Sociometric method of research: author, theoretical grounds, characteristics, procedure

Every person, an individual, enters the system of social relations. People by their nature could not live alone, that's why they unite in teams. Often, they create conflicts of interest, situations of rejection, alienation and other issues that may interfere with productive activities. The sociometric method in sociology is an effective means of identifying such problems. He was repeatedly tested, and with his help, it is possible to quickly establish existing relationships and give them a description. The sociometric method was created by JL Moreno, an American scientist, researcher of the nature of human group relations.

Definition of sociometric method

There are several approaches to the definition of this concept. First, the sociometric method is a system for diagnosing emotional connections, relationships, or mutual sympathies among members of the same group. In addition, the degree of disunity-cohesion of the group is measured in the process of research, signs of sympathy-antipathy of members of the community 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 conflictual relationships, 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 members of the group identified in the test is taken into consideration.

Secondly, the sociometric method of investigating personality also means an applied direction, including the use and improvement of special tools in solving practical problems.

Origin and development of sociometric experiment

Sociometric method created in the 30-ies. XX century. American psychiatrist and sociologist J. L. Moreno, he also introduced the concept of "sociometry", which refers to the measurement of the dynamics of interpersonal relationships among members of the same group. According to the author himself, the essence of sociometry lies in the study of the internal structure of social groups, which can be compared with the nuclear nature of the atom or the physiological structure of the cell. The theoretical foundations of the sociometric method are based on the fact that each side of social life - political and economic - is easily explained by the state of emotional relations between individuals. Specifically, this can be expressed in the manifestation of people's antipathy and sympathy for each other. That is, the author of the sociometric method believed that changing psychological relationships in small groups directly affects the entire social system. To date, this method has many modifications.

The Bulgarian sociologist L. Desev has singled out three areas of research in which sociometric methods are used:

• Dynamic or "revolutionary" sociometry, the subject of which is the group in action (JL Moreno and others).
• Diagnostic sociometry, which classifies social groups (F. Chapin, JH Chriswell, ML Northway, JA Landberg, E. Borgardus, and others).
• Mathematical sociometry (C. C. Dodd, D. Stewart, L. Katz, and others).

Soviet psychologists who made a great contribution to the implementation of this method were IP Volkov, Ya. L. Kolominsky, ES Kuzmin, VA Yadov, and others.

According to Ya. L. Kolominsky, the psychological basis for studying relationships is the knowledge that the desire of one person for another comes from the 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 in general the presence of need in a person.

Meaning of method and scope

The sociometric method of studying small groups and collectives is applied by sociologists and psychologists in schools, universities, enterprises and organizations, sports collectives and other associations of people for the diagnosis of interpersonal relations. For example, the results of such a study are of great importance in establishing the psychoemotional compatibility of spacecraft crews and Antarctic expeditions.

The sociometric method of group research, according to AV Petrovsky, is one of the few ways to analyze interpersonal relationships in a small team, which are often of a hidden nature. At the present stage of scientific social and psychological research a creative principle is manifested, aimed at studying this subject with new techniques. In the future, the development of such methods and their application in conjunction with other methods will greatly expand the possibilities of sociology and psychology in the analysis of small groups. Do not underestimate the role of a small group for society. It accumulates in itself social relations as a whole and reincarnates them into intragroup relations. This knowledge contains an important element of social management, built on a scientific basis.

Characteristics of sociometric method

Studies of this kind can improve relations in any team. But at the same time - this is not a very radical method for resolving the internal problems of the group, therefore, they are most often sought not in the antipathy or sympathy of the members of the group to each other, but in more in-depth sources.

The sociometric method of research is carried out in the form of posing indirect questions, responding to which the respondent makes a choice of specific members of his group, whom he would prefer to others in a certain situation.

There are options for individual or group testing. This depends on the age of the subjects and the content of the tasks assigned. But, as a rule, the group form of research is more often used.

In any case, the sociometric method in the study of the group makes it possible to establish the dynamics of intra-group relations in a short period of time in order to subsequently apply the results obtained in order to restructure the groups, strengthen their cohesion and effectiveness of interaction.

