A Study On Group Process Among The Street Sleepers

Based on more than one year’s field research, the paper discusses the group process among street sleepers.The research finds that this process involves three stages:from the isolation with the original social relations to the adaptation of street life, from the sleepers who did not know each other to the small groups of geo-based sleepers, and the process to consolidate and reproduce the symbolic boundary between groups in the daily life practice from the social dimension and the social psychological level.This paper argues that the process of street sleepers, who escape from the mainstream society into the streets, requires at least four aspects:First, to adapt livelihoods. The second is to adapt to the urban space. The third is to adapt at the level of social relations. The fourth is to adapt at the social psychological level. To this article, the emotional and instrumental needs are the powers of small grouping process, sleeping space is an important link junction, and the way of small groups is spontaneous and natural.In this paper, the type of sleepers’small groups, structure, living, consumption, internal division of labor groups, groups of internal relationships and group norms of the interpretation are explained. It founds that it is in the practice of everyday life, the symbol boundary of the small groups is being consolidated and reproduced. Meanwhile, from the view of the perspective of social identity theory, the article discusses the three courses of individuals to identity the group which he or she belongs:social classification, social comparison and principles of positive distinguish.