A Study of Social Distance and Order of Preferences among Some Social and Caste Groups

The problem of intergroup relationship is one of the most vital problems that constitute the source of human conflicts. Although the general social pattern is bound to be a major influencing factor of the individual's behaviour, it must not be forgotten that the social unit or group which constitutes the immediate social environment plays a significant role in determining the behaviour patterns, modes of expression, emotion and action. Owing to sectional isolation (i.e. being forced by necessity to live in a certain , place and amidst certain types of people over a considerable stretch of t ime), human beings are prone to develop particular habits of thinking and living that are sometimes quite different from those of others living in a different sectional isolation. Thus we arrive at a concept of group as the central factor in social dynamics. The study of social organisation deals primarily with the significant grouping of individuals.