Social Process

Social process is the condition of the adaptation of any beings in any types of socio-cultural settings. It is a fundamental way in which the man interact and relationship establish. Social interaction usually takes place in the form of cooperation, conflict, competition etc. The term social process refers to the repetitive forms of behavior which are commonly found in social life. It is a manner in which the relation of the members of a group, once brought together acquires a certain distinctive character.

Acculturation

Acculturation is one of the social process which has been known for some certain cultural traits or one adopts the cultural attribute of the other and develops some certain similar character. With acculturation parts of the culture changes but each group remains distinct where inter-group mobility is hardly found in practice.

Features:

• A two-way process was the culture of one group who can change or exchange their cultural patterns.
• Long-term and continuous.
• The way of life on the acculturated group gets changed.
• Acculturation takes place due to public interest or by force of colonization.

Accommodation

Alike different social process accommodation too occupies a prime position to maintain social order. It is a social adjustment by maintaining conflicting element in a given socio-cultural settings. It is a way of inventing social arrangement which helps people to work together. It denotes acquired changes in the behavior of the individual which help to adjust to their environment.

Features:

• Accommodation is universal.
• It is a continuous process.
• It is a natural result of the conflict.
• It may be conscious or unconscious activity.

Adaptation

Social process is taking place through different ways among them adaptation is also one of them which is directly influenced by socio-cultural and environmental conditions of any place or society. It is a social process where a person adopts himself in different situations. Every individual tries to adopt themselves in a new situation. It is difficult social process to adopt to most of the social beings who has deep rooted mind and soul towards traditional cultural phenomena in a modern context.

Features:

• Adaptation is a long term process.
• It is a universal social process.
• It is influenced by social, cultural and environmental phenomena.
• It may substitute the existing phenomena.

Amalgamation

Alike other many social process amalgamation is also one. Amalgamation refers to the blending, combination, addition or being oneness of different races, class groups, societies etc. It also includes different institutions to come and work together. Amalgamation is a very difficult and unusual social process which hardly takes place but it is essential for a complete social process.

Features:

• Amalgamation is a slow process.
• It may be voluntary or involuntary.
• A complete amalgamation is very difficult.
• It is a continuous social process.

Assimilation

It is a social process where cultural traits of one group generally small and undeveloped get collapsed to the cultural traits of the next group.The concept of assimilation has been widely questioned in modern anthropology and most writers now argue for a more careful examination of the different dimension of cultural interchange and social dominance in the situation of contact between different socio-cultural systems.

Features:

• Assimilation is a slow process
• It includes all cultural process
• There must be two or more cultural groups for assimilation
• It is natural for socio-cultural change.

Competition

Competition as a social process is based on the fact that all people can never satisfy their desires. It takes place whenever there is an insufficient supply of things that human beings commonly desire. It takes place at the level of the group as well as at the level of an individual. It is the less violent form of opposition in which two or more persons or groups struggle for some end or goal. Attention is focused on rewards or goals rather than the competitor.

Features:

• Competition is universal.
• Competition is continuous.
• It is dynamic.
• It is a cause of social change.

Conflict

Conflict is a fundamental human and social trait. Conflict actually may strengthen a social organization. The development of society has been marked by a seamless struggle. Conflict its origin mostly brings negative result but it creates structural change in the society in a long term which is always positive. Conflict of some sort is a life of society, the progress emerges from a struggle in which each individual, classes or institution seek to realize its own idles of goods. The intensity of this struggle varies with the vigor of the people.

Features:

• Conflict is a universal social process.
• Conflict is conditioned by culture.
• Conflict may be personal or impersonal.
• Frustration and insecurity promote conflict.

Cooperation

Cooperation is one of the most basic and continuous social process. It generally means working together for the persuasion of a common interest or goal. It has made our social life possible and livable. Cooperation is both psychological and biological necessity and a social condition of man’s existence. Cooperation is a form of social interaction where two or more person works together to gain a common end. It is a process by which the individuals or groups combine their effort in a more or less organized way for the attainment of common objectives.

Features:

• Cooperation is a universal social process.
• Cooperation is boundless.
• It normally brings social progress, satisfaction, and contentment.
• It consists the members or individuals of a common goal and interest.

Integration

Integration is the harmonizing or unifying process. It refers to the process by which different races come to have closer social, economic and political relationship. The aim of integration is to maintain a harmonious and active relationship among the various structural component of the society. Integration is fitting together the parts of a social system to make a unified whole.

Features:

• Every element of the integrated groups has a common aim.
• Integration is the unified whole of different elements.
• There is an active relationship between cultural elements.
• Integrated people have strong feeling.

Socialization

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It is one of the social process in which the member of society and the family are socialized to the cultural traits or attributes of the society. It is also learning the process of the social norms and values, ethics and morals, rules and regulations, status and role as well as religion and culture. Here, an individual must learn what one should do and should not do which used are culturally and socially determined. To some up the concept of socialization implies that the process of becoming in cooperated into a specific culture and learning its norms and patterns.

Features:

• Socialization is a lifelong learning process.
• It is similar to enculturation and cultural assimilation.
• It is adaptive and continuous process of human beings.
• It is the process of becoming a functioning member of society.

Reference:

Khatri, Prem Kumar et.al., Elementary Sociology and Anthropology XI, Bhundipuran Prakashan, Kathmandu

Sharma, Kamal Raj, Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology inNepal-XI, Sunrise Prakashan Pvt. Ltd., Kathmandu

Sitaula, Mohan Kumar, Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology-XI, Ekta Books and Distributors, Kathmandu