Sociometry Applied to Organizational Analysis: A Review

Authors

  • HERBERT H. BLUMBERG Author

Keywords:

Sociometry

Abstract

Sociometric procedures have wide applicability at many stages of employment, including personnel selection, information processing, decision making, performance measurement, team cohesion, and especially leadership, as well as appraisal and career development. Other areas of applicability go beyond the individual career-network analysis, specific populations, and methodological and other findings. A "SYMLOG" perspective emphasizes the importance of including sociometric criteria from several different dimensions to evaluate optimal levels of dominance, friendliness, and task orientation.

References

Abelson, R. P. (1995). Statistics as principled argument. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlba u m . '

Adams, G. A., Elacqua, T. C., & Colarelli, S. M. (1994). The employment interview as a sociometric selection technique. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry, 47, 99-113.

Anderson, N., Payne, T., Ferguson, E., & Smith, T. (1994). Assessor decision making, information processing and assessor decision strategies in a British assessment center. Personnel Review, 23, 5 2 - 6 2 . '

Bachman, W. (1988). Nice guys finish first: A SYMLOG analysis of U.S. naval commands. In R. B. Polley, A. P. Hare, & P. J. Stone (Eds.), The SYMLOG practitioner (pp. 133-153). New York: Praeger.

Bales, R. F., & Cohen, S. P. (1979). SYMLOG: A system for the multiple level observation of groups. New York: Free Press.

Bales, R. F., & Slater, P. E. (1955). Role differentiation in small decision-making groups. In T. Parsons and R. F. Bales (Eds.), Family, socialization and interaction process (pp. 259-306). Glencoe, IL: Free Press.

Beglen, G. G. (1983). The use ofpsychodramatic and sociometric techniques in the inservice training of residential treatment child care staff. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry, 36, 13-22.

Belbin, R. M. (1981). Management teams: Why they succeed or fail. London: Heinemann.

Benet, V., & Waller, N. G. (1995). The big seven factor model of personality description: Evidence for its cross-cultural generality in a Spanish sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 701-718.

Bilaniuk, M. T. (1988). Using sociometry and role play to prepare housewives to reenter the work force. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry, 41, 82-83.

Bion, W.R. (1961). Experiences in groups, and other papers. New York: Basic Books.

Blumberg, H. H. (1969). On being liked more than you like. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 11, 121-128.

Blumberg, H. H. (1997). The common ground of natural language and social interaction in personality description.

Bovasso, G. (1992a). Social structure in two national political subcultures. Social Psychology Quarterly, 55, 292-299.

Bovasso, G. (1992b). A structural analysis of the formation of a network organization. Group and Organization Management, 17, 86-106.

Bovasso, G. (1996). A network analysis of social contagion processes in an organizational intervention. Human Relations, 49, 1419--1435.

Breen, M. D. (1994). Applied sociometry. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry, 47, 52-58.

Brugha, T. S., Sturt, E., MacCarthy, B., Potter, J., Wykes, T., & Bebbington, P. E. (1987). The interview measure of sociometric relationships: The description and evaluation of a survey instrument for assessing personal social resources. Social Psychiatry, 22, 123-128.

Burke, R. J. (1996). Communication patterns in a professional services firm. Psychological Reports, 78, 384-386.

Bums, L. R., & Wholey, D. R. (1993). Adoption and abandonment of matrix management programs: Effects of organizational characteristics and interorganizational networks. Academy of Management Journal, 36, 106-138.

Carmel, S., & Glick, S. M. (1996). Compassionate-empathic physicians: Personality traits and social-organizational factors that enhance or inhibit this behavior pattern. Social Science and Medicine, 43, 1253-1261.

Chevalier, S., Dedobbeleer, N., & Tremblay, M. (1995). Identification des leaders de la communauti [Identifying community leaders]. Canadian Journal of Public Health/Revue Canadienne de sante publique, 86, 137-140.

