The document discusses the nature and approaches to social interaction and social processes. It defines social interaction as how people influence each other through attitudes, feelings and actions. There are three types of social interaction: person-to-person, person-to-group, and group-to-group. Approaches to understanding social interaction include symbolic interactionism and perspectives like definition of the situation, dramaturgy, ethnomethodology, and social exchange. Social processes refer to recurrent patterns of interactions between individuals that have become stable over time. There are universal processes like cooperation, competition, and conflict, as well as derived processes such as acculturation, assimilation, and differentiation. Social processes can also be classified based on whether they promote unity

1. Introduction to Sociology
Naveed Siddiqui
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2. Social Interaction & Social
Processes

3. NATURE OF AND APPROACHES TO SOCIAL
INTERACTION
NATURE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION
Social Interaction refers to the process by which
people mutually or reciprocally influence one
another’s attitudes, feelings, and actions. This
is the lie between the individual and society.
There are three situations for social interaction:
Person-to-person (P to P).
Person-to-group (P to G).
Group-to-group (G to G).

4. APPROACHES TO SOCIAL
INTERACTION
Literature on social interaction gives the
following approaches to a better
understanding of social interaction:
Symbolic Interaction
-it refers to the communication of
thoughts and feelings between individuals
that occurs by means of symbols – such us
words, gestures, facial expressions, and
sounds.

5. Specific approaches under symbolic
interaction include:
1. Definition of the Situation
-it refers to the sociological perspective that views the
people attribute to a social setting; a stage of mental
examination and deliberation in which we size up a
situation so as to devise our course of action. This
process is called “negotiated interaction”.
2. Dramaturgy
-it is a sociological perspective that views social
interaction as resembling a theatrical performance in
which people stage their behavior in such a way as to
elicit the responses they desire from other people.

6. 3. Ethno methodology
-it is a sociological perspective that studies the
procedures people use to make sense of their
everyday lives and experience. These procedures
are the taken-for-granted, routine activities of our
daily lives and the understandings that lie behind
them.
-it comes from the Greek word “ethnos” meaning
“folk” or “people”, methodology refers to the
procedures used in doing something.
4. Social Exchange
-it is a sociological perspective that portrays
interaction as a more or less straightforward and
rationally calculated series of mutually beneficial
transactions.

7. ◦ Functionalist View
-human interaction involves little more
than people acting out roles based on
social script, much as theatrical actors
take their lines from a play.

8. THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF
SOCIAL PROCESSES
The Nature of Social Process
Social Process – refers to the recurrent and
patterned interactions or responses of
individuals to one another which have
attained stability.

9. CLASSIFICATION OF SOCIAL
PROCESS
Social process is classified according to certain
bases:
1.Based on formation
Universal or basic processes
Derived social processes
2.Based on unity or opposition
Conjunctive social processes
Disjunctive social processes

10. BASED ON FORMATION
1.Basic or universal processes – refers to
patterned and recurrent responses observable in all
human societies.
There are three (3) universal social processes: a.)
cooperation, b.) competition and c.) conflict.
a. Cooperation. It involves two or more persons
joining their intelligence, efforts talents and
resources together to attain a goal which can be
shared. It is a kind of conjoint action or a alliance of
person or groups seeking some common goal or
reward.

11. Types of cooperation:
Informal cooperation. It is characterized as
spontaneous and involves mutual give and
take.
Formal cooperation. It is characterized as a
deliberate contractual nature and prescribes the
reciprocal rights and obligations of members.
Symbolic cooperation. It is a situation where
two or more persons live together harmoniously
and are supportive and interdependent,
resulting in mutual self-interest. It involves
interdependent activities, but the people
involved may not be aware that their activity is
a form of cooperation.

12. Function of Cooperation
It makes for social cohesion and integration
among the members of a group.
It contributes to social stability and order.
It fosters consensus and compromise in
various social issues.

13. b. Competition. It is a form of impersonalized
struggle or opposition to secure a reward or
goal which cannot be shared.
Types of Competition:
Personal competition. It involves direct,
face-to-face contact between opposing
parties.
Impersonal competition. It involves a
struggle between persons or groups not
directly aware of each other.

14. Functions of Competition
Competing individuals or groups try to outdo
each other and thereby innovate ways to do
so.
Competition can be a driving force to
persons to develop their potentials to the
fullest and attain maximum efficiency and
effectiveness.
Competition can develop productivity,
creativity, and ingenuity.
Competition of member of a society for
certain goals and the competition for scarce
resources lead variation or differentiation.

15. c. Conflict. It is a form of highly personalized and
emotionalized struggle or opposition between
individuals or group to attain scarce goals or
values.
Functions of Conflict
Conflicts may help establish unity and cohesion
within a group which has been threatened by
hostile and antagonistic feelings among the
members. “Conflict with the outside brings peace
in the inside.”
Internal conflict becomes a stabilizing and
integrating mechanism in certain instances.
Conflict provides an outlet for the expression of
suppresses emotions and frustrations.

16. 2. Derived social processes – refers
to secondary social processes that
arise out of the basic social
processes.

17. The following are the derived social processes which arise
out of the basic social processes:
Acculturation. It is a social process where a group
blends in and takes on some characteristics of another
culture. It is also called cultural borrowing or cultural
imitation.
Assimilation. It involves some kind of interpenetration or
fusion of cultural elements whereby persons or groups
accept the cultural traits, attitudes, beliefs and sentiments
of another through direct, friendly and continuous
contacts.
Amalgamation. It refers to some kind of biological fusion
through intermarriage of persons coming from different
groups.
Differentiation. It refers to the creation of interests
resulting in individuals or groups needing or wanting
different things or services rather than the same thing.
Accommodation. It refers to the social process whereby
competing or conflicting individuals or groups thresh out

18. Types or Kinds of Accommodation
Domination
Truce or Pact
Compromise
Mediation
Conciliation
Arbitration
Toleration

19. BASED ON UNITY OR OPPOSITION
Conjunctive Social Processes –they
refers to patterned forms of social
interactions which lead to unity organization,
cooperation and harmony.
Disjunction Social Processes –they refer
to patterned forms of social interactions
which lead to disunity, disorganization,
division, and disharmony.