Forms of Social interaction

The interaction or mutual activity is the essence of social life. Interaction

between individuals and groups occurs in the form of social process. Social
processes refers to forms of social interaction that occur again and again.

Meaning of Social Process:

Social processes refer to forms of social interaction that occur repeatedly.
By social processes we mean those ways in which individuals and groups
interact and establish social relationships. There are various forms of social
interaction such as cooperation, conflict, competition and accommodation
etc.
Types of Social Processes:
There are hundreds of social processes. But we find some
fundamental social processes that are found to appear
repeatedly in society. These fundamental processes are
socialization, cooperation, conflict, competition,
accommodation, acculturation and assimilation etc.

Social process can be positive or negative. Accordingly, social

processes have been classified into two broad categories,
variously entitled ‘conjunctive and disjunctive, ‘associative and
dissociative’.
Associative Process:
The associative or conjunctive social processes are
positive. These social processes work for the
solidarity and benefit of society. This category of
social processes include cooperation,
accommodation, assimilation and acculturation etc.
Three major social processes such as cooperation,
accommodation and assimilation are discussed
below.
1. Cooperation:
Cooperation is one of fundamental processes of
social life. It is a form of social process in which two
or more individuals or groups work together jointly
to achieve common goals. Cooperation is the form
of social interaction in which all participants benefit
by attaining their goals.
The term ‘cooperation’ has been derived from two Latin
words – ‘Co’ meaning ‘together and Operary meaning ‘to
work’. Hence, cooperation means working together for
the achievement of a common goal or goals. When two
or more persons work together to gain common goal, it is
called cooperation. Boys cooperate in games, men in
business, workers in production, and public officials in
community controls and so on, in an endless variety of
beneficial activities that make possible an integrated
social life.
2. Accommodation:
Adjustment is the way of life. It can take place in two ways such as
adaptation and accommodation. Adaptation refers to the process
of biological adjustment. Accommodation, on the other hand,
implies the process of social adjustment.

It is a process through which individuals or groups make

adjustment to the changed situation to overcome difficulties faced
by them. Sometimes new conditions and circumstances arise in
the society. Individuals have learned to make adjustment to the
new situation. Thus, accommodation means adjusting oneself to
the new environment.
Adjustment and agreement reached by the
conflicting individuals and groups called
accommodation. Accommodation is a process
by which those once in conflict can work
together in common enterprises. As end-result
of a conflict there emerge arrangements,
agreements, treaties and laws which define
relationships, rights, obligations and methods of
cooperation.
According to Ogburn and Nimkoff, “Accommodation is a
term used by sociologist to describe the adjustment of
hostile individuals or groups.”

As Horton and Hunt defines “Accommodation is a process

of developing temporary working agreements between
conflicting individuals or groups”.
3. Assimilation:
Assimilation is a fundamental social process; it is that process by
which individuals belonging to different cultures are united into
one. Successful accommodation sets the stage for an additional
consequences of human interactions, namely assimilation. This
implies the complete merging and fusion of two or more bodies
into a single common body, a process analogous to digestion, in
which we say that food is assimilated.
Assimilation in social relationships means that the cultural
differences between divergent groupings of people
disappear. Thus, they come to feel; think and act similarly as
they absorb new common traditions, attitudes and
consequently take on a new cultural identity. We see the
process operating among ethnic groups which enter a
society with their own society’s culture.
For instance, American Indians adopted cultural
elements of whites abandoning their own
culture. But assimilation is not limited to this
single field only. For example, husbands and
wives with dissimilar background often develop
a surprising unity of interest and purpose.
The term is usually applied to an immigrant or ethnic minority in
process of being absorbed socially into a receiving society, e.g. the
assimilation of African Negroes as immigrants in American society.
But this does not mean that the immigrants have abandoned
everything of their culture and that they have not contributed
anything to the host country. The assimilation of Negroes has
contributed much to American cultural store in the form of Jazz
music.
Assimilation is a slow and gradual process. It takes
quite some time before individuals or groups once
dissimilar becomes similar.
Dissociative Processes:
Social process which leads to negative results is called
dissociative process. These social processes result in
disintegration of society. These also known disjunctive
social processes. Competition and conflict etc. are
examples of dissociative social processes.
Competition:
Competition is one of the dissociative forms of social processes. It is
actually the most fundamental form of social struggle. It occurs
whenever there is an insufficient supply of anything that human
beings desire, in sufficient in the sense that all cannot have as much
of it as they wish. Ogburn and Nimkoff say that competition occurs
when demand out turns supply. People do not compete for sunshine,
air and gifts of nature because they are abundant in supply.
But people compete for power, name, fame,
glory, status, money, luxuries and other things
which are not easily available. Since scarcity is
in a sense an inevitable condition of social life,
competition of some sort or the other is found
in all the societies
In any society, for example, there are normally more
people who want jobs than there are jobs available;
hence there is competition for them. Among those who
are already employed, there is likewise competition for
better jobs. There is thus competition not only for
bread but for luxuries, power, social position, mates,
fame and all other things not available for one’s asking.
Conflict:
Conflict is one of the dissociative or disintegrative
social processes. It is a universal and fundamental
social process in human relations. Conflict arises only
when the attention of the competitors is diverted from
the object of competition to themselves.
It is a process of seeking to obtain rewards by
eliminating or weakening the competitors. It is a
deliberate attempt to oppose, resist or coerce the will
of another or others.
Conflict is also goal oriented. But unlike cooperation and
competition, it seeks to capture its goal by making
ineffective the others who also seek them.
According to J.H. Fitcher, “Conflict is the social
process in which individuals or groups seek their
ends by directly challenging the antagonist by
violence or threat of violence”.