Church, A.H., & Bracken, D. W. (1997). Advancing the state of the art of 360-degree feedback: Guest editors' comments on the research and practice of multirater assessment methods. Group and Organization Management, 22, 149--161.

Clarysse, B., Debackere, K., & Rappa, M. A (1996). Modeling the persistence of organizations in an emerging field: The case of hepatitis C. Research Policy, 25, 671-687.

Colarelli, S. M., & Boos, A. L. (1992). Sociometric and ability-based assignment to work groups: Some implications for personnel selection. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13, 187-196.

Copeland, B. W., & Straub, W. F. (1995). Assessment of team cohesion: A Russian approach. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 81, 443 450.

Davison, M. L., & Jones, L. E. (1976). A similarity-attraction model for predicting sociometric choice from perceived group structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 601-612.

Debackere, K., Clarysse, B., & Rappa, M.A. (1996). Dismantling the ivory tower: The influence of networks on innovative output in emerging technologies. Technical Forecasting and Social Change, 53, 139-154.

Doreian, P., Kapuscinski, R., Krackhardt, D., & Szczypula, J. (1996). A brief history of balance through time. Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 21, 113-131.

Eckstein, D., & Driscoll, R. (1983). Leadership, popularity, and birth order in women. Individual Psychology: Journal of Adlerian Theory, Research and Practice, 39, 71-77.

Fiedler, F. E., & Garcia, J.E. (1987). New approaches to effective leadership: Cognitive resources and organizational performance. New York: Wiley.

Fiske, D. W., & Cox, J. A. (1960). The consistency of ratings by peers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 44,11-17.

Fletcher, C. (1997). Appraisal routes to improved performance (2nd ed.). London: Institute of Personnel and Development.

Fletcher, C., Baldry, C., & Cunningham-Snell, N. (1998). The psychometric properties of 360 degree feedback: An empirical study and a cautionary tale. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 6, 9-34.

French, J. R. P. (1956). A formal theory of social power. Psychological Review, 63, 181-194.

Frost, D. E., & Stahelski, A. J. (1988). The systematic measurement of French and Raven's bases of social power in workgroups. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 18, 375-389.

Gazda, G. M., & Mobley, J. A. (1994). Multidimensional scaling: High-tech sociometry for the 21st century. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry, 47, 77-96.

Gerber, G. L. (1996). Status in same-gender and mixed-gender police dyads: Effects on personality attributions. Social Psychology Quarterly, 59, 350-363.

Gordon, L. V., & Medland, F. F. (1965). The cross-group stability of peer ratings of leadership potential. Personnel Psychology, 18, 173-177.

Gripsrud, G., & Grnhaug, K. (1985). Structure and strategy in grocery retailing: A sociometric approach. Journal of Industrial Economics, 33, 339--347.

Hare, A. P. (1976). Handbook of small group research (2nd ed.). New York: Free Press.

Hare, A. P. (1986). Expressive and anticonforming behavior and subgroup formation on the raft Acali. International Journal of Small Group Research, 2, 197-209.

Hare, A. P., Blumberg, H. H., Davies, M. F., & Kent, M. V. (1994). Small group research: A handbook. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Hare, A. P., & Hare, J. R. (1996). J. L. Moreno. London: Sage.

Hare, A. P., & Hare, R. T. (1948). Family friendship within the community. Sociometry, 11, 329-334.

Hare, A. P., Hare, S. E., & Blumberg, H. H. (1998). Wishful thinking: Who has the least preferred co-worker? Small Group Research, 29, 419-435.

Hare, A. P., Hare, S. E., & Koenigs, R. J. (1996). Implicit personality theory, social desirability, and reflected appraisal of self in the context of new field theory (SYMLOG). Small Group Research, 27, 504-531.

Hare, A. P., Koenigs, R. J., & Hare, S. E. (1996). Perceptions of observed and model values of male and female managers. In S. E. Hare & A. P. Hare (Eds.), SYMLOG field theory: Organizational consultation, value differences, personality and social perception (pp. 127-136). Westport, CT: Praeger.

