Sociogram

                                

SOCIOGRAM

                                                                                         -  ARYAMUTH K A

ABSTRACT

 

                                                     A sociogram is a net in which individuals are nodes and the relations of interest are directed line segments connecting pairs of individuals.In the simplest case such a relation is characterised only by its presence or absence ,eg.”a chooses(or does not choose )B as a friend of a given order “.Mathematical properties of interest to the mathematical sociologist.if the number of individuals is very large ,the properties of interest are statistical properties.Here it is shown that two parameters (who values are obtainable directly)are sufficient to describe certain features of sociograms of junior high school children.

INTRODUCTION

          Beyond on going observation and the practical knowledge.Format data collection of classroom relationships can help teachers create a positive classroom culture.Sociogramsdo this.They are a teacher made and teacher friendly way of going rich data about the classes social relationships.

          A sociogram is a graphic representation of social links that a person has.It is a graph drawing that plots the structure of inter personal relations in a group situation.

          Sociogram were developed by Jacob.L.Moreno to analyse choices or preferences with in a group.They can diagram the structure and patterns of group interactions.A sociogram can be drawn on the basis of many different criteria:social relations,channels,or influences lines of communication etc.

       Those points on a sociogram who have many choices are called stars.Those with few or no choices are called isolates.Individual who choices each other are known to have made a mutual choice.One any choice refers to individuals who choose someone but the choice is not reciprocated.cliques are groups of three or more people within a longer group who all choose each other(mutual choice).

         A sociogram is a charting of the interrelationships within a group.Its purpose is to discover group structure,that the basic network of friendship patterns and sub group organisation.

METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION

      The development of the sociogram evolves from the sociometric matrix.A sociogram is an absraction,a map which represents the socio-geographic postion of each group member and his relationships to every other person in the group.Two commonly used types of sociograms as designed by no more and the target sociogram a modification of the classical type.

        Sociogram may be constructed in variety of ways.The basic material from which a sociogram is consructed is collected from group members who answer questions such as these:

a.Who are your three best friends in this group?

b.What three people in this group do you most admires?

c.Name the person whom you talk to the most?

d.Name as many people who you prefer to play with?

        The topic does not matter,in most cases the social relationships will be relatively constant regardless of the activity.Make sure they put their own name on the top of the paper.Write up this data as a chart.

      Certain traditional symbols exist among sociometrists.The triangle is generally referred to as a male member in the group.The circle represents female member.Among the circles and triangles are connecting straight lines called vectors.The vectors represent the type and direction of each persons choice.

       These vector representation is done by using individual phenomena and group phenomena.

1.Individual phenomena

a.Stars

     When several children positively nominate the same person the many arrows all lead to that person thus emphasising their “starness”.They are the center or hub of attraction.we call them”stars”.

b.Isolates

    Children who have not been “positively”nominated by anyone in the group are usually defined as “isolates”.They were placing them on the fringes or outer edges of the sociogram visually emphasises there isolation within the context of the classroom group.

2.Individual phenomena

c.mutual choices 

    These consist of pairs of children who choose each other .The more there are the more congenial the group is and thus may be a greater positive social climate to the classroom.Obviously,mutual negative choices are dangerous situations to be avoided,corrected by intervention.

d.Chains

A chain is when one person nominates another who in turn nominates another child.Chains have a tendency to lead towards a star.

e.Cliques

    Its the group of three or more people within a larger group who all choose each other which means mutual choices.

Under the social discipline model,its are sometime used to reduce misbehaviour in a classroom environment.By analysing the constructed sociogram,its used to identify pathways for social acceptance for misbehaving students.in this context ,the resulting sociograms are known as a friendship chart.

NEEDS AND SIGNIFICANCE

    Most teachers and parents would readily agree that peers play an important role in childrens lives .Childrens interact with their peers on a regular basis , and they are also the individuals with whom a child form friendships.

     A method for this purpose from social psychology is called sociometry.A useful working definitions of sociometry is that it is a methodology for tracking the energy vectors of interpersonal relationships in a group.It shows the patterns of how individuals associate with each other when acting as a group toward a specified end or goal.

 

    Sociometry is a way of measuring the degree of relatedness among people.Its useful for the interventions to bring about positive change and for determining the extend of change sociometry is based on the fact that people make choice interpersonal relationships.

   Sociometric measures are simple to use and can be easily utilised to better group social status within classrooms.This information is particularly useful in classrooms where be there is a high turnover of students or when new students are introduced to determine how well these students are fitting in with the rest of the class.

   Sociometry helps to find out the important role in the social status hierarchy that exists within a school setting.Interestingly children who have few friends or rejected by a more popular student are at risk for high levels of loneliness and isolation.Without friendship the childs sense of confidence and competence is compromised and this perception has wide ranging consequences.These are issues that effect the overall comfort and engagement for individual children.By analysing such situations and teacher comments it would be help to verify a students social standing among his peers.

DATA COLLECTION 

Name of school: Govt .H.S.S.Kodungallur

 

class :VIII.D

Srength :40

Roll no of students	Roll no of student who likes him
1	11,7
2	15
3	6,8,9
4	10,16,17
5	-
6	-
7	-
8	1,12
9	3
10	-
11	5
12	-
13	-
14	19
15	18
16	4
17	-
18	-
19	14
20	-
21	23,33
22	22,41
23	21
24	27,25
25	31
26	35
27	2,28,37,38
28	-
29	-
30	32
31	24
32	30
33	20
34	-
35	-
36	-
37	-
38	26
39	40
40	39,34,29

INTERPRETATION OF DATA

       While analysing the sociogram constructed the teacher develops a greater understanding of behaviour by recognising the stars of the class,the isolates,mutual pairs,chains,cliques.

a.Stars

     When several children ‘positively’ nominates the same person ,the same person,the many arrows all lead to that person emphasising their ‘starness’. In this class roll no.26 is the star.the roll no.4,40 and 3 to 0 have several arrows and can also be said as stars.

b.Isolates

      Children who have not been positively nominated by anyone in the group are usually called ‘isolates’.in this sociogram the outermost layer indicates the isolates.

c.Mutual pairs

      There are 10 mutual pairs in this class.double headed arrow with green colour indicates the mutual pairs.

d.Chains 

 

       A chain is formed when a person nominates another who in turn nominates another child.in this sociogram there are seven chains.

In this sociogram we can not find any cliques.

CONCLUSION

     From this sociogram is the visual representation ,helps the mind to visualise and understand how children are connected within the classroom system.it is extremely useful for the purpose of unpicking and exploring dynamics .When the work was reviewed students can more wisely co-operate in group management and thereby curriculum development.

REFERENCE

-Banarjee,walling and capil(2001)peer velavatile and understanding of faux pesi child development vol 82(6)

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