What Is Sociometry?

Sociometry is a scientific approach to manipulating group dynamics created in the 1950s by a psychotherapist named Jacob Moreno. The basic method behind sociometry is for the therapist to study the natural relationships that exist in a group using mathematical and scientific techniques, come to an understanding about why inner-group relationships exist, and then make adjustments allowing for a greater level of group harmony. In conception, sociometry is not generally meant simply for analysis, but rather, it was designed as something that people would potentially apply in day-to-day situations to improve different kinds of group interactions.

When people come together in a group, they often make very quick decisions about their own role in the group and the roles of all the people around them. These decisions are often very intuitive, and they generally emerge spontaneously throughout the group without anybody necessarily having to acknowledge them. The reasons for these kinds of decisions can be hard to decipher, but there is often a certain universality to them which causes things to quickly fall into place. Over time, people's actions and behaviors within the group will help further define the initial pecking order, along with alliances and other dynamics.

Sociometry seeks to analyze these underlying schemes to figure out exactly what the people are thinking and why. The idea is to actually turn all this information into something that can be analyzed through mathematics. After looking at the numbers, the sociometrist tries to analyze the data and put it into practice in some way that will result in improvements for the group.

There are many different ways for sociometry to be applied that might allow a group to function more effectively. For example, after doing a sociometric analysis, a business owner might decide to change his work teams so that they mesh better. He might also decide to remove certain employees who are naturally disruptive to the social order in the workplace. In the end, this sort of change might lead to better attendance, better morale, and better employee retention.

Often during the initial group analysis, there will be a public airing of the motivations of the different group members. This can sometimes be embarrassing or difficult for the members, but it also has the potential to help the group come together better. Once the individuals in the group understand the reasons for their own roles, and the way everyone looks at each other, they sometimes naturally change their behaviors in ways that cause the group to function more effectively.