Module IV: Sociometry
MBA Semester IV
LEADERSHIP & MANAGING EXCELLENCE
BS702
What is Sociometry
• The word sociometry comes from the Latin “socius,” meaning social
and the Latin “metrum,” meaning measure.
• Sociometry is a way of measuring the degree of relatedness among
people.
• Measurement of relatedness can be useful not only in the assessment
of behavior within groups, but also for interventions to bring about
positive change and for determining the extent of change.
What is Sociometry
• For teams, sociometry can be a powerful tool for reducing conflict
and improving communication because it allows the team to see itself
objectively and to analyze its own dynamics.
• It is also a powerful tool for assessing dynamics and development in
groups devoted to therapy or training.
• Sociometry shows the patterns of how individuals associate with each
other when acting as a group toward a specified end or goal
Meaning of Sociometry
• Sociometry is based on the fact that people make choices in
interpersonal relationships.
• Whenever people gather, they make choices--where to sit or stand;
choices about who is perceived as friendly and who not, who is
central to the group, who is rejected, who is isolated
Sociometric Criteria
• Choices are always made on some basis or criterion.
• The criterion may be subjective, such as an intuitive feeling of liking or
disliking a person on first impression.
• The criterion may be more objective and conscious, such as knowing that
a person does or does not have certain skills needed for the group task
• When members of a group are asked to choose others in the group based
on a specific criteria, everyone in the group can make choices and
describe why the choices were made
Sociograms & Socio-matrix
• From these choices a description emerges of the networks inside the
group. A drawing, like a map, of those networks is called a sociogram
• The data for the sociogram may also be displayed as a table or matrix
of each person’s choices. Such a table is called a socio-matrix.