This knowledge contains an important element of social management, built on a scientific basis.
Characterization of the sociometric method
Research of this kind allows you to improve relationships in any team. But at the same time - this is not a completely radical method of resolving the internal problems of the group, so most often they should be sought not in antipathy or sympathy of the group members for each other, but in deeper sources.
The sociometric research method is carried out in the form of posing indirect questions, answering which, the respondent makes a choice of specific members of his group, which he would prefer to others in a particular situation.
Individual or group testing options are possible. It depends on the age of the subjects and the content of the tasks. But, as a rule, a group form of research is more often used.
In any case, the sociometric method in the study of the group allows us to establish the dynamics of intra-group relations in a short time, in order to subsequently apply the results obtained in order to restructure the groups, strengthen their cohesion and effectiveness of interaction.
Study Preparation
The sociometric method in conducting does not require much effort and time. The research tools are a sociometric survey form, a list of group members, and a sociomatrix. A group of people of any age can be studied: from preschool to older. The sociometric method of research for preschoolers may be applicable, since at this age, children receive the first experience of communication and interaction. Criteria for sociometric selection are formed on the basis of tasks that are solved in the course of the study and age, professional or other features of the studied group. The criterion is, as a rule, a certain type of activity, and in order to fulfill one, the individual will need to make a choice, that is, reject one or more members of his group. It represents a specific question from the list. The situation of choice during the survey should not be limited. It is appreciated if the applied criteria will be of interest to the employee: they should describe a specific situation. According to the content, the test criteria are divided into formal and informal. Using the first type, you can change the relationship to a joint activity, for the sake of which the group was created. Another group of criteria is used to study emotional and personal relationships that are not related to joint activities and the achievement of a common goal, for example, choosing a friend for spending free time. In the methodological literature, they can also be referred to as production and non-production. The criteria are also divided according to the orientation towards positive (“Which member of the group would you like to work with?”) Or negative (“Which member of the group would you like to work with?”). The sociometric method assumes that the questionnaire, which contains instructions and a list of criteria, is created after their formulation and selection.
The list of questions is adapted taking into account the characteristic features of the study group.
Preliminary stage of the survey
The sociometric research method is carried out in an open form, so before the start of the survey it is necessary to instruct the group. This preliminary stage aims to clarify the importance of the study to the group, indicate the significance of the results for the group itself, and tell how necessary it is to complete the tasks with attention. At the end of the briefing, it is important to emphasize that all responses of the group members will be kept confidential.
The approximate contents of the instruction
The text of the instruction may have the following content: “Since you were not familiar enough with each other, absolutely all your wishes could not be taken into account when forming your group. At the moment, relationships have formed in a certain way. As for the purpose of the study, its results will be favorably taken into account by your leadership in organizing the activities of the team in the future. In this regard, we ask you to be extremely sincere in giving answers. The study organizers guarantee that individual responses will be kept confidential. ”
Sociometric research method: procedure
There are some criteria regarding the size of the team being studied. The number of members of the group at which the sociometric method is triggered should be 3-25 people. However, examples of studies involving up to 40 people are noted. The sociometric method of studying interpersonal relationships in a group (work collective) is acceptable to apply, provided that the experience in it exceeds six months. An important component of the preparation is the establishment of a confidential atmosphere of relations with the group. Otherwise, distrust of the experimenter, the suspicion that answers to questions can be used to the detriment of the respondent, can lead to a refusal to complete tasks or to give false answers. It is important that the study is not conducted by a person related to the team: the leader or a person in the group. Otherwise, the results will not be reliable. Also worth mentioning are invalid answer options that can be used. For example, it is embarrassing for the respondent to leave other members of the group outside the list when making a positive choice, so he can, guided by such a motive, say “he chooses everyone.” In this regard, the authors and followers of sociometric theory resorted to an attempt to partially change the survey procedure. So, instead of the free number of group members according to given options, respondents could set a strictly limited number of them. Most often it equals three, less often four or five. This rule is called the “election limit,” or “sociometric restriction.” It reduces the likelihood of chance, facilitates the task of processing and interpreting information, forcing survey participants to more adequately and thoughtfully approach the answers.
