Social processes involve the interaction and relationships between individuals and groups. They can be classified in several ways, such as by the number of people involved or the nature of the process. There are two main categories of social processes - integrative/associative processes and disintegrative/dissociative processes. Associative processes like cooperation, accommodation, assimilation, and acculturation are essential for social integration and progress. Dissociative processes like competition, conflict, and isolation can hinder social development if taken to an extreme. Social processes are continuous, universal, and help establish patterns of social behavior and interaction.

1. By- Gunjan Kandpal
Lecturer

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 ”.

3.  According to Horton and Hunt, “The term social
process refers to the repetitive form of
behaviour which are commonly found in social
life”.

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

8.  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

9.  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) Isolation
4) Differentiation

10.  Co-operation is clearly defined by many
scholars. Some of the definitions are given
below:
 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.”
 Merrill and Eldrege: “Co-operation is a form
of social interaction wherein two or more
persons work together to gain a common
end.”

11.  Conscious process
 Universal process
 Continuous, life- long process
 Personal process
 Exist when two or more persons or groups
are involved.
 Common goal
 Members work together for group welfare
and achieve organisational goal and group
interest.

12.  According to AW Green
1. Primary Cooperation
2. Secondary Cooperation
3. Tertiary Co0operation

13.  This type of cooperation is found in primary
groups such as the family.
 In this form, there is an identify of interests
between the individuals and the group.
 The achievement of the interests of the
group includes the realization of the
individual’s interests.

14.  Secondary cooperation is found in secondary
groups such as Government, industry, trade
union and church etc.
 For example, in an industry, each may work
in cooperation with others for his own
wages, salaries, promotion, profits and in
some cases prestige and power.
 In this form of cooperation there is disparity
of interests between the individuals.

15.  This type of cooperation is ground in the
interaction between the various big and
small groups to meet a particular situation.
 In it, the attitudes of the cooperating
parties are purely opportunistic; the
organisation of their cooperation is both
loose and fragile.
 For example, two political parties with
different ideologies may get united to defeat
their rival party in an election.

16.  According to Maciver and Page
1. Direct Cooperation
2. Indirect Cooperation

17.  Direct cooperation include all those activities
in which people do like things together. For
example, plying together, working together,
etc.
 The essential character of this kind of
cooperation is that people do such identical
function which they can also do separately.
 This type of cooperation is voluntary e.g.,
cooperation between husband and wife,
teacher and student, master and servant etc.

18.  Indirect cooperation include those activities
in which people do unlike tasks together
towards a common end. For example, when
carpenters, plumbers and masons cooperate
to build a house.
 This cooperation is based on the principle of
the division of labour.
 In it people perform different functions but
for the attainment of the common objective.

19.  According to Cuber, Cooperation is of 5
forms:
1. Behaviour, which have loyalty or adherence to
a common e.g., Building up of organisation
religious sanctions, social welfare activities.
2. Antagonistic cooperation. Two conflicting group
come to an agreement, opposite interests are
resolved by settelment which ensures
cooperation, e.g., Property disputes
settelment.
3. Cooperation is the result of unavoidable mutual
dependence of individual and group.

20.  Divison of labour is an unconscious
cooperation in mutual interdependency of
modern society. It stimulates competitive
spirit of the individuals, e.g., organisation of
educational institutions.
 Cooperation from superior power of
individual or groups with which one has to
cooperate without an alternative.

21.  Accommodation implies the process of social
adjustment.
 “Accommodation is the achievement of
adjustment between people that permits
harmonious acting together in social
situation.
 It is achieved by an individual through the
acquisition of behaviour patterns, habits and
attitudes which are transmitted to him
socially.

22.  Maclver and Page say, “the term
accommodation refers particularly to the
process in which man attains sense of
harmony with his environment”.
 According to Ogburn and Nimkoff,
“Accommodation is a term used by
sociologist to describe the adjustment of
hostile individuals or groups.”

23.  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 or conflict”

24. 1. It is the End-result of Conflict
2. It is both Conscious and Unconscious
Process
3. It is a Universal Activity
4. It is a Continuous Process
5. It is a Mixture of both Love and Hatred.

25.  Admission of one’s Defeat: This method of
accommodation is applicable between the
conflicting parties of unequal strength. The
stronger group can pressurize the weaker group
by its strength. The weaker party submits to the
stronger one out of fear or because of fear of
being over-powered.
 Compromise: This method is applicable when
the combatants are of equal strength. In
compromise, each party to the dispute makes
some concessions and yields to some demand of
the other.

26.  Arbitration and Conciliation: It involves
attempts of the third party to resolve the
conflict between the contending parties.
 Toleration: Toleration is the method of
accommodation in which there is no
settlement of dispute but there is only the
avoidance of overt conflict or open conflict..

27.  Conversion: Conversion is a method of
accommodation in which one of the contending
parties tries to convent his opponents to his view
of point by proving that he is right and they are
wrong. As a result, the party which has been
convinced is likely to accept the view point of
other party.
 Rationalization: It is a method which involves
the withdrawal of contending party from the
conflict on the basis of some imaginary
explanations to justify his action.

28.  Accommodation is the way which enable people
to work together whether they like it or not.
 Society can hardly go on without
accommodation. Accommodation is essentially
essential to check conflict and to maintain
cooperation.
 It not only reduces or controls conflict but also
enables the individuals and groups to adjust
themselves to changed conditions.
 It is the basis of social organization.

29.  Assimilation is a fundamental social 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.
 Assimilation is a slow and gradual process. It
takes quite some time before individuals or
groups once dissimilar becomes similar.

