Download Sociology Ch. 3 S. 3 Social Change

Sociology Ch. 3 S. 3
Social Change
Obj: Identify and describe the main ______________ of social change; Describe the
_______________ that lead people to resist social ________________.
All cultures _______________ over time. Yet some cultures change much faster than others.
The pace of change is closely related to the total _______________ of culture traits that a
culture has at a particular time. The more culture traits a culture has, the faster the culture
can change since more possibilities for change exist. The rate of change can also
accelerate because each change brings about other changes. For example, the invention
of the automobile did more than furnish Americans with a new form of transportation. It also
provided _________________ and affected they way people shopped, where they lived,
and what they did with their leisure time.
Sources of Social Change
The _______________ world changes rapidly. Each week brings new ______________
goods, new styles of dress, new ways of doing things, and new ideas. What causes all of
these changes? There are many factors that _________________ change. This section
addresses six factors: values and beliefs, technology, population, diffusion, the physical
environment, and wars and conquests.
Values and Beliefs
As __________________ sociologists have noted, society is a system of interrelated parts. A
change in one aspect of society produces change throughout the system. Changes in
values and beliefs, therefore, can have far-reaching consequences for ____________--.
These ________________________ are particularly noticeable when new values and
beliefs are part of a larger ideology.
An _______________ is a system of beliefs or ideas that justifies the social, moral, religious,
political, or economic interests held by a group or by society. Ideologies often are spread
through social movements. A social _________________ is a long-term conscious effort to
promote or prevent social change. Social movements usually involve large numbers of
people. Examples of social movements include the prohibition movement, the women’s
rights movement, the ____________ movement, the gay rights movement, and the civil
rights movement.
The consequences of ____________ in ideology can be seen by examining how the civil
rights movement changed politics in the US. As recently as the 1950s, African Americans
were forced to live as second-class citizens throughout the US, particularly in the South.
Laws limited where they could live, go to school, sit on buses, and eat lunch. Through
______________ and illegal means, African Americans were denied the right to ________
or to hold public office.
Civil rights supporters staged _______________, marches, and demonstrations to publicize
this situation. A surge of support for change among US citizens soon developed.
Responding to public pressure, Congress passed a number of civil rights laws, including
the voting Rights Act of 1965. This act ______________ the various methods that had
been used to ____________ African American the vote.
The changes brought about by the civil rights movement ___________________ the
American political landscape. Today African Americans are a powerful group of voters. The
number of African American ______________ officials has jumped from fewer than 1,500
in 1970 to nearly 9,000 by the end of the 1990s. More than half of these officials hold
offices in ____________________ states.
Technology
Social _____________ also occurs when people find new ways to manipulate their
environment. The knowledge and tools that people use to manipulate their _____________
are called __________________. Two ways that new technologies arise are through
discovery and invention.
_______________ occurs when people recognize new uses for existing elements in the world
or begin to understand them in new ways. Examples of discoveries include atomic
_____________, chewing gum, and oil shale. Oil shale was discovered by accident. Many
stones along the banks of the Colorado River contain rock shale saturated with oil.
According to one story, a man used these stones to construct a fireplace. When he lit a fire
in the fireplace, the fireplace itself burst into flames! Nevertheless, a new use of ______
shale as fuel provided new resources for America’s growing industrial society.
______________ occurs when people use existing knowledge to create something that did
not previously exist. Inventions can take the form of material objects, ideas, or patterns of
_________________. New tools, such as a gadget to take the pits out of cherries or a
computer small enough to hold in your hand, are examples of material inventions.
Examples of nonmaterial inventions include political movements, ______________
movements, new hobbies, and business organizations.
Population
A change in the __________ of the population may bring about changes in the culture. For
example, the population of the US has increased rapidly since the early 1900s. The ______
of new groups of people with their own unique cultural traits, and values has influenced
American culture. For example, _________ brought to the country by immigrant groups –
such as Mexican, Chinese, and Italian food – have become common in American kitchens.
________________ increases and decreases affect the economy. By increasing the demand
for goods and services, a growing population may increase employment and stimulate the
________________. On the other hand, a community with a declining population may need
fewer goods and services. As a result, there may be limited _____________________
opportunities for the people who remain.
An increase in the _____________ population also means that there are more people
occupying the same amount of space, which creates more crowded _______________. In
addition, the larger population brings increased _____________ for energy, food, housing,
schools, stores, and transportation.
People bring about changes simply by moving from one ______________ to another. When a
family moves to a new community, change is stimulated both in the community it leaves
and in the new ___________________ it enters. Migrations of people within a country can
cause social changes, such as the loss of regional distinction within the _____________.
Social and cultural changes also result from changes in the average age of a ____________.
When fewer people are having _____________, for example, there is less need for
schools, recreation centers, and other services geared toward children. The need for
specialized services geared toward _____________ people, on the other hand, increases
as more people live longer.
Diffusion
People often borrow ideas, _____________, and material objects from other societies. This
process of spreading culture traits from one society to another is called _______________.
The more contact a society has with other societies, the more culture traits it will borrow.
Today, with mass transportation and instant communication through radio, television, the
telephone, and the ________________, diffusion takes place constantly.
