9.social processes and_social_change

1. BY
NOSHAD AHMED 15CRP46
City and Regional Planning department MUET
Jamshoro.

2. Social processes are the ways in which individuals and groups
interact, adjust and readjust and establish relationships and
pattern of behaviour which are again modified through social
interactions.
As Ginsberg says, “Social processes mean the various modes
of interaction between individuals or groups including
cooperation and conflict, social differentiation and
integration, development, arrest and decay”.
According to Horton and Hunt, “The term social process
refers to the repetitive form of behaviour which are
commonly found in social life”.

3. Meaning of Social Interaction:
Man is a social animal. It is difficult for him to live in isolation.
They always live in groups. As members of these groups they
act in a certain manner. Their behaviour is mutually affected.
This interaction or mutual activity is the essence of social life.
Social life is not possible without interactions.
Eldredge and Merrill say, “Social interaction is thus the
general process whereby two or more persons are in
meaningful contact-as a result of which their behaviour is
modified, however, slightly”.

5. Elements of Social Process:
Social Process has the following essential elements.
1. Sequence of events
2. Repetition of events
3. Relationship between events
4. Continuity of events
5. Special Social results

6. Classification of Social Processes:
Social process may be classified in three ways as under:
1. By the number of persons involved, i.e., one-with-one; one-with-
group; and its reverse, group-with-one, and group-with-group.
2. By the degree of intimacy of the individual and groups in
interaction. For example, primary, secondary and tertiary or
marginal groups.
3. By the nature or types of the processes.

7. There are, of course, hundreds of social processes—
o Political
o Educational
o Industrial
o Economic
o religious
o and others.
The specific social processes are also numerous. Among those of
more general nature are
o Association
o cooperation
o conflict
o accommodation
o assimilation
o domination
o exploitation
o differentiation, etc.

8. These processes may be grouped into
two main categories:
(1) integrative/conjunctive/associative, and
(2) disintegrative/disjunctive/ dissociative.

9. Associative processes are also called the integrative or conjunctive
social processes which are essential for the integration and
progress of the society. The major types of associative processes
are the following.
1. Co-operation
2. Accommodation
3. Assimilation
4. Acculturation

10. Dissociative social processes are also called the disintegrative
or disjunctive social processes. Although these processes
hinder the growth and development of society, their absence
results in stagnation of society. Few important types or
dissociative processes are:
1) Competition
2) Conflict
3) Contravention
4) Differentiation

11. Definitions:
Co-operation is clearly defined by many scholars. Some of the
definitions are given below:
(i) A.W. Green:
Co-operation is “the continuous and common endeavour of
two or more persons to perform a task or to reach a goal
that is commonly cherished.”
(ii) Merrill and Eldrege:
“Co-operation is a form of social interaction wherein two or
more persons work together to gain a common end.”

13. It is evident from the above definitions that co-operation is a
process of social interaction in which two or more individuals or
groups combine their efforts to achieve certain commons ends
and objectives.
Examples:
(i) The Indians irrespective of their caste, race, creed, religion
etc. differences fought against the British unitedly to achieve
independence.
(ii) The Indian agriculture is mainly based on the co-operative
spirit of the farmers

14. Cooperation

15. Definition:
Some of the important definitions of accommodation are
given below.
(1) Maclver and Page define that, “Accommodation refers
particularly to the process in which man attains a sense of
harmony with his environment.”
(3) According to Gillin and Gillin, “Accommodation is the process
by which competing and conflicting individuals and groups adjust
their relationship to each other in order to overcome the
difficulties which arise in competition, contravention or conflict.”
(5) In the opinion of Biesanz, “In one sense, accommodation is
the basis of all formal social organization”
It is evident from the above definitions that it is the basis of
all formal social organizations.
Accommodation

16. Educational environment

17. 1) Ogburn and Nimkoff defines assimilation, “As the process
whereby individuals or groups once dissimilar become
similar, that is, become identified in their interest and
outlook.”
2) In the words of Park and Burgess, “Assimilation is a
process of interpenetration and fusion in which persons and
groups acquire the memories, sentiments and attitudes of
other persons or groups and, by sharing their experience
and history, are incorporated into a common cultural life.”
 From the above definitions it may be concluded that
assimilation takes place when individuals come into close
contact with other culture in a slow and gradual manner.
It results in the promotion of cultural unity which leads to
social integration.
Assimilation

18. Individuals effected by others

19. Assimilation by force

20. Definition There are many definitions of competition given
by different scholars. Some of the important definitions are
given below:
Park and Burgess define Competition as “an interaction
without social contact.”
Horton and Hunt opine that, “competition is the struggle
for possession of rewards which are limited in supply,
goods, status, and power, love anything.”
H.P. Fairchild states that, “Competition is the struggle for
the use or possession of limited goods.”
From the above definitions it may be concluded that
competition is a process in which individuals or groups
try to obtain thing or things which have limited supply
and which they cannot achieve or share collectively.”
Competition

21. Competition

22. Compete by knowledge

23. Competition for reward

24. Definitions:
Some of the important definitions given by the sociologists
are stated below:
Kingsley Davis defines Conflict, “as a modified form of
struggle.”
A.W. Green says, “Conflict is the deliberate attempt to
oppose, resist or coerce the will of another or others.”
llin and Gillin state that, “Conflict is the social process in
which individuals or groups seek their ends by directly
challenging the antagonist by violence or threat of
violence.”
Conflict

25. Conflict between individuals

26. Conflict in A GROUP

27. From the above definitions, it is clear that individuals or groups
involved in conflict try to oppose, resist or coerce each other
deliberately. It is the opposite of co-operation. It is a process
which leads two or more persons or groups to try to frustrate
the attempts of their opponents to attain certain objectives.
Examples:
(i) The conflict between nations leads to national conflict.
(ii) The conflict between different political parties leads to
political conflict.
(iii) Caste conflict, class conflict and racial conflict etc.

28. Summary of All discussion