Social Processes: Cooperation,

Competition, Conflict
Dr Madhuri
Amity University
SOCIAL INTERACTION AND SOCIAL PROCESS

Each and every person is a social and cultural being. It

is very difficult for people to live in isolation. Human
beings always live in various groups and associations.
They act and behave in a certain manner. In each and
every moment, the behaviour of each individual is
affected by the behaviour of others. This interaction is
the essence of social life.
Green defines social interaction as “the mutual influences
that affects groups. Also these groups affect one another in
their attempts to solve problems and in their striving
towards goals”.

According to Dawson and Gettys, “Social interaction is a

process whereby men interpenetrate the minds of each
other.”
Gish defined social interaction as,“ it is the reciprocal influence in
which human beings exert on each other through inter stimulation
and response.”

Thus we can say that social interaction refers to the entire range of
social relationships, wherein there is reciprocal stimulation and
response between individuals. Social interaction produces some
influence upon social relations that exists among human beings. Two
essential conditions of social interaction are:

i) social contact
ii) communication
Social Contact

Social contact can be established through the medium of

radio, letters, telephones and other media of
communication. Social contact is the first and important
phase of interaction. It may be positive or negative. If it is
positive, they lead to cooperation, mutual understanding
and assimilation. If it is negative, they create hatred,
jealousy and conflict. The above forms of social
interaction are termed as social processes.
MacIver observes, “social process is the manner in which the
relations of the members of a group, are brought together to
acquire a certain distinctive character.

According to Gillin and Gillin, “by social processes we mean

those ways of interacting by which we can establish system
of relationships or find out what happens when changes of
relationships occur or what happens when changes disturb
Communication
Social interaction requires essential communication.
Besides this, communications are essential adjuncts of
social contact. Language, gestures, symbols, radio,
telephone, television, newspaper etc. are the media for
communication. Human interaction is undoubtedly a
communicative interaction. In this context, we can further
say that social interaction usually takes place in the form of
co-operation, competition, conflict, accommodation and
assimilation.
Cooperation means working together in the pursuit of a common
interest. It is a joint activity. It is the conscious form of social
interaction where two or more persons work together to gain a
common end. Cooperation may be of different types. Cooperation
for human beings is both a psychological and social necessity.

On the other hand, competition is an unconscious, impersonal and

continuous struggle between individuals and groups for
satisfaction. It is a contest to obtain something which does not
exist in a quantity sufficient to meet the demand.
Competition, like co-operation, is indispensable in social life. Competition
performs many useful functions in society. At different levels, competition
occurs. It may be economic, cultural, social, and political. There is no society
which is exclusively competitive or exclusively cooperative. Besides competition
and cooperation, conflict is another important process in human relations.
Conflict is a conscious action as well as personal activity. It lacks continuity but
it is a universal phenomena.

Causes of conflict are mainly individual differences, cultural differences, clash of

interest, social change etc. Besides this, conflict serves constructive and positive
ends. Conflict has both integrative and disintegrative effects.
Interaction is a two-way process whereby each individual or
group stimulates the other and in varying degrees modifies
the behaviour of the participants. The behaviour and
personality characteristics of individual members of a group
affect the behaviour of others and make a significant impact
over the functioning of a group as a whole. The behaviour of
each individual is affected by the behaviour of other
individual. This is known as interaction process and it is the
essence of social life.
According to Eldredge and Merril, “social interaction is the general process
whereby two or more persons are in meaningful contact as a result of which
their behaviour is modified, however slightly.”
Social interaction refers to the entire range of social relationship, wherein
there is reciprocal stimulation and response between individuals. Social
interaction is of a dual nature, of persons with persons and of groups with
groups. The main forms of social interaction are cooperation, competition,
conflict, accommodation and assimilation. Combinations of these are called
social processes.
Actually society is an arena where there is expression of different social
processes. Social processes are fundamental to the life of a community.
Society exists wherever several individuals are in reciprocal relationships. It
constitutes an aggregation of individuals in a society.

So we can say that there are two forms of social interaction i.e.

i) conjunctive

ii) disjunctive.
Social interaction and social process are:
1) sequence of events
2) repetition of events
3) relationship between events
4) continuity of events
5) special results
Social contact initiates interaction. Social process is a variety of view-
points. Social behaviour can be classified on the basis of –

(a) their intrinsic nature,

(b) the inherent drives, instincts, interests, desires etc. and

(c) the observable behaviours upon which observers can agree.

We are concerned with the fundamental types, i.e., cooperating,

competition, conflict, accommodation and assimilation. Actually
interaction occurs in the form of the above mentioned processes.
COOPERATION

Cooperation is an integrating activity and is believed to be the opposite of

competition.
The word “cooperation” is derived from the two Latin words “co” meaning
together and “operari” meaning to work. It is thus a joint activity in pursuit of
common goals or shared rewards. It is goal oriented and conscious form of
social interaction.

Actually it involves two elements –

(i) common end and

(ii) organised effort.