Some culture ___________ spread more rapidly than others. Generally, societies adopt
material culture and technology more freely than ideas and beliefs. For example, most
societies readily accept tools and weapons that are superior to their own. Societies often
adapt the culture traits they borrow to suit their own particular needs. For example, many of
the societies in Africa Asia, and South America that have adopted _______________ have
blended Christian beliefs with elements of their traditional religions. Sociologists refer to this
process of adapting borrowed cultural traits as ___________________.
The Physical Environment
The ________________ provides conditions that may encourage or discourage cultural
change. People in some societies wholly rely on foods that they can ___________ locally.
Other societies must import much of their food or adapt new crops to grow in their area.
The introduction of new foods or the scarcity of a familiar food can bring about cultural
______________.
Natural ________________ such as droughts, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and tidal
waves can also produce social and cultural change. These disasters can destroy whole
communities. Afterward, people often take precautions for the future. _________ may be
built to lessen the effects of floods and droughts. People may also adopt new construction
methods to enable buildings to better withstand ____________________ or tornadoes.
A change in the supply of natural _______________ may bring about cultural change. For
example, in the 1970s high fuel prices and fuel shortages caused long lines at American
_________________ stations. This shortage encouraged Americans to seek alternative
sources of energy and to develop smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. The search for
alternative forms of energy slowed in the 1980s in part because the fuel shortages eased.
In addition, the production of less-fuel-________________ cars, such as high-performance
sports cars, increased once again.
Wars and Conquests
________ and conquests are not as common as other sources of social change. However,
they probably bring about the greatest change in the least amount of time. War causes the
loss of many lives. It brings about the destruction of property and leads to the rise of new
cities and towns that must be built to replace those destroyed. In addition, war causes
changes in the economy as industry focuses on producing war materials rather than
consumer goods. For example, after ________________ 11, 2001, some industries
contributed to the war on terrorism by providing military supplies and services. War can
also promote advances in technology and _______________ that can have civilian
applications. War may also result in changes in government as new rulers come to power.
These changes may contribute to new economic policies and political rights.
Resistance to Change
Cultural change, regardless of its source, rarely occurs without some _________________.
For each change introduced in society, there are usually people who strongly oppose it.
Social changes often result from a compromise between opposing forces. This is true both
on an interpersonal level and on a societal level. Many people, after time, may accept a
new idea that they strongly resisted at first. Other people may never accept the new idea
but may simply ____________. Changes in the role of women in the workplace first met
with some resistance that has ___________ in recent years. Ethnocentrism, cultural lag,
and vested interests are among the reasons that people resist cultural change.
Ethnocentrism
The "Buy American" campaign of the I970s and 1980s provides an example of how
ethnocentrism can affect one culture's ________________ of another culture's material
objects and ideas. One target of the campaign was the importation of _________________
automobiles. Allowing these cars into the United States, campaign supporters said, would
put Americans out of work. Some Americans agreed with this view and refused to buy
Japanese cars, stating that this refusal was the ________________ thing to do. Some
American autoworkers went further.
They demonstrated their feelings by publicly ___________________ Japanese cars.
Nevertheless, Japanese cars were eventually accepted in the United States. Today it can
be difficult to differentiate between Japanese and American cars. Some Japanese cars are
now ___________ by American workers at factories in the United States. At the same time,
some American automobiles are assembled at factories in foreign countries. Ethnocentrism
and other ____________________ factors led to the anti-Japanese- car bias, which has
decreased in recent years.
Cultural Lag
Not all cultural traits change at the same rate. Some traits change _____________, and the
transformation of others may take considerable time. This situation is called
______________________. Material culture usually changes faster and nonmaterial
culture lags behind. Often, technological change _______________ in cultural lag.
Sociologist James M. ______________ identified the traditional school ________ as an
example of cultural lag. In the 1800s the United States was a largely rural agricultural
country. At that time, farming was a very labor-intensive activity. A long summer break from
school was needed so that children could work on the farms. Over time, technological
developments transformed the United States into a mostly urban and industrial country.
Today, therefore, a long ________________ break is not needed. Even so, the traditional
school year persists. Efforts to introduce year-round schooling have met with significant
opposition.
The development of ________________ and the Internet has led to a cultural lag. Computers
and the Internet offer many educational opportunities. However, because of costs and other
factors, some school districts have yet to put this new technology to effective use in the
classroom. In addition, some elements of Internet technology-notably the "____________"
and storing of information about users-have created questions concerning ____________
that the U.S. legal system is struggling to address.
Vested Interests
A person who is satisfied with the way things are now is likely to _____________ change.
Some individuals feel that the present, even if somewhat imperfect, is better than an
unknown future. They will resist any change that threatens their security or ____________
of living. In other words, they have a vested interest to protect. For example, workers may
oppose the introduction of new technology because they fear the technology may _______
them and cost them their jobs.
Entire _________________ also have vested interests to protect. Consider the American oil
industries, for example. During the _______________ crisis of the 1970s, oil prices rose
dramatically. While many people around the country called for a new energy policy, the oil
industry benefited from the rising prices. It was not until 1992, under President George
Bush, that the Energy Policy Act was passed. However, critics charged that the new policy
did not focus enough on conservation or on the use of ________________ fuels.
One reason it was difