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Introduction – Social Change
Just like human beings can change their behaviour (psychology), societies
(sociology) and cultures (anthropology) can change as well. Agents of change and
impediments of change are important considerations for social scientists.
Social Change
- Refers to changes in the way society is organized, and in the beliefs and
practices of the people who live in it.
- Some change can be predicted with reasonable certainty
- The population of Canada will increase from 32 million
(2002) to 43 million (2031)
- It is more difficult, however, to predict the nature of the social change that will
accompany these changes
- Will the influence of organized religion grow or diminish?
Can change be predicted?
- It is extremely difficult to predict change with any degree of certainty
- Social scientists try to understand the nature of social change and what forces
drive it
- Most change occurs naturally, as a result of a multitude of factors operating
within society
Conditions for Social Change
“Everyone over the age of 40 is an immigrant” - Margaret Mead
Conditions for Social Change
Social institutions
- hold a fair degree of respect as long as they fulfill the needs of most people,
and the institutions themselves recognize that they must change over time as
conditions and prevailing popular opinions change.
- Change can be positive or negative, depending on your perspective - cut backs
in taxes
Leadership
- Social institutions hold a fair degree of respect as long as they fulfill the needs
of most people, and the institutions themselves recognize that they must
change over time as conditions and prevailing popular opinions change.
- Change can be positive or negative, depending on your perspective - cut backs
in taxes
Role of the Elites
- On many occasions in the life of a society, no single charismatic leader
appears. This does not mean the process of change stops.
- In many societies, there exists what is called one or more “modernizing elites”
- Groups of people who create significant social change and influence
the direction in which it goes
- Sheiks in Saudi Arabia
Is the Population ready?
 If a population is not ready for the kind of change a charismatic leader
proposes, nothing will happen. For the relationship to work, the vision has to
match the “mood” of the public
 Otherwise, no one will listen, and the potential leader will be quickly
forgotten.
 What makes a public ready for change?
 When their attitudes and factors change
Impediments (barriers) to Change
Traditional Cultural Values
 Traditional world view - pushing an adherence to old practices
 Holding on to traditional values and doctrines
 Same Sex Marriage
The Expense
 In Canada, a great deal of taxpayer’s money has been invested in programs to
achieve particular social goals (ie. Health care)
 Such programs are costly, and the demand for new programs to target other
social problems outstrips the ability or willingness of government to support
them all
 Government can only support programs that taxpayers are able to finance.
 Ex. Health care in the US,
Social Science Inquiry (Both Impediment or Support)
Participatory research - to produce knowledge to help motivate social
change and to empower an oppressed group
 The subject group itself participates in deciding what the goals and methods of
the study should be, and how the finding should be used
 Activism research aims to highlight and change social inequality, but it does
not require that the subject group participate.
Social Change – Student’s Copy
Directions: Identify agents of change and barriers of change for individuals, societies, and cultures by
considering the following scenarios.
Agent of Change: Reasons for change
Impediments of Change: Obstacles that prevent change
Psychology
Why do people change their behaviour?
Scenario 1: Student A tends to procrastinate. After years of this behaviour, Student A decides to stop
procrastinating.
A) What are the agents of change for Student A?
B) Why do you think this change occurred?
C) What were the impediments of change for Student A?
Sociology
Why do societies change?
Scenario 2: Women in Canada did not have the right to vote in federal elections until 1918.
A) What were the agents of change in Canada that led to women getting the right to vote?
B) Why do you think this change occurred?
C) What were the impediments of change for Canadian society?
Anthropology
Why do cultures change?
Scenario 3: Canadian culture today is different from Canadian culture in the nineteenth century.
A) What agents of change can you identify?
B) Why do you think these changes occurred?
C) What were the impediments for cultural change?
Social Change Organizer – Part I
Directions: Provide one major question that an anthropologist, psychologist, and sociologist might ask
regarding these particular social changes. Also provide Agents of change and impediments regarding each case.
Social Change
Case
Studies
More teenagers
have part-time jobs
today than five
years ago
The majority of
Canadians are
living longer
The number of
Canadians in
regular religious
attendance is
falling.
A new group of
young teenagers (10
to 12 years of age)
has become
increasingly
important to the
North American
economy. They
have been named
“tweens.”
Greater numbers of
North American
men are taking
parental leave today
than five years ago.
The Canadian
population is made
up of more diverse
cultural groups.
Anthropology
Question
Sociology
Question
Psychology
Question
Agents of
Impediments
Change(Cause) (Barriers)
Social Change Organizer – Part II
1) Directions: Predict the possible effects of these changes (case studies) on individuals, society, and Canadian
culture.
Social Change
Case Studies
More teenagers
have part-time jobs
today than five
years ago
Individual
Society
Canadian Culture
The majority of
Canadians are
living longer
The number of
Canadians in
regular religious
attendance is
falling.
A new group of
young teenagers (10
to 12 years of age)
has become
increasingly
important to the
North American
economy. They
have been named
“tweens.”
Greater numbers of
North American
men are taking
parental leave today
than five years ago.
The Canadian
population is made
up of more diverse
cultural groups.
2) Outline two appropriate social science research methods for examining this social change.
3) Explain the challenges (e.g., possible bias, ethical concern) that a social scientist would face in
examining social change with the research methods you recommended
Major Contributions to Understanding Social Change
Anthropology Theories About Social Change
Directions: Read the San of Southern Africa article on page 48-49 and answer questions 1,2 &3. Be sure to
define any terms.
