Social interaction is the foundation of society. It is the very essence of social life. Hence, the concept is crucial to any study of the dynamics of society. And nature without interaction there would be no group life. Thus, it can be said that interaction is the basic social process, the broadest term for describing dynamic social relationships. Social interaction represents the dynamic nature of human society.

It is true the life is stable, confined and defined by traditional systems, norms and patterned ways. Life is dynamic. People are on the move they are striving, competing, conflicting, Cooperation, appeasing, adjusting, reconciling and then challenging again. This action element or functional element itself represents social interaction.

Direct and Symbolic interaction:

Interaction may be direct or symbolic. Direct interaction refers to the activities of person which may be seen in such conduct as pushing fighting, pulling, embracing dishing or in other forms of bodily contact with other gestures and language, spoken one written. A symbol is a summary of the experience. It may represent an object, act, quality, value idea or any expected response. Language is the rich storehouse of such symbols.

The centre nature of interaction is inter stimulated and response. One stimulates the actions, thoughts or emotions of another persons and response to the similar behavior of the others. Interaction increases mental activity, fosters comparison of ideas, sets new tasks, accelerates and discovers the potentialities of the individual.

According to N. P. Gish: 

“Social interaction is the reciprocal influence human begins to exert on each other through inter stimulation and response”. 

According to Dawson and Gettys: 

“Social interaction is a process where by men interpenetrate the minds of each other”. Two conditions of Interaction: Park and Burgess are of the opinion that Contact and Communication are the two main condition of social interaction.

Contact: It is the first stage of interaction. Contact means simply a coming together of independent units. It involves a mutual response, an inner adjustment of behavior to the actions of others. 

The two kinds of contact are: 

1) Contact in time 

2) Contact in space. 

The first one refers to contact of a group with the earlier generations through customs, traditions, folkways, morals etc. The second one refers to the relationship between contemporary individuals and groups within a particular area. The contacts may be primary and personal or secondary and impersonal in nature.

Communication: It is the medium of interaction. In communication one person infers from the behavior of another the idea or feeling of the other person. It may take place at three levels-through the sense, the emotions and the sentiments and ideas. The first two are called the natural forms of communication.

They are common to man and the animals on the sensory level, seeing hearing, smelling and touching all play a role in evoking responses on the emotional level such thing as facial expression, blushing and laughing arouse response, communication on the third level, taking place through the intellect is strictly limited to men.

Direct and Symbolic interaction: 

Interaction may be direct or symbolic. Direct interaction refers to the activities of person which may be seen in such conduct as pushing fighting, pulling, embracing dishing or in other forms of bodily contact with other gestures and language, spoken or written. A symbol is a summary of experience. It may represent an object, act, quality, value idea or any expected response. Language is the rich storehouse of such symbols.

The centre nature of interaction is inter stimulated and response. One stimulates the actions, thoughts or emotions of another persons and response to the similar behavior of the others. Interaction increases mental activity, fosters comparison of ideas, sets new tasks, accelerates and discovers the potentialities of the individual.