When the preparatory activities are completed, the interview process begins. Each member of the group should take part in the sociometric research method. The subjects record the names of the group members that they selected according to one or another criterion, and indicate their data in the questionnaire. Thus, the survey cannot be anonymous, since it is in these conditions that it is possible to establish relationships between team members. During the study, the organizer is obliged to ensure that the respondents do not communicate with each other, regularly remind that all questions must be answered. No need to rush subjects in answering questions.
However, if there is no list in front of them with group members, you can allow visual contact. For greater convenience and elimination of inaccuracies, the names of the missing can be written on the board.
The following selection methods are acceptable:
- Limit the number of choices to 3-5.
- Complete freedom of choice, that is, the respondent has the right to indicate as many names as he sees fit.
- Ranking of group members depending on the proposed criterion.
The first method is preferable, but only from the point of view of convenience and simplicity in the subsequent processing of the results. The third - in terms of the reliability and reliability of the results. The ranking method eliminates the stress that may occur when choosing members of the group on negative grounds.
After the sociometric survey cards are completed, they are collected from the members of the group and the procedure of mathematical processing begins. The simplest methods for quantitative processing of research results are graphical, tabular and indexological.
Processing and interpretation options for the results
In the course of the study, one of the tasks is to determine the sociometric status of an individual in a group. By it is meant the individual’s property to occupy one or another position in the structure under consideration (locus), that is, to relate in a concrete way to the rest of the collective.
- Drawing up a sociomatrix. It is a table in which the results of the survey are entered, namely: positive and negative choices made by the members of the study group. It is built according to this principle: horizontal rows and vertical columns have an equal number and numbering according to the number of group members, that is, it indicates who chooses whom.
Depending on the selection criteria, single and total matrices can be constructed showing selections according to several criteria. In any case, a complete picture of the relationship in the group can be represented by an analysis of the sociomatrix for each criterion.
Mutual elections are circled, if reciprocity is incomplete, then in a semicircle. Or, the intersections of columns and rows are marked with a plus sign in the case of a positive choice or a minus sign if it was negative. If there is no choice, then 0 is set.
The main advantage of the matrix is ​​the ability to present all the results in numerical form. This will eventually rank the members of the group by the number of elections received and cast, and determine the order of influences in the group.
The number of elections received is called the sociometric status of the group, which can be compared with the theoretically possible number of elections. For example, a group consists of 11 people, the number of possible choices will be 9, therefore, 99 is the number of theoretically possible choices.
However, in the overall picture, not so much the number of choices matters as the satisfaction of each respondent with their position within the group. Having data, it is possible to calculate a satisfaction coefficient equal to dividing the number of mutual positive choices of an individual. So, if one of the members of the group seeks to communicate with three specific people, but none of them chose him during the survey, then the satisfaction coefficient KU = 0: 3 = 0. This suggests that the respondent is trying to interact with those who who should be.
- Group Cohesion Index. This sociometric parameter is calculated by dividing the sum of mutual choices by the total number possible in the group. If the resulting number lies in the range of 0.6-0.7, then this is a good indicator of group cohesion. That is, the sociometric method in the study of the group allows you to establish the state of intra-group relations in a short time, in order to subsequently apply the results in order to restructure the groups, strengthen their cohesion and effectiveness of interaction.
- Building a sociogram. Using the sociomatrix, it is possible to construct a sociogram, that is, to make the representation of sociometry visual in the form of a “target diagram”. This will be a kind of addition to the tabular data interpretation approach.
Any circle in a sociogram will have its own meaning:
- The inner circle will be called the zone of stars, that is, that group of selected people into which the leaders who gained the vast majority of positive elections were highlighted.
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