Download Chapter 23, Social Change

Chapter 23, Social Change
Key Terms

Social change
Alteration of social interactions, institutions,
stratification systems, and elements of culture
over time.

Microchanges
Subtle alterations in the day-to-day interaction
between people.

Macrochanges
Gradual transformations that occur on a broad
scale and affect many aspects of society.

Unidimensional evolutionary theories
Argued that societies follow a single
evolutionary path from simple to highlydifferentiated, or from “primitive” to “civilized”.

Multidimensional evolutionary theory
(Neoevolutionary)
Gives a central role to technology as
responsible for change, but focused on other
relationships among institutions as well.

Cultural diffusion
The transmission of cultural elements from one
society or cultural group to another.

Globalization
The increased interconnectedness and
interdependence of different societies around
the world.

Modernization theory
States that global development is a worldwide
process affecting all societies touched by
technological change that has made societies
more homogeneous in terms of differentiation
and complexity.

World systems theory
Argues that all nations are members of a
worldwide system of unequal political and
economic relationships that benefit the
developed and technologically advanced core
nations at the expense of the less
technologically advanced and less developed
non-core (peripheral) nations.

Core nations
Nations, such as the United States, England,
and Japan, that produce goods and services
both for their own consumption and for export.

Noncore nations
Nations situated in Africa, Latin America,
South America, and parts of Asia. These
nations occupy lower positions in the global
economy, thus showing a stratification of the
global economy.

Cyclical theory
Theories of social change that invoke
patterns if social structure and culture that are
believed to recur at fairly regular intervals.

Dependency theory
Maintains that highly industrialized nations
tend to imprison developing nations in
dependent relationships rather than spurring
the upward mobility of developing nations
with transfers of technology and business
acumen.

Modernization
A process of social and cultural change that is
initiated by industrialization and followed by
increased social differentiation and division of
labor.

Gemeinschaft
A state characterized by a sense of fellow
feeling, strong personal ties, and sturdy
primary group memberships, along with a
sense of personal loyalty to one another.

Gesellschaft
A social organization characterized by a high
division of labor, less prominence of personal
ties, the lack of a sense of community among
the members of society, and the absence of a
feeling of belonging.

Other-directedness
The behavior of the individual is guided by
the observed behavior of others and is
characterized by rigid conformity and
attempts to “keep up with the Joneses”.

Inner-directedness
The individual is guided by internal principles
and morals and is relatively impervious to the
superficialities of those around her or him.

Tradition-directedness
Strong conformity to long-standing and timehonored norms, practices, and styles of life.