It is the process by which individuals or groups combine their effort,
in a more or less organised way for the attainment of common
objective. Generally co-operation means working together for a
common objective. In many festivals, volunteers work together to
collect money from different parts and want to organise the program
successfully and everybody want to stretch forward their hands to
celebrate the occasion successfully. Among the members of the
group, there seems to be indication of good interaction process. All
of them behave in co-operative manner. Co-operation is brought
about by several factors which includes the following
desire for individual benefits

l desire to give and share

l total decision on common purposes

l situational necessity and
l desire to achieve larger goals.
Types of Cooperation We can classify cooperation into five
categories, viz.

i) Direct cooperation
ii) Indirect cooperation
iii) Primary cooperation
iv) Secondary cooperation and
v) Tertiary cooperation
Direct cooperation: The essential characteristics of
this kind of cooperation are that people do in
company the thing which can also do separately. In
this category cooperating individuals do things of
common interest together and perform identical
functions. Playing together, worshiping together are
the examples of direct co-operation.
 Indirect cooperation: In this type of cooperation
ii)

individual work towards a common end each has his

own specialised functions. Thus, we can say that
indirect cooperation is obtained when people
perform dissimilar tasks towards a common end, i.e.,
each has its specialised role to play. In the modern
society it is the indirect cooperation which is more in
play than the direct cooperation because
technological changes require specialisation of skills
and functions
Primary cooperation: There is an identity of
interest between the individual and the group.
It is the cooperation which is found in primary
groups such as family. Not only family but also
peer groups is also called primary cooperation
where people have to choose face-to-face
relations. We can also say that interest of the
individual merge with the interest of the
primary group.
iv) Secondary cooperation: This type of cooperation is
generally found in the secondary group, viz.,
government, industry, church and trade union etc.

v) Tertiary cooperation: This is the interaction

between various big and small group to meet a
particular situation. Here the individual or group who
wants to compete with one another, come together
and cooperate with each other for a specific purpose.
In such type of cooperation the attitudes of the
Role of Cooperation

It is a universal phenomenon. Cooperation for human beings is both a

psychological and social necessity. Individual as well as collective goals can not
be achieved without cooperation. Cooperation is essential for maintenance of
social order. We can not do anything without cooperation, if we are to live as
members of the society. Family members cooperate with each other in terms of
sharing economic, emotional and social requirements of one another. All the
activity in each and every family is done in a cooperative way. People learn their
first lesion in cooperation as members of the family. The physical, mental and
even the spiritual needs of the individual remain unsatisfied if he does not agree
to cooperate with his fellow members
COMPETITION
Competition is the most important form of social struggle.

According to Anderson and Parker, “Competition is that form of social action in which we
strive against each other for the possession of or use of some limited material and non-
material goods.”

According to Sutherland, Woodward and Maxwell, “Competition is an impersonal,

unconscious continuous struggle which, because of their limited supply, all may not have.”

Competition is a form of interaction. It is the struggle for position to gain economic status. It
occurs whenever there is an insufficient supply of anything that human being desire -
insufficient in the sense that all cannot have as much of it as they wish. Sometimes
competition happens because of limited supply and also difficult for equal distribution
Characteristics of Competition
The characteristics of competition are:
l Competition is impersonal struggle. Park and Burgess defined competition as
“interaction without social contact.” We can say it is inter-individual struggle
that is impersonal. It is usually not directed against any individual or group in
particular.

l Competition is universal. There is no society which is devoid of competition.

Not only this, degree of competition may vary from society to society. It is very
common for society as well as culture.

l Competition is considered as conducive to progress. Competition provides

the individuals better opportunities to satisfy their desires for new
experiences and recognitions. l Both associative and non-associative
dimensions of social processes indicate competition.
Value of Competition
Competition is indispensable in social life. Competition
performs many powerful functions in society. Sometimes
competition is extremely dynamic. It performs five positive
functions.
l It helps to determine the status and location of individual
members in a system of hierarchy.
l It tends to stimulate economy, efficiency and inventiveness.
l It tends to enhance one’s ego.
l It prevents undue concentration of power in an individual
or group of individuals. l It creates respect for the rules of
the same group.
We can say that competition determines who is to perform what function.
According to Ross, “Competition performs that broad function of assigning to
each individual in his social world. Competition is a progressive force which
fulfils and does not necessarily destroy.”

We can further say that fair competition is conducive to economic as well as

social progress. Competition provides the individuals better opportunities to
satisfy their desires for new experiences and recognition. It believes in
achieved status. Sometimes competition has some negative function. It may
lead to frustration. It may lead to monopoly. It may lead to conflict. It may
create emotional disturbances. It may develop unfriendly and unfavourable
attitudes among the persons or groups toward one another. It is true that
unfair competition has the most disintegrating effects. Sometimes unlimited
competition leads to monopoly.
Competition is mainly an unconscious activity but personal
competition or rivalry is a conscious activity.

l Competition may create emotional disturbances.

l Competition is an innate tendency.
l Competition is a social phenomenon.
l Degree of competition is determined by social values and social
structure
Competition and cooperation differ in many respects. No
society is exclusively competitive or exclusively
cooperative. Actually, social system is a balance between
competitive and cooperative force. But some competition
is healthy and fair
CONFLICT
Conflict is a conscious action. It is a deliberate intent to oppose. We
can say that conflict is universal. Not only this, conflict lacks
continuity. Besides this, it is a personal activity.

