Sociometry is a quantitative method for measuring social relationships.

It was developed
by psychotherapist Jacob L. Moreno in his studies of the relationship between social
structures and psychological well-being.
The term sociometry relates to its Latin etymology, socius meaning companion, and
metrum meaning measure. Jacob Moreno defined sociometry as "the inquiry into the
evolution and organization of groups and the position of individuals within them." He
goes on to write "As the ...science of group organization, it attacks the problem not from
the outer structure of the group, the group surface, but from the inner structure.
"Sociometric explorations reveal the hidden structures that give a group its form: the
alliances, the subgroups, the hidden beliefs, the forbidden agendas, the ideological
agreements, the stars of the show".
He developed sociometry within the new sciences, although its ultimate purpose is
transcendence and not science. 'By making choices based on criteria, overt and energetic,
Moreno hoped that individuals would be more spontaneous, and organisations and groups
structures would become fresh, clear and lively'.
One of Moreno's innovations in sociometry was the development of the sociogram, a
systematic method for graphically representing individuals as points/nodes and the
relationships between them as lines/arcs. Moreno, who wrote extensively of his thinking,
applications and findings, also founded a journal entitled Sociometry.
Within sociology, sociometry has two main branches: research sociometry, and applied
sociometry. Research sociometry is action research with groups exploring the socioemotional networks of relationships using specified criteria e.g. Who in this group do you
want to sit beside you at work? Who in the group do you go to for advice on a work
problem? Who in the group do you see providing satisfying leadership in the pending
project? Sometimes called network explorations, research sociometry is concerned with
relational patterns in small (individual and small group) and larger populations, such as
organizations and neighborhoods. Applied sociometrists utilize a range of methods to
assist people and groups review, expand and develop their existing psycho-social
networks of relationships. Both fields of sociometry exist to produce through their
application, greater spontaneity and creativity of both individuals and groups.

Contents
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1 Moreno's Criteria for Sociometric Tests

2 Anthropological applications of sociometry
3 Other approaches and software
4 See also
5 References

6 External links

Moreno's Criteria for Sociometric Tests[edit]

In 'Sociometry, Experimental Method and the Science of Society: An Approach to a New
Political Orientation', Moreno describes the depth to which a group needs to go for the
method to be "sociometric". The term for him had a qualitative meaning and did not
apply unless some group process criteria were met. One of these is that there is
acknowledgment of the difference between process dynamics and the manifest content.
To quote Moreno: "there is a deep discrepancy between the official and the secret
behavior of members". Moreno advocates that before any "social program" can be
proposed, the sociometrist has to "take into account the actual constitution of the group."
Other criteria are: the Rule of adequate motivation: "Every participant should feel about
the experiment that it is in his (or her) own cause . . . that it is an opportunity for him (or
her) to become an active agent in matters concerning his (or her) life situation." and the
Rule of "gradual" inclusion of all extraneous criteria. Moreno speaks here of "the slow
dialectic process of the sociometric experiment".[1]

Anthropological applications of sociometry[edit]

Given that sociometry is concerned with group allegiances and cleavages, it is not
surprising that sociometric methods have been used to study ethnic relationships and way
individuals identify with ethnic groups.[2] For instance, using sociometric research, Joan
Criswell investigated white-black relationships in US classrooms,[3] Gabriel Weimann
researched ethnic relationships in Israel,[4] and James Page has investigated intra-ethnic
and inter-ethnic identification within the Pacific.[5]

Other approaches and software[edit]

Other approaches were developed in last decades, such as Social Network Analysis, or
Sociomapping. Freeware as well as commercial software was developed for analysis of
groups and their structure, such as Pajek, Keyhubs or InFlow. All these approaches share
much of their basic principles with Sociometry. Facebook is a social network service and
website which is largely based on the sociometry of its users.