Hare, S. E., & Hare, A. P. (Eds.). (1996). SYMLOG Field Theory: Organizational consultation, value differences, personality and social perception. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Hart, J. W., & Nath, R. (1979). Sociometry in business and industry: New developments in historical perspective. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry, 32, 128--149.

Hoffman, C. C., Wilcox, L., Gomez, E., & Hollander, C. (1992). Sociometric applications in a corporate environment. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama, and Sociometry, 45, 3-16.

Hogan, D. B. (1988). The SYMLOG leadership profile as a predictor of managerial performance. In R. B. Polley, A. P. Hare, & P. J. Stone (Eds.), The SYMLOG practitioner (pp. 191-210). New York: Praeger.

Homans, G. C. (1950). The human group. New York: Harcourt Brace. House, R., Rousseau, D. M., & Hunt-Thomas, M. (1995). The Meso paradigm: A framework for the integration of micro and macro organizational behavior. Research in Organizational Behavior, 17, 71-114.

Hurley, J. R., & Ketai, N. (1993). From small-group members to leaders: Conflicting changes in behavioral ratings given and received. Journal of Social Psychology, 133, 163-171.

Iacobucci, D., & Hopkins, N. (1994). Detection of experimental effects in social network analysis. Social Networks, 16, 1-41.

Ibarra, H. (1997). Paving an alternative route: Gender differences in managerial networks. Social Psychology Quarterly, 60, 91-102.

lmoda, F., & Rulla, L. M. ( 1978). Sociometric differentiation and self in male religious vocationers. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry, 31, 20-32.

lsolabella, M. C., & Hare, S. E. (1996). North American and Italian managers' views of effective leadership and teamwork: A cross-cultural perspective. In S. E. Hare & A. P. Hare, SYMLOG field theory: Organizational consultation, value differences, personality and social perception (pp. 103-109). Westport, CT: Praeger.

Jacobs, J. H. (1945). The application of sociometry to industry. Sociometry, 8, 181-198.

Jacoby, J. (1974). The construct validity of opinion leadership. Public Opinion Quarterly, 38, 81-89.

Jennings, H. H. (1950). Leadership and isolation: A study of personality in inter-personal relations (2nd ed.). New York: Longmans, Green.

Kadushin, C. (1995). Friendship among the French financial elite. American Sociological Review, 60, 202-221.

Krackhardt, D. (1997). Organizational viscosity and the diffusion of controversial innovations. Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 22, 177-199.

Lemann, T. B., & Solomon, R. L. (1952). Group characteristics as revealed in sociometric patterns and personality ratings. Sociometry, 15, 7-90.

Lindzey, G., & Borgatta, E. F. (1954). Sociometric measurement. In G. Lindzey, Handbook of social psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 405-448). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Lindzey, G., & Byrne, D. (1968). Measurement of social choice and interpersonal attractiveness. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson, Handbook of social psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 452-525). Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Loomis, C. P., & Pepinsky, H.B. (1948). Sociometry 1937-1947: Theory and methods. Sociometry, 11, 262--286.

Lucius, R. H., & Kuhnert, K. W. (1997). Using sociometry to predict team performance in the work place. Journal of Psychology, 131, 21-32.

Maassen, G. H., van der Linden, J. L., & Akkermans, W. (1997). Nominations, ratings, and the dimensions of sociometric status. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 21, 179-199.

McGrath, C., Blythe, J., & Krackhardt, D. (1997). The effect of spatial arangement on judgments and errors in interpreting graphs. Social Newworks, 19, 223-242.

Moreno, J. L. (1934). Who shall survive? A new approach to the problem of human interrelations. Washington, DC: Nervous and Mental Disease Publishing Co.

Moreno, J. (1953). Who shall survive? Foundations of sociometry, group psychotherapy and sociodrama. Beacon, NY: Beacon House.