30.  According to Biesanz and Biesanz,
“Assimilation is the social process whereby
individuals or groups come to share the same
sentiments and goals”
 As Ogburn and Nimkoff define, “Assimilation
is the process whereby individuals or groups
once dissimilar become similar, that it
become identified in the interests and
outlook”.

31.  Assimilation is an associative process.
 Assimilation is a universal process. It is
found in every place and at all times.
 Assimilation is a slow and gradual process.
It is gradual as the individual comes to
share the expectations of another group
and slowly acquires a new set of values.

32.  Assimilation is a unconscious process.
Individuals are not conscious that the
discard their own values and acquire new
set of values.
 Assimilation is a two-way process. It is
based on the principle of give and take.
Assimilation takes place when groups of
individuals borrow cultural elements from
each other and incorporates them to their
own culture.

33.  Toleration
 Close Social Contact
 Amalgamation
 Equal Economic Opportunity
 Common Physical Traits
 Cultural similarity

34.  Physical Difference
 Cultural Difference
 Sense of superiority and inferiority
 Domination and subordination
 Isolation

35.  Acculturation is the first step to assimilation.
 Acculturation is the name given to the stage
when the cultural group which is in contact
with another borrows from it certain cultural
elements and incorporates them into its own
culture.

36.  The contact between the two groups inevitably
affects both; though it is natural that culturally
weaker group would do more of the borrowing
from and would give very little to the culturally
stronger group.
 When two cultures meet, the dominant culture
becomes the common culture of the two
interacting cultures.
 Example: Permanent settlement of migrants
people (people from India and Afghanistan in
Pakistan).

37.  Competition is the most fundamental form of
social struggle.
 It is based on the fact that all people can
never satisfy all their desires. Competition
takes place whenever there is an insufficient
supply of things that human beings commonly
desire.
 Whenever and wherever commodities which
people want are available in a limited supply,
there is competition.

38.  Park and Burgess: “Competition is an
interaction without social contact”.
 Biesanz: “Competition is the striving of two
or more persons for the same goal which is
limited so that all cannot share.”
 Horton and Hunt: “Competition is the
struggle for possession of rewards which are
limited in supply, goods, power, love –
anything.”
 Competition may also be defined as “the
process of seeking to monopolise a reward by
surpassing all rivals.”

39.  Universal Process
 Continuous process
 Unconscious process
 Impersonal process
 Limited goal
 Huge number of competitors
 Dynamic stimulating factor

40.  Political Competition: This type of
competition is found in the political field.
For example, during elections each and
every political party competes for getting
majority. This is not only found at national
level but at international level. Also, there is
keen competition between nations who are
wedded to different political ideologies.

41.  Social competition: To get high social status
usually this social competition is mostly
observed in open societies where an
individual's talent, capacity, ability as well as
merit are given weightage.

42.  Economic Competition: In the economic field
economic competition is fairly observed.
 It is reflected in the process of production,
distribution and consumption of goods.
 In the economic field men compete for salaries,
jobs and promotions etc. they generally compete
for higher standard of living.
 This economic competition is not only present at
individual level but also at group level.

43.  Cultural Competition: Cultural competition
is present among different cultures. When
two or more cultures try to show their
superiority over others, this type of
competition takes place.
 For example, in ancient period, there was a
strong competition between the cultures of
Aryans and Non-Aryans.

44.  Conflict is an ever present process in human
society.
 Whenever a person or persons or groups seek
to gain reward not by surpassing other
competitors but preventing them from
effective competition, conflict takes place.

45.  According to Maclver and Page, “Social
conflict included all activity in which men
contend against one another for any
objective.”
 According to Young and Young, ‘It takes the
form of emotionalised and voilent
opposition, in which the major concern is to
overcome the opponent as a means of
securing a given goal or reward’.

46.  Individual differences
 Cultural
 Differences or clash of attitudes, interest within
groups and societies
 Social changes
 Limited resources
 Frustration
 Insecurity
 Economic crisis
 Unemployment
 Social changes

47.  Universal Process
 Conscious process
 Personal process
 Intermittent process
 Conflict is based on violence

48.  According to Maclver and Page:
Indirect conflict: When
the conflicting parties try
to frustrate the efforts of
their opponents indirectly
it is called indirect
conflict. The keen
competition among the
parties automatically takes
the form of indirect
conflict.
Direct conflict: In this
type of conflict, the
conflicting individuals or
groups try to harm each
other directly to attain
the goal or reward at the
expense of their
opponents even by going
to the extent of injuring
or destroying their rivals.

49.  According to Gillin and Gillin:
Personal conflict: It takes place on a personal level
due to the selfish nature of man and the members of
the same group when there is clash in their aims and
ideas.
For example, the conflict between two qualified
persons for a common post.

50.  Racial Conflict: It takes place among
different races of the world. Some of the
races feel superior to other races and some
others feel inferior. So, the feeling of
superiority and inferiority causes racial
conflict.
 For example, the conflict between Whites
and Negroes (Black)

51. Political conflict: It is found in the political
field. When the different political leaders or
the political parties try to gain power in
democratic countries it is called political
conflict.
International Conflict: It takes place between
different nations. When the nations try to achieve
a common objective by suppressing each other,
international conflict takes place. For example,
the conflict between India and Pakistan regarding
the Kashmir issue.

52. Class conflict: It is present among the different
classes of the society. Our modern society has
been characterized by classes which are based
on power, income, education etc.
For example, the conflict between the
proletariat and bourgeoisie according to Karl
Marx led to class struggle.