The technique developed by Jacob Levi Moreno is used to diagnose intergroup and interpersonal relationships, it establishes sociometric status in order to change, improve and improve these relationships. Sociometry also allows you to study the typology of people's behavior in society, to judge the social and psychological compatibility of people in group activities.
Positive or negative sociometric status is a reflection of the properties of a person, which is an element of a sociometric structure and occupies a certain spatial position there (in other words, a locus). This means that the sum of preferences and rejections of a given person, received from surrounding people, is analyzed. In a group structure, properties are given to each element, but very unevenly, and therefore, for comparative analysis, each ratio is measured and indicated by a number. That's what it issociometric status index. An example of the calculation will be given in this article.
Goals of sociometry
The procedure of sociometric measurements helps to identify the degree of disunity and cohesion in the group, as well as to determine sociometric positions in the sense of the correlation of authorities on the basis of likes and dislikes. Thus, people who are assigned a sociometric status, for example, a leader or an outcast, find themselves at different poles. In addition, within the group it is necessary to detect subsystems, some close-knit formations, where their informal leaders may also find themselves. Activities within the framework of this theory help to measure the authority of leaders - both formal and informal, in order to then regroup people into teams to reduce tension in the team, which arises from people's hostility, most often mutual.
Sociometric status is determined by means of a certain methodology carried out with the group. It does not take much time, a quarter of an hour is enough, but it brings a lot of benefits. The methodology is especially good in applied research, where work is being done to improve relationships.
Establishing a sociometric status does not mean that all problems will be solved overnight, of course, this is by no means a radical way to relieve intra-group tension. And the reasons for it must be looked for much deeper, not in individual likes and dislikes of the collective. Problems like this have much more hidden sources. The reliability of the sociometric procedure primarily depends on the exactselection of criteria, but dictated by their research program and preliminary acquaintance with the specifics of relations in the group.
Sociometric procedure
The general scheme of actions is as follows: first, research tasks are set and objects of measurement are selected, then provisions and hypotheses are formulated regarding the criteria for interviewing each member of the group. The anonymity of the sociometric procedure is not shown, since the measurements in this case will not give the expected effect. The requirement of the researcher to reveal his likes, and especially antipathies, will surely cause many respondents not only internal difficulties, but also a sharp unwillingness to take part in this survey.
Such are the features of the sociometric status of the student age audience, schoolchildren. Here it is best to use the form of cards on which the selected questions and criteria are entered, or to arrange an oral interview type survey. The latter is particularly well suited if the study is designed to measure sociometric status in a small group.
Poll order
The questions are answered by each member of the group, choosing, depending on their inclinations, one or another classmate, ranking them according to preference in comparison with the rest. The main criterion is one's own likes or dislikes, mistrust or trust, and so on. Questions should be chosen in such a way that it is as easy as possible to discover the relationship of one to another, to the leader, to the informal leader, to the one whom the groupreasons are not accepted. The experimenter reads out two questions under letters a) and b), then gives instructions to the respondents. They must write three names on their sheets.
Under the first number - the person who would have been chosen first, under the second - the person who would have been chosen if they had not had the first, and under the third - the person who would have taken this place without the first two. Questions under the letters can be composed in any way, depending on the situation. For example, if the features of the sociometric status of students of student age are measured, they may sound like this:
- Which of your group mates would you ask to help prepare for the exam? (First surname, second, third).
- Which of your bandmates would you not like to ask for it even in case of emergency? (Also - the first surname, the second and third).
Sample questions
To find out how sociometric status corresponds to a normal business relationship, the questions should be somewhat different:
- Who would you like to go on a long business trip with?
- Who would you like to go on a long business trip with?
Second option:
- Who, in your opinion, will best perform the functions of a trade union representative, headman or other organizer?
- Who do you think will find it difficult to fulfill the duties of an organizer?
And so on. Questions should be correct enough, but easily correlated with desireselection.
Similarly, the sociometric status school recommends examining personal relationships within a group. Questions are compiled according to the same principle, but within the boundaries of this topic. For example:
- Who would you consult in a difficult situation if it appeared in your personal life?
- Who in the group would you not like to turn to for any advice, for any reason?
Possible questions are:
- Who would you like to share a dorm room with?
- If your band was re-formed, who would you not like to see in the new band?
And another option:
- Who would you invite to a party like a birthday?
- Which of your group would you not like to see on your birthday?
To confirm the validity of the answers, this study can be conducted in the same group more than once, only with different questions.
Non-parametric form
The boundaries of sociometric status are determined quite vaguely if the first, non-parametric form of research is used. However, it helps to detect a certain emotional expansiveness in each member of the group, to get a slice of the group structure in the variety of interpersonal relationships. It is all the more useful because it is most often used at the very beginning of research, and subsequently the team will be more frank as they get used to the survey. Again, this method is only good for small groups, and if there are more than twelveman, you will need computer technology to calculate the results. The principle of the study is as follows: each subject answers the questions of the card without limiting the choice. If he likes eight people out of nine (the ninth is himself), he enters their names one by one. (Some, especially the secretive ones, write in alphabetical order or save ink by signing "Choose all!")