Moreno, J. (1954). Old and new trends in sociometry: Turning points in small group research. Sociometry, 17, 179-193.

Mouton, J. S., Blake, R.R., & Fruchter, B. (1955a). The reliability of sociometric measures. Sociometry, 18, 7-48.

Mouton, J. S., Blake, R. R., & Fruchter, B. (1955b). The validity of sociometric responses. Sociometry, 18, 181-206.

Muir, D. E. (1994). The structure of rejection: Implications of sociometric theory for larger groups. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 79, 835-842.

Musil, J. U. (1976). [Contribution to the sociometry of the teaching staff]. [On-line]. Ceskoslovenska Psychologie, 20, 330-337. Abstract from psycINFO Accession Number: 1981-04056-001.

Nakao, K. (1987). Analyzing sociometric preferences: An example of Japanese and U.S. business groups. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 2, 523-534.

Nidek, U. L., Rosenbaum, U. M., & Rosenbaum, M. D. (1991). [Professional level studies of scientific workers with the help of sociometric method of expertmark ratings]. [On-line]. Sotsiologicheskie Issledovaniya, 8, 44-51. Abstract from: BIDS ISi File: Social Sciences Citation Index.

Osgood, C. E., Suci, G. H., & Tannenbaum, P.H. (1957). The measurement of meaning. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

Patzer, G. L. (1976). An application of the sociometric method in business. Psychology, 13(3), 52-56.

Peabody, D. (1968). Group judgments in the Philippines: Evaluative and descriptive aspects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, JO, 290-300.

Pearce, J. A. (1995). A structural analysis of dominant coalitions in small banks. Journal of Management, 21, 1075-1095.

Pluckhan, M. L. (1973). An investigation of sociometric choices in various behavioral settings. Handbook of International Sociometry, 7, 43-51.

Polley, R. B., & Eid, J. (1994). First among equals: Leaders, peers, and choice. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry, 47, 59-76.

Reimer, P., & Spanhel, J. (1983). Vysledsky sociometrickeho setreni pracovnich kolektivuv homictvi [Results of a sociometric investigation of working collectives in the mining industry]. Sociologicky Casopis, 19, 646-652.

Remer, R., Lima, G. C., Richey-Suttles, S. R., White, S., & Gentile, T. J. (1995). Using strong sociometry as an interpersonal feedback tool. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry, 48, 74-78.

Reynolds, H. H. (1966). Efficacy of sociometric ratings in predicting leadership success. Psychological Reports, 19, 35-40.

Riedesel, P. L. (1974). Bales reconsidered: A critical analysis of popularity and leadership differentiation. Sociometry, 37, 557-564.

Rockwell, T. (1987). The social construction of careers: Career development and career counseling viewed from a sociometric perspective. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry, 40, 93-107.

Roethlisberger, F. J., & Dickson, W. J. (1939). Management and the worker: An account of a research program conducted by the Western Electric Company, Hawthorne Works, Chicago. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rogers, D. L. (1974). Sociometric analysis of interorganizational relations: Application of theory and measurement. Rural Sociology, 39, 487-503.

Romanelli, E. (1991). The evolution of new organizational forms. Annual Review of Sociology, 17, 79-103.

Romanelli, E., & Tushman, M. L. (1994). Organizational transformation as punctuated equilibrium: An empirical test. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 1141-1166.

Rousseau, D. M. (1997). Organizational behavior in the new organizational era. Annal Review of Psychology, 48, 515-546.

Rowson, A.-M. (1998). Using 360 degree feedback instruments up, down and around the world: Implications for global implementation and use of multi-rater feedback. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 6, 45-48.

Salminen, S., & Luhtanen, P. (1994). Development of cooperation skills of junior ice hockey players: A five year follow-up study. Studia Psychologica, 36, 189--195.

Sapin-Lunel, A. (1991). Structurometrie psychosociale [Psychosocial sociometry]. Cahiers Internationaux de Psychologie Sociale, No. 12, pp. 39-60.