Preparation for the study

The sociometric method in carrying out does not require much effort and time. The tool for research is the form of a sociometric survey, a list of group members, a sociomatrix. A group of people of any age can be studied: from preschool to senior. The sociometric method of research of preschool children can be applied, since already at this age children receive the first experience of communication and interaction. Criteria of sociometric choice are formed, proceeding from the tasks that are solved in the course of the study and the age, professional or other characteristics of the study group. The criterion is, as a rule, a certain type of activity, and in order to fulfill this, the individual will need to make a choice, that is, to reject one or several members of his group. It is a specific question from the list. The situation of choice in a survey should not be limited. It is welcomed, if the applied criteria are of interest to the worker: they should describe a concrete situation. The content of the test criteria is 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 serves to study emotional-personal relations, which are not related to joint activities and achievement of a common goal, for example, the choice of a comrade for leisure time. In the methodological literature, they can also be referred to as production and non-production. The criteria are also broken down based on the orientation toward positive ones ("Who would you like to work with with whom you would like to work?") Or negative ("Who would you not want to work with?"). The sociometric method assumes that a questionnaire that contains an instruction and a list of criteria is created after their formulation and choice.

The list of questions is adapted taking into account the characteristic features of the group under study.

Preliminary stage of the survey

The sociometric method of research is conducted in an open form, therefore, before the survey, it is necessary to instruct the group. This preliminary stage is intended to clarify the importance of the study to the group, to indicate the importance of the results for the group itself, to tell how necessary it is to perform tasks with attention. At the end of the briefing it is important to emphasize that all the answers of the members of the group will be kept secret.

Approximate content of the instruction

The text of the instruction can have the following content: "Since you were not well acquainted with each other, when forming your group all your wishes could not be taken into account. At the moment, the relationship has formed in a certain way. As for the purpose of the research, its results will be advantageously taken into account by your management when organizing the activity of the collective in the future. In this regard, we ask you to be extremely sincere, giving answers. The organizers of the research give a guarantee that individual answers will be kept secret. "

Sociometric research method: procedure

There are some criteria regarding the numerical strength of the study team. The number of members of the group at which the sociometric method works is to be 3-25 people. However, there are examples of studies that allow up to 40 people to be involved. The sociometric method of studying interpersonal relations in a group (work collective) is permissible to apply provided that the work experience in it exceeds six months. An important component of training is the establishment of a trusting 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 refusal to perform tasks or give false answers. It is essential that the research is not carried out by a person who is related to the team: the leader or the person in the group. Otherwise, the results will not be reliable. Also worth mentioning are inadmissible variants of answers that can be used. For example, it is embarrassing for a respondent to make a positive choice outside the list of other members of the group, so he can, guided by this motive, say that he "chooses everyone". In this connection, the authors and followers of the sociometric theory resorted to an attempt to partially change the procedure for the survey. So, instead of free group members for the given variants, respondents could establish a strictly limited number of them. Most often it equals three, less often four or five. This rule was called "limit of elections", or "sociometric restriction." It reduces the probability of randomness, facilitates the task of processing and interpreting information, makes survey participants more adequate and more thoughtful in approaching answers.

When the preparatory activities are carried out, the survey procedure begins. In the sociometric method of research, each member of the group should take part. Subjects record the names of the members of the group who are selected by them for one or another criterion, and in the questionnaire specify their data. Thus, the survey can not be anonymous, because it is in these conditions that it is possible to establish interrelations between the members of the collective. In the course of the research, the organizer is obliged to ensure that the respondents do not communicate with each other, regularly remind that it is necessary to answer all questions. Do not rush the subjects in the answers to questions.

However, if they do not have a list with members of the group, you can allow visual contact. For more convenience and exclusion of inaccuracies, the names of absentees can be written on the blackboard.

The following selection methods are allowed:

• Limit the number of choices to 3-5.
• Full freedom of choice, that is, the respondent has the right to specify as many surnames as he deems fit.
• Ranking of group members depending on the proposed criterion.

The first method is more preferable, but only in terms of convenience and simplicity in the subsequent processing of the results. The third - in terms of reliability and reliability of the results. The ranking method allows you to exclude the voltage that can arise when selecting members of the group on negative grounds.

