Download social interaction and social processes

UNIT 8. SOCIAL INTERACTION AND SOCIAL PROCESSES
Objectives
1. To define social interaction and social process
2. To explain the frameworks used in social interaction
3. To identify the major components of social interaction
4. To discuss the various types of interaction
5. To identify and explain the forms of social processes
6. To discuss the classifications of social processes
Definition of Social Interaction
Social interaction is the process by which people act toward or
respond to other people. Social interaction is the foundation for all
relationships and groups in society.
In their interaction that occurs every day, people take note of the
actions of other people. And in the process of interaction, people make
use of language, gestures, and symbols. As people interact, they interpret
or define each other’s action. Their response to each other’s action is
based on the meaning they attach to the other’s action which is shaped
by their perceptions, evaluation, and definition of such reality.
Frameworks Used in Social Interaction
There are frameworks used by people in their interaction (Palispis
2007). These are:
a.
Defining the situation. This is the process by which people
interpret and evaluate the social context to select appropriate
attitude and behavior. Usually, the important clues about what
is appropriate and the main limits of behavior come from other
people.
b.
Presentation of the self. People attempt to play their roles as
well as possible and to control the impression they give to
others in their interaction. For Erving Goffman, (as cited in
Kendall, 2004) impression management refers to people’s effort
to present themselves to others in ways that are most favorable
to their own interests or image.
c.
Negotiated order.
People reshape reality by negotiating
changes in patterns of social interaction. Negotiation refers to
the attempt of one to reach agreement with others concerning
some objectives.
Components of Social Interaction
When people interact, four major components come to play.
According to Tischler (1990, as cited in Palispis, 2007) these components
are:
1.
Goal. It refers to anything that one wishes to achieve in
interaction. All social interactions have intended goals to
achieve and which may be varied.
2.
Motivation. This is a person’s wish or intention to achieve a
goal. Behind any social interaction is a motivation why this is
undertaken. There are also a variety of motivations in social
interaction.
3.
Context or situation. When social interaction takes place,
there are conditions or situations that affect the interaction.
These are the context or the situation where social interaction is
undertaken. Context is the condition under which an action
takes place. These are the physical setting or place, the social
environment, and the activities or events surrounding the
interaction.
4. Norms. People do not interact in a vacuum. As they interact,
there are rules that govern or regulate their interaction. Human
behavior is not randomly taking place, rather, it is patterned
and predictable as behavior is governed by norms and rules.
Thus, people are influenced by norms and rules when they
present themselves to others.
Types of Social Interaction
Social interaction may take any of the following forms (Palispis,
2007):
1. Non-verbal behavior. When people communicate with one
another using body language such as nod, yawn, postural shift,
and other body movement.
2. Unfocused interaction. This refers to an interaction that takes
place simply because two or more people happen to be in each
other’s presence.
3. Focused interaction. This is a purposeful interaction between
people who have particular goals in mind.
Definition of Social Processes
According to various sociologists, social processes are patterned
forms of social interaction which are mutual, consistent, and repetitive
experienced by an individual or a group on each other in order to solve
problems and to achieve desired goals.
Classification of Social Processes
There are two directions social processes can take. These are either
positive (conjunctive) or negative (disjunctive) directions. The following
are the classification of social processes (Panopio, et. al, 1995; Palispis,
2007):
I.
Conjunctive social processes. These are the patterns of related
interaction through which persons are drawn together and become
integrated. The five major conjunctive social processes are:
1.
2.
Cooperation. From the words “co” meaning together and
“operate” meaning to work, cooperation occurs when people or
groups act jointly to reach a common goal. There are three
major types of cooperation:
a.
Informal cooperation. This is characterized
spontaneous and involves mutual give and take.
to
be
b.
Formal cooperation. This is deliberate and contractual in
nature prescribing the reciprocal rights and obligations of
members.
c.
Symbiotic cooperation. This is a situation where two or
more members of society live together harmoniously and
are supportive and independent, resulting in mutual selfinterest.
Accommodation. It refers to the conscious efforts of human
beings to develop such working arrangements among
themselves so as to suspend conflict and make their relations
more tolerable and less wasteful of energy. Accommodation can
be any of the following forms:
3.
a.
Domination. This is characterized by a super-ordinate –
subordinate type of relationship where the stronger party
imposes its will and makes the weaker yield.
b.
Truce. This refers to an agreement to cease hostilities or
fighting for a certain period of time.
c.
Compromise. It occurs when persons or groups mutually
give up extreme demands and settle for a limited goal.
d.
Conciliation and mediation. When disputes cannot be
resolved or differences cannot be reconciled, an impartial
third party is selected by conflicting parties. Conciliation
happens when an effort is made to get parties to agree
freely based on a proposal made by either side, but no
recommendation is made by the third party. In mediation,
suggestions are made by the third party as bases for a
settlement which had not been put forward by either side.
e.
Arbitration. This is a special method of settling disputes
through the efforts of a third party that is chosen by the
contending parties or appointed by some large agency of
power. Beforehand, it is agreed that the solution of the
third party must be acceptable to both sides.
f.
Toleration. It occurs when both parties realize that a
settlement of conflict is impossible. Then the group will just
let go or accept each other’s rights to different actions
without trying to modify their patterns of behavior to avoid
tension.
Assimilation. This is the 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
experiences and history, which are incorporated with them in a
cultural life. Because of assimilation, a “melting pot” results
where there is a fusion of cultural patterns and values of
various groups.
4.
Amalgamation. It results when there is intermarriage of
persons coming from different ethnic groups where biological
fusion occurs. The intermarriage of a Filipino with a foreigner
results to amalgamation.
5.
Acculturation. This occurs when one group blends in and
takes on the characteristics of another culture. Acculturation
also results in the borrowing of language or adoption of culture
patterns and values of groups that come in contact with each
other.
II. Disjunctive social processes. These are social processes in which
people are pushed farther apart and become less solidaristic. The
types of disjunctive social processes are:
1. Conflict. Coser (1968, as cited in Panopio et al, 1994) defines
conflict as a struggle over values or claims to status, power, and
scarce resources in which the claims of the conflicting parties
are not only to gain the desired values but also to neutralize,
injure or eliminate their rivals.
2. Contravention. It is a social process in which the opposing
persons or groups try to prevent each other from attaining an
objective, whether or not they want it for themselves. These take
the form of delaying tactics, denouncing, thwarting, spreading
humors, and smear campaigns.
3. Competition. This results when individuals or groups are in
opposition or struggle to secure a reward or a goal. The focus is
on the reward rather than on the competitor.