Schutz, W. (1958). FIRO: A three-dimensional theory of interpersonal behavior. New York: Rinehart.

Sethu Rao, M. K., & Bhaskaran, C. (1978). Application of sociometric techniques in identifying opinion leaders in two South Indian villages: A methodological study. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry, 31, 46-50.

Shiloh, S., & Rotem, E. (1994). What makes a good decision-maker? Self and social evaluations of decision-making competence versus performance measures in a simulated decision. Personality and Individual Differences, 17, 477-488.

Shore, L. M., Tetrick, L. E., & Shore, T. H. (1998). A comparison of self-, peer, and assessor evaluations of managerial potential. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 13, 85-101.

Shore, T. H., Adams, J. S., & Tashchian, A. (1998). Effects of self-appraisal information, appraisal purpose, and feedback target on performance appraisal ratings. Journal of Business and Psychology, 12, 283-298.

Shore, T. H., Shore, L. M., & Thornton, G. C. (1992). Construct validity of self- and peer evaluations of performance dimensions in an assessment center. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 42-54.

Smucker, 0. (1949). Near-sociometric analysis as a basis for guidance. Sociometry, 12, 326-340.

Speroff, B. J. (1956). The use of sociometric data in industrial counseling. In J. L. Moreno (Ed.), Sociometry and the science of man (pp. 292-296). New York: Beacon House. [Also, Sociometry, 18, 548-552.]

Stern, L. W., Craig, C. S., La Greca, A. J., & Salem, R. G. (1976). The effect of sociometric location on the adoption of an innovation within a university faculty. Sociology of Education, 49, 90-96.

Stock, D., & Thelen, H. A. (1958). Emotional dynamics and group culture: Experimental studies of individual and group behavior. New York: New York University Press.

Stogdill, R. M. (1956). Interactions among superiors and subordinates. In J. L. Moreno (Ed.), Sociometry and the science of man (pp. 552-557). New York: Beacon House. [Also, Sociometry, 18, 296-301.]

Stork, D., & Richards, W.D. (1992). Nonrespondents in communication network studies. Group and Organization Management, 17, 193-209.

Sywensky, J.M., Madden, J. L., & Treadwell, T. W. (1996). Effects of gender and sex type on perceived leadership abilities. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry, 49, 76-87.

Teevan, R. C., Diffenderfer, D., & Greenfeld, N. (1986). Need for achievement and sociometric status. Psychological Reports, 58, 446.

Titscher, S. (1995). Das Normogramm: Ein Methodenvorschlag zur Gruppen- und Organisations forschung [The normogram: A methodological proposal for the study of groups and organizations]. 'Zeitschrift fur Soziologie, 24, 115-136.

Tornow, W. W. (1993). Introduction to special issue on 360-degree feedback. Human Resource Management, 32, 211-219.

Treadwell, T. W., Stein, S., & Leach, E. (1989). The social atom test-revised: A sociometric instrument measuring interpersonal networks. International Journal of Small Group Research, 5, 65-88.

Tuominen, E. (1996). Sociometric choices as indicator of the dynamic relationships in paper-making teams. International Journal of Psychology, 31,332 [meeting abstract 415.6).

Tushman, M. L., & Romanelli, E. (1983). Uncertainty, social location and influence in decision making: A sociometric analysis. Management Science, 29, 12-23.

Walker, H. A., Ilardi, B. C., McMahon, A. M., & Fennell, M. L. (1996). Gender, interaction, and leadership. Social Psychology Quarterly, 59, 255-272.

Wellman, B., Salaff, J., Dimitrova, D., Garton, L., Gulia, M., & Haythornthwaite, C. (1996). Computer networks as social networks: Collaborative work, telework, and virtual community. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, 213-238.

Wimer, S., & Nowack, K. M. (1998). 13 Common mistakes using 360-degree feedback. Training and Development, 52,(5), 69--80.

Published

2025-03-14