To cooperation research methodology as a social institution: achievements and prospects

The study defines the concepts of cooperation and cooperatives in terms of humanities and natural sciences such as sociology, philosophy, history, psychology, and economics. The common characteristic of the diverse interpretations of the difficult public relations designated by the term ‘cooperation’ is the process of interaction, collaboration, and working together to achieve collective goals. Being a form of interaction, cooperation is a powerful factor in the group cohesion, stimulates solidarity and community spirit, intensifies communication process among cooperation members, and develops collective views, standards, and values. Besides, cooperation creates a particular social and psychological environment and develops the ability of the social group to attract new members and provide them with equal rights and opportunities for goal achievement. Moreover, it enhances the competitiveness of the group in general. In the context of the integrated sociological research on the institution of cooperation, the author first proposes to use the theories of relative deprivation, cooperation and competition by M. Deutsch and the classification of cooperation by R. Nisbett developed within social psychology in order to describe social motives of cooperation.