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IMPACT OF SOCIOMETRIC METHOD AND ACTIVITY CONTENT ON ASSESSMENT OF INTERGROUP RELATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM
Author(s) -
SCHWARZWALD JOSEPH,
LAOR TAL,
HOFFMAN MICHAEL
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
british journal of educational psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.557
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 2044-8279
pISSN - 0007-0998
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8279.1986.tb02642.x
Subject(s) - nomination , psychology , interpersonal communication , social psychology , ethnic group , interpersonal interaction , sociometry , developmental psychology , sociology , political science , anthropology , law
S ummary . The study compared patteras of ethnic and sex relations revealed by nomination versus rating methods for activities at differing levels of intimacy. Integrated junior high school students in 16 classrooms filled out two versions of the Interpersonal Relationship Assessment Technique treating willingness to engage in activities of low, moderate, and high intimacy. In the peer nomination version, students identified three classmates most desired as partners for each activity. In the rating method, students stated positive desire for each classmate. As hypothesised, the nomination technique heightened the extent of group cleavage along sex and ethnic dimensions relative to the rating method. Moreover, it was insensitive to differences in sociometric content. In contrast, the rating method revealed, as expected, reduced social cleavage at less demanding levels of social contact. Discussion focused on the theoretical processes underlying the different methods and their practical implications for the assessment of intergroup relations.