After the sociometric survey cards are filled, they are collected from the members of the group and begin the procedure of mathematical processing. The simplest ways to quantify the results of research are graphical, tabular and indexological.

Variants of processing and interpretation of the results obtained

In the course of research one of the tasks is the definition of the sociometric status of a person in a group. It implies the property of an individual to occupy a particular position in the structure in question (locus), that is, in a specific way, relate to the rest of the collective.

• Drawing up a sociomatrix. It is a table in which the results of the survey are entered, namely: the positive and negative choices made by the members of the study group. It is built on this principle: horizontal lines and vertical columns have an equal number and numbering by the number of members of the group, that is, it indicates who chooses whom.

Depending on the selection criteria, single and total matrices can be constructed showing elections by several criteria. In any case, a full picture of the relationships in the group can be represented by an analysis of the sociomatrix for each criterion.

Circle round mutual elections, if reciprocity is incomplete, then in a semicircle. Or, the intersection of columns and rows is marked with a plus sign in the case of a positive choice or a minus if it was negative. If no selection is made, then 0 is entered.

The main advantage of the matrix is the ability to present all the results in numerical form. This will allow the members of the group to be ranked according to the number of elections received and given, to determine the order of influence 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, the group consists of 11 people, the number of possible elections will be 9, therefore 99 is the number of theoretically possible elections.

However, in the overall picture, the importance is not so much the number of elections as the satisfaction of each respondent with his position within the group. Having the data, it is possible to calculate the satisfaction coefficient, equal to dividing the number of mutual positive choices of the individual. So, if one of the members of the group tends to communicate with three certain people, but none of them chose it when polling, then the satisfaction coefficient KY = 0: 3 = 0. This indicates that the respondent is trying to interact not with those with By whom it should be.

• Group cohesion index. This sociometric parameter is calculated by dividing the sum of mutual elections by the total number of possible in the group. If the number obtained lies in the range 0.6-0.7, then this is a good indicator of group cohesion. That is, the sociometric method in the study of the group makes it possible to establish the state of intra-group relations in a short period of time in order to subsequently apply the results obtained in order to restructure the groups, strengthen their cohesion and effectiveness of interaction.
• Construction of a sociogram. Using the sociomatrix, it is possible to construct a sociogram, that is, to make the representation of sociometry visually in the form of a "target scheme". This will be a kind of addition to the tabular data interpretation approach.

Any circle in the sociogram will have its own meaning:

1. The inner circle will be the zone of stars, that is, the group of people selected, to which the leaders who scored the absolute majority of positive elections were singled out.
2. The second circle, or zone of preferences, will be members of the group who have scored a number of preferences above the average.
3. The third circle is called the neglected zone. It includes people who are below the average of the number of elections for the group.
4. The fourth circle is closed so-called isolated. They include members of the group who have not received a single point.

With the help of a sociogram, one can get a visual representation of the presence of groupings in the collective and the nature of the relationship between them (contacts, sympathies). They are formed from individuals, interconnected and seeking to choose each other. Often, the sociometric method reveals positive groupings consisting of 2-3 members, less often from 4 or more people. This can be clearly seen on a flat sociogram, which depicts the groupings of individuals who mutually chose each other, and the existing links between them.

The third option will be an individual sociogram. A purposefully or arbitrarily chosen member of the collective is depicted in the system of connections established during the research. When drawing up a sociogram, the following designations are used: the male person is depicted in the form of a triangle with the number corresponding to the concrete person, and the female face is inside the circle.

Announcement of the results of the study and practical recommendations

After the processing of the received data is completed, a list of recommendations is made to correct behavior and relationships between team members. The results are communicated to the commanding staff and the group. Taking into account the received calculations and other forms of analysis, a decision is made to change the composition of the collective, the leader or the transfer of some members to other collectives. Thus, the sociometric method in the study of the group allows not only to establish problems in the relationship, but also to develop a system of practical recommendations that can strengthen the team, thereby increasing labor productivity.

Despite efficiency and accessibility, at the present time, sociometry as a method is not widely used in Russian psychological practice.