According to Gillin and Gillin, “Conflict is the social process in which

individuals or groups seek their ends up directly challenging the
antagonist by violence or threat of violence.” Green defined,
“Conflict is the deliberate attempt to oppose, resist and coerce the
will of another or others.”
Conflict is a competition in its more occasional, personal
and hostile forms. It is a process of seeking to obtain
rewards by eliminating or weakening the competitors. It is
inherent in every society or social system. Conflict is
apparently noted when an individual or a group seeks to
attain its own end. Conflict is the opposite of cooperation.
Conflict may lead to antagonism, violence or threat to
peace. Conflict is also regarded as non-associative social
process.
Causes of Conflict
According to Freud and some other psychologists, the innate
instinct for aggression in man is the main cause of conflicts.
Generally it arises from a clash of interest within groups and
societies and between groups and societies. The significant causes
are:

l Individual difference – It is true that, we, the human being, are

not alike by nature, attributes, interests, personalities etc. These
differences may lead to conflict among the human being.
l Cultural differences – The culture of a group differs from the
culture of the other group. The cultural differences among the
groups sometimes cause tension and lead to conflict.

l Differences of opinion regarding interest – In fact, the

interests of different people or groups occasionally clash. For
example we can say that interests of the employers and
employees vary in many respect which may ultimately leads to
conflict among them.

l Social change – Social changes occur off and on in each and

every society. Conflict is an expression of social disequilibrium.
Social change is the cultural log which leads to conflict.
Characteristics of Conflict
The characteristics of conflicts are:
l Although conflict is universal but it’s nature vary from society to society. No
society is characterised exclusively by conflict.
l Conflict is a conscious action. To achieve the respective goals the members
oppose one another.
l Conflict leads to social change. It is mainly an expression of disequilibrium.
l It primarily remains personal activity. Sometimes it acquires greater intensity
and involves many people. At first, it is manifested at the level of a particular
group but ultimately it involves the entire society.
l Asymmetrical social, political and economic relations coupled with the sense
of relative deprivation as the root cause of social conflict.
l Sometimes conflict is the life of society and progress emerges from a
struggle in which each individual, class or institution seeks to realise its own
idea of good.
l We the people are organised into groups to seek a common goal, the
probability of conflict increases.
l All conflicts are not the same.
l We face conflicts on all levels as we have disagreements with family, friends
and co-workers. l Conflict is an ever-present process in human relations.
l Unmanaged conflict is a threat to the survival of the group and ultimately
tends to make the group less effective.
l Conflict can occur within groups (intra-group conflict) and among groups
(inter-group conflict)
Effects of Conflict
Conflict sometimes creates positive and sometimes creates
negative impact. The effects of conflict are many and manifold. It
is varied as well as unpredictable. We can say that the conflict
may have the following effects:

l Increases tension within or between the groups l Disrupt

normal activities

l Weaken group activities

l Harmful to individuals
l Help to restructure the group
l Help to form new groups

l Gives positive result

l Improves decision-making process
l Increase bitterness
l Increase alienation
l Become violent
l Help to gain recognition
l Increase unity and cohesion
l Strengthen group boundaries
l Help to form new group
Types of Conflict
Conflict may be of various types, viz,

1) Overt and covert: Overt conflict has some manifestation

but covert conflict or latent conflict primarily remains
invisible.

2) Personal and corporate: Personal conflict occurs within the

group due to hostility, jealousy etc., on the other hand,
corporate conflict occurs among the groups within a society
or between two societies.
3) Temporary and perpetual: When conflict occurs
among the individuals in the bus or in the shop or in
the road are called temporary conflict, on the other
hand when conflict occurs between two rival groups,
then it is called perpetual conflict.
Conflict is not a continuous process. It may stretch for sometime. In each and
every conflict there is intermittent period of peace and social harmony.
According to Gillin and Gillin, conflict can be divided into five types, viz.,

l Personal conflict – It is the conflict between two persons within the same
group.

l Racial conflict – It is the result of the feeling or racial superiority or inferiority.

l Class conflict – It is the conflict between two classes.

l Political conflict – It is the conflict between parties of political power.

l International conflict – It is the conflict between two nations

Distinction between Conflict and Competition

The salient points are:

l Conflict takes place on a conscious level, competition is
unconscious.
l Competition is non-violent, but conflict may create
violence.
l Conflict involves contact, competition does not.
l Competition is a continuous process, but conflict is an
intermittent process.

l Conflict disregards social norms but competition does care

social norms.

l Conflict takes place on a conscious level but competition is

unconscious.
Besides this, we can say that conflict and competition have a
common root because in each case individuals and groups are
generally striving towards incompatible goals. Conflict may lead to
alliances with other groups, creating bonds between loosely
structured groups or bringing together different individuals and
groups in a community as they write to fight a common threat. The
structure of the group and its degree of tolerance of conflict will
affect the results of intragroup dissatisfaction. Actually conflict is a
fundamental human and social trait. Cooperation is a condition of
conflict. Internal harmony and external conflict are the opposite
sides of the same shield