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 organi!ation of groups and the position of individuals within them. "e goes on to write #s the ...science of group organi!ation, it attac$s the problem not from the outer structure of the group, the group surface, but from the inner structure. %ociometric e&plorations reveal the hidden structures that give a group its form' the alliances, the subgroups, the hidden beliefs, the forbidden agendas, the ideological agreements, the (stars) of the show . "e developed sociometry within the new sciences, although its ultimate purpose is transcendence and not science. *+y ma$ing 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*. ,ne 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 e&tensively of his thin$ing, applications and findings, also founded a .ournal entitled Sociometry. /ithin sociology, sociometry has two main branches' research sociometry, and applied sociometry. 0esearch sociometry is action research with groups e&ploring the socioemotional networ$s of relationships using specified criteria e.g. /ho in this group do you want to sit beside you at wor$1 /ho in the group do you go to for advice on a wor$ problem1 /ho in the group do you see providing satisfying leadership in the pending pro.ect1 %ometimes called networ$ e&plorations, research sociometry is concerned with relational patterns in small 2individual and small group3 and larger populations, such as organi!ations and neighborhoods. #pplied sociometrists utili!e a range of methods to assist people and groups review, e&pand and develop their e&isting psycho-social networ$s of relationships. +oth fields of sociometry e&ist to produce through their application, greater spontaneity and creativity of both individuals and groups.

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6 Moreno*s 7riteria for %ociometric Tests 8 #nthropological applications of sociometry 9 ,ther approaches and software : %ee also ; 0eferences < =&ternal lin$s

Moreno's Criteria for Sociometric Tests[edit]

In *%ociometry, =&perimental Method and the %cience of %ociety' #n #pproach to a >ew ?olitical ,rientation*, 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. ,ne of these is that there is ac$nowledgment of the difference between process dynamics and the manifest content. To quote Moreno' there is a deep discrepancy between the official and the secret behavior of members . Moreno advocates that before any social program can be proposed, the sociometrist has to ta$e into account the actual constitution of the group. ,ther criteria are' the 0ule of adequate motivation' =very participant should feel about the e&periment that it is in his 2or her3 own cause . . . that it is an opportunity for him 2or her3 to become an active agent in matters concerning his 2or her3 life situation. and the 0ule of gradual inclusion of all e&traneous criteria. Moreno spea$s here of the slow dialectic process of the sociometric e&periment .465

Anthropological applications of sociometry[edit]

@iven 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.485 Aor instance, using sociometric research, Joan 7riswell investigated white-blac$ relationships in B% classrooms,495 @abriel /eimann researched ethnic relationships in Israel,4:5 and James ?age has investigated intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic identification within the ?acific.4;5

Other approaches and software[edit]

,ther approaches were developed in last decades, such as %ocial >etwor$ #nalysis, or %ociomapping. Areeware as well as commercial software was developed for analysis of groups and their structure, such as ?a.e$, Ceyhubs or InAlow. #ll these approaches share much of their basic principles with %ociometry. Aaceboo$ is a social networ$ service and website which is largely based on the sociometry of its users.