1.
2.
3.
Describe the three forms of cultural adaptation on page 50-51. Define all terms that are associated with that
stage.
Adaptation
1
Description of Adaptation
2
3
Terms/Definitions:
Anthropologist Contributions
Task: Read over the brief summaries of social scientist contributions to the study of social change and complete
the questions that follow. Be prepared to explain your responses.
Cultural Change
Marvin Harris (b. 1927) was key in developing the anthropological school of cultural materialism. In terms of
social change, cultural materialists believe that human culture is shaped most significantly by the environment
(ecological, technological, and demographic forces) in which humans live.
Sherry Ortner (b. 1941) co-pioneered feminist anthropology. In her research, she found that male dominance
is a universal occurrence. At one time, she advocated that men develop and define culture. Women participate
in culture but remain closer to nature because of physiological differences. She developed an analysis for
recognizing and using key symbols in culture. She also helped to promote and define Practice Theory, the
examination of the things people do and say on a daily basis.
Ed Spicer (1906-1983) was an applied anthropologist who studied cultural change and agents of change,
focusing on the impact of European civilization on indigenous cultures. Spicer found that the social structure of
a contact community (e.g., Europeans) was a major acculturation determinant.
Questions
Think of cultural changes that have occurred in Canada over the last 100 years. According to Harris, Ortner, and
Spicer answer the following questions on the chart provided.
A) What were the main causes of this cultural change?
B) What impeded this cultural change?
C) What key questions might each social scientist have in their study of this change?
Anthropologist
Harris
Ortner
Spicer
Reason for Cultural
Change.
What impeded this
Cultural Change?
Key questions these
anthropologist would ask.
Psychology Theories of Social Change
Define Behaviour Modification:
Six Stages of Behaviour Modification (page 53)
Stage
Characteristic
Negative reinforcement:
Positive reinforcement:
Treating Mental Disorders – Change the individual
Describe the Three Categories of Mental Illness and define all the terms for each stage (page 54).
#
Categories of Mental Illness
1)
2)
3)
Psychologist Contributions
Task: Read over the brief summaries of social scientist contributions to the study of social change and complete
the questions that follow. Be prepared to explain your responses.
Personal Changes
Carl Jung (1875-1961) was the founder of analytical psychology. He developed the idea that human behaviour
was often motivated by opposite tendencies found in the “collective unconscious” (good and evil, male and
female etc.). He also developed a system of personality types such as extraverts and introverts. In terms of
social change, Jung would focus on the role of the human mind.
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) developed a theory of human motivation based on a hierarchy of needs (e.g.,
physiological needs, safety and security, belonging, esteem, self-actualization). Maslow believed that a person
must achieve the lower needs before moving on to the next level. Maslow believed that humans can control and
change their personality traits as they move upwards to reach their potential.
B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) advocated that learning occurs as a result of an organism responding to its
environment (operant conditioning). Skinner believed that behaviour is changed as a result of conditioning
(based on rewards and punishments). His theories are called “behaviourism.”
Questions
Review the case of the reformed student procrastinator.
A) Predict the hypotheses of Jung, Maslow, and Skinner regarding the causes of this personal change.
B) Predict what each social scientist might assert impeded personal change in this case.
C) What key questions might each social scientist raise in their study of this change?
Psychologist
Carl Jung
Abraham Maslow
BF Skinner
Hypotheses
Personal Change
Key Questions
Sociology Theories of Social Change
Directions: Use the textbook to answer the following questions.
Selected Sociological Factors That Can Cause Social Change (page 61)
Factor
Example Theory
Define the following terms:
Tension and Adaptation:
Accumulation:
Diffusion of Innovations:
Pluralistic Societies:
Elite Groups:
Capitalism:
Core:
Periphery:
Semi-periphery:
Private Sphere:
Discourse:
Textual Discourse:
According To
Sociologist Contributions
Task: Read over the brief summaries of social scientist contributions to the study of social change and complete
the questions that follow. Be prepared to explain your responses.
Societal Change
Dorothy Smith is a Canadian feminist sociologist who argues that women are excluded from major social
institutions of our culture and that men have traditionally appropriated and maintained power. Smith’s research
is based on the experience of women (feminist epistemology).
Immanuel Wallerstein (b.1930) is a social theorist who believes that the social science theories developed in
the nineteenth century (e.g., history as a linear process moving toward positive progress) are no longer valid. He
has developed the work of Karl Marx into a perspective called world systems theory. Wallerstein’s theory states
that capitalism involves unequal relationships among nations (not just unequal relationships between classes in
a single nation). Wallerstein examines conflict issues arising from a global economic system. His theories stress
the importance of economic change, not cultural change.
Marlene Mackie (b.1946) is a Canadian sociologist who writes extensively about the role of gender
socialization on the perception of gender roles and social behaviour. She believes that the ways in which boys
and girls are socialized in childhood affects the way they will perceive their roles in adulthood and the ways in
which social behaviour and social roles are established within societies.
Review the societal change in Canada that occurred when women gained the vote in federal elections.
A) Predict the hypotheses of Smith, Wallerstein, and Mackie regarding the cause of this societal change.
B) Predict what each social scientist might state would impediment this societal change.
C) What key questions might each social scientist raise in their study of this change?
Sociologist
Smith
Wallerstein
Mackie
Hypotheses
Impediment
Key Questions