Theoretically, the possible number of choices made by each member of the team will be (N-1), where N is the number of people in the group. And each subject can be chosen too (N-1) number of times. This value, by the way, is always the main quantitative constant of all sociometric measurements. But the non-parametric procedure makes it unique for both the subject and the object of choice. Also, its disadvantage is the huge probability of getting a random choice. The one who has marked everyone is hardly really in such an undifferentiated amorphous system of relations with others. Rather, it demonstrates formal loy alty and is obviously disingenuous. That is why the researchers changed the procedure of the method and thus reduced the percentage of the probability of random selection by separating the categories of sociometric statuses.
Parametric procedure
In the second option, the number of choices is limited. For example, group members can name only a strictly fixed number of surnames. If there are twenty people in the team, everyone is invited to choose, for example, only four or five surnames. This effect is called the choice limit or sociometric effect.limitation, and it must be said that the reliability of the data is significantly increased, while at the same time facilitating the statistical processing of the obtained material. The subjects are more attentive to the answers and purely psychologically feel responsible for their choice, and therefore they almost never lie, really marking only those people who correspond in their view to the proposed roles - a workmate, leader or partner.
Negative sociometric status is also more accurate. The choice limit reduces the probability of random answers to almost zero, and also helps to standardize the conditions of studies, even if groups in the same sample have different sizes. All this makes it possible to compare materials from different groups. It is now generally accepted that in teams of up to twenty-five people, the minimum value of the sociometric restriction should be four or five choices.
Standardization
The essential difference between the second version of the procedure and the first one is that the sociometric constant (N-1) can be stored only in the system of received choices - to the group member. The system of given choices - from participant to group - is measured using a new value - d, which denotes a sociometric constraint. Thanks to its introduction, it becomes possible to standardize all external conditions for elections among groups of different sizes. The value of d is necessarily determined by the same for all groups, the probability of choosing a random one. To determine this probability, there is a formula: P(A)=d/(N-1). Here Ris the probability of a random event, (A) is the sociometric choice, and N is the number of group members.
Usually, P(A) is chosen around 0.20-0.30, and if we substitute these values in the above formula to determine d (and the value of N we know), then we get the desired number, showing the sociometric restriction in this group. This procedure also has disadvantages: it is impossible to see the whole variety of relationships in the team, only subjectively important connections are revealed, only selected, typical communications are reflected, and the entire structure in this group is not fully disclosed. Sociometric limitation does not show the expansive emotionality of the members of the team.
Sociometric card
A questionnaire or card for sociometric research is compiled already at the last stage of the development of this program. When filling out the card, each survey participant must indicate their own attitude towards the rest of the group members according to certain criteria - solving business problems, working together, spending leisure time, and so on. The criteria most of all depend on the purpose of the study and following the program, that is, on what is the subject: relations in the leisure group or in the production group, is the team stable or is it temporary, and so on.
The table gives an approximate content of such a map.
| Type | Criterion | Elections | |
| 1 | Production | Who would you like to see as headmanbands? | |
| 2 | Leisure | Who do you think will not cope with the duties of the head of the group? |
Calculation of results
After the cards are collected, the mathematical processing of the data will begin, and therefore it is necessary to at least briefly tell how to calculate the sociometric status. This can be done in three ways - indexological, graphical and tabular. The latter is characterized by the fact that the results are filled out separately for personal and business relationships. The list of surnames in the first column is located vertically, and the numbers opposite each are horizontally: +1, +2, +3, etc. Those who were selected in the first, second and so on queue are indicated, and -1, -2, -3, etc. - those who were not elected in the first, second and next line. The reciprocity of positive and negative choices in the table is circled (order is not taken into account).
After the end of this work, the algebraic sum of all the choices received by each participant is calculated vertically. Then the sum of points is calculated for each. In this case, it should be taken into account that the first selection queue is +3 or -3, the second is +2 or -2, and so on. And the last thing left is to calculate the total algebraic sum that determines the sociometric status of the subject in this group.
Sociometric indices
Here you need to distinguish between personal and group index of sociometric status. An example of calculation will show that the first characterizes individual social andpsychological properties of the subject in the role of a member of the team, and the latter clarify the numerical characteristics of the entire sociometric configuration of choice in the group, describing the properties of communication structures. For example, if the schoolboy Ivanov received the first choice from his classmate Petrov, and Sidorov received the second choice from him, then the corresponding numbers are put in the corresponding rows of the card and in the corresponding columns. If Ivanov also likes Petrov more than anyone else, that is, the choice was mutual, then these numbers should be circled.
At the bottom of the matrix is calculated the number of elections that Ivanov received, as well as Petrov and Sidorov. Further - pure algebra, the sociometric status of each student is calculated. The formula is the same for all: C=M:(N-1). Here C is the sociometric status, M is the total number of choices, where positive ones are plused and negative ones are minus, N is the number of subjects. For example, Ivanov got 4:9=0, 44. That's not bad. But even if the result is disappointing, the school and parents have enormous pedagogical opportunities to change the sociometric status of the student. The main thing is to take measurements and understand what the problem is.
The following status categories are most often distinguished: sociometric stars, preferred, neglected, outcast and isolated. They differ in the number of positive and negative choices and their combination. It is very important to understand whether a person is aware of his status and how comfortable he is in this role.
