Popularity

Conceptualization and Measurement

Historically, popularity has been defined in two major ways. Until the 1980s, it was primarily conceptualized and measured using sociometric methods. That is, popularity was measured by examining the position of individuals within groups. More specifically, the sociometric definition of popularity examines the extent to which individuals are rated as likable and socially preferred by their peers. Thus, individuals who are liked and deemed desirable as social partners are viewed as popular. To measure popularity in this way, researchers collected rating scale data to determine whether individuals were liked or disliked by others in their peer group. An individual who received many liked ratings and few disliked ratings by peers was deemed popular.

Other methods of assessing popularity include paired comparisons techniques, in which each participant is presented with the names of two peers and is asked which of the two he or she prefers or likes better. The same participant is then presented with other pairs of peers' names until all individuals [Page 1260]in the group have been contrasted and an overall measure of popularity may be computed for each target. Another common technique is the nominations method, in which each individual is instructed to list a number of peers (typically three) who are best liked and a list of peers who are least liked. These assessment methods are useful across the life span (even preschool children are able to provide meaningful sociometric data), are correlated with teacher reports of peer acceptability, and are related to the quality of peer interactions, including initiation of play and friendships.

In the 1980s, researchers began to theorize that popularity involved more than a single rating of likability. Instead, it was proposed that popularity was composed of two dimensions: (1) social preference, the extent to which an individual was liked; and (2) social impact, the extent to which an individual was perceived to have social power. More in line with a sociological approach, this two-dimensional theory measured popularity in terms of the individual's characteristics (e.g., friendly or unfriendly) and status in the social group (e.g., high status or low status). Popularity was defined in terms of social centrality, and individuals with a reputation of social power and impact were perceived as popular.

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