CHAPTER 4: Social Relationships and Selling Strategies

LESSON 1
Social Relationships: Definition, Importance and Techniques
A social relationship is any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal link between two or more people,
individually or within/between groups. Social relationships are the basic analytical construct used in the
social sciences and are central to sociology.
Social relations are broadly defined as any relationship or interaction between two or more individuals.
Interest in social relationships and resulting support began a century ago when the French sociologist
Emile Durkheim postulated that disruptions in social networks could influence psychological health.

Importance of Social Relationships: Socialization

How much of an individual's personality is influenced by social rather than biological factors? What aspects
of socialization are carried over into adulthood? Who are the most potent agents of socialization?
Studies of socialization aim to address these questions, in studying the importance of social relationships in
a person's development. To understand this, let's look at a definition of socialization.
Socialization refers to "the process through which people learn the attitudes, values, and actions
appropriate for members of a particular culture.
It is important to study socialization because it influences a society's prevailing cultural norms and molds
the perceptions, we have of ourselves.
Agents of Socialization
A person's socialization is greatly influenced by a variety of social institutions. Summaries of these are as
follows:
The family: parents are crucial in socializing children to adopt the dominant gender roles in society.
Schools: in the United States, schools are explicitly mandated to socialize people—particularly children -
into the norms and values of our culture. This obligation is similar to that of the family.
Peer groups: for teenagers, peer groups play a significant role in socialization as the role of the family
reduces. At this stage, gender differences also arise.
The workplace: young people are first socialized in the norms of employment when they get their first part-
time jobs in school. As they grow older, work full-time, and switch jobs throughout their lives, socialization in
the workplace continues in different forms.
Media and technology: mass media and technology play increasingly larger roles as agents of
socialization in contemporary society.
Religion and the state: by controlling the life course and shaping our ideas of what is suitable behavior at
different ages, religion and the state influence the socialization process.
Environment: the type of physical environment a child is raised in, including the neighborhood they live in
and the daycare they may go to, can also influence their behavior and bonds with others.
Culture: socialization differs according to the culture and customs of the individual and their community.

What Is a Sociogram?

The graphical representation of interpersonal relationships within a constant collective is a sociogram. In

other words, a sociogram explains how the people in this group ( e.g., in job teams, school classrooms,
conference groups, etc.) respond to each other. So it is possible to imagine and chart positive and negative
relationships as well as dominant sympathies and antipathies within group members.

A sociogram is a visual representation of the relations between a particular group. A sociogram has the
function of uncovering the underlying relationships between individuals. You may use a sociogram to
enhance the interpretation of social behaviors. Thus, a sociogram makes structures within this group
measurable and is one of the sociometry's most important methods of presentation, a method of empirical
social research.

Application Scenarios of Sociograms

 Sociograms for small groups may also be generated by direct observation, but broad group
visualization benefits from surveys asking questions about the relationships a person has with
other group members.
 Sociograms are often used in industry to obtain knowledge that can help create more efficient
contact practices, increase the successful involvement of participants in initiatives and promote a
culture of creativity.
 Sociogram is mainly used in school classrooms in recent years. This is used by teachers to reflect
the relationships and disagreements of their students graphically, and then to use the information
acquired to direct the community process within the curriculum.

Benefits of Using a Sociogram

 You may use a sociogram to enhance the interpretation of social behaviours. To construct a
sociogram you need to calculate either a positive or a negative parameter.
 Sociograms can be used to help teachers identify significant issues within the classroom, social
groups, changes in group structures, and more equations between the pupils.
 For organizations, sociograms are used to evaluate the interactions between teams and regions.
 It will act as a foundation for business growth, team coaching, and even for individual coaching-in a
changed form.
 In the seminar area too, a sociogram can help imagine group interactions and interpersonal
relationships.

Types of Sociogram

1. Egocentric Sociogram

Visualize all the cases related to one specific case (the ego). The diagram is comprised of vertices
(representing cases) and edges (relationship showing). The ego is represented as the shape of a
star. Relationships are marked by cases.
 2. Network Sociogram

Visualize a community of cases to see how they relate to each other. This form of sociogram can
involve cases which are separated. The diagram consists of vertices (cases) and rims
(relationships). Relationships between cases are marked, and this form of sociogram can include
isolated cases.

Sociogram Symbols

The lines shown above of a partnership are recommendations. They can be produced and supplemented
individually, as appropriate. The color arrangement of the lines or their patterns defines the individual
response of one person to another member of a group.

For example, in front of the other person, a dotted or dashed line reflects "fear," a thin line suggests
"annoyance," and a thick black line "dominance" over another. The symbolism merely acts as a hint.
Meanwhile, a number of other important icons are circulating rapidly.

How To Use a Sociogram?

1. Determine who will be involved

 You will first determine which individuals are to be included in the sociogram. Will it be just the
members of an established joint team/group or should it include the members of another
participating team? That depends on what issue the sociogram is to pursue.

It makes sense to confine yourself to the current group in order to take stock and log the
community process in teams or school classrooms. It also tends to spot tensions, partnerships and
small parties.

2. Ask the right questions

The questions should be clearly formulated in such a way as to make clear statements of affection
or aversion. A single sociogram 's informational meaning, which is initially just a snapshot, is less
than the importance of multiple sociograms that are recreated after some time. Only then can it
take account of developments within the group. Some examples -

o What would I like to have a casual talk with?

o Whom could I confide a secret?
o How would I want to be part of a working party for me?
o Who would I like to collaborate with on project XY?
o Who can I count on in a delicate team situation (for example if the group hits me)?
3. Evaluation

It is critical for the evaluation that conclusions are drawn not solely on the basis of the
representation. The choices for the answer are always constrained in advance. Therefore,
additional interviews will take place afterwards or the participants' contact will be witnessed. For
addition, there is a requirement for a strong degree of caution, and there is no marginalization.

How To Create a Sociogram?

Step 1 Open EdrawMax and

select a blank canvas.
Step 2 Use the wide range of symbols from the libraries available to create your sociogram.

Step 3 Add in your text and

design the sociogram to suit the
requirements. You can also
icons from the multitude of
options available.

Step 4 Save and export your diagram to any file type you wish to. As EdrawMax is compatible with multiple
file types.

Example of Sociogram
In the above example, we can see a simple sociogram of a family’s dynamic. Symbols are used
to signify the relationship they share with each other.
In this example, a software developer’s social life (including personal and professional) is
illustrated.

Key Takeaways

A sociogram is a set of graphs representing the relationships between individuals within a group
to chart the social network of the group. Sociograms for smaller groups can most often be created
by direct and clear observation.

But for large groups mapping benefits from surveys asking questions about the relationships an
individual has with other group members in the group. EdrawMax has the option of various
templates and illustrations available to allow you to quickly create a sociogram and save valuable
time.