A Constant Frame of Reference for Sociometric Research

Abstract

The emphasis of modern educational theory on the socio-emotional aspects of human growth has imposed the necessity of devising techniques for evaluating the degree and character of social development. The problem has been complicated by the fact that social development applies not only to the individual but also to the social organization of which he is a part. Variations occur not only in the social status of a particular person Within the group, but also in the structure of the group itself-that is, in the frequency, strength, pattern, and basis of the interrelationships which bind the group together and give it distinctive character. Social status and structure are of course interdependent, but attention must be given to both of these variables if the process of social development is to be properly understood. One of the most ingenious devices for the study of social status and structure is the sociometric test. This technique permits the analysis of a person's position within the group; it also makes possible an analysis of the framework of the group organization-an identification of persons dominant in the group structure, of cliques, of cleavages, and of patterns of social attraction and repulsion. It is to be expected that so revealing a technique would be widely accepted and would yield valuable results in the study of social phenomena -particularly in the investigation of social development as indicated by change in status and structure. Moreover, in the light of the emphasis upon the individual found in modern psychological and sociological thought, it is to be expected that the results obtained through sociometric research would be evaluated not only in terms of the technique itself, but also in relation to other experimental and clinical data with the aim of securing a better understanding of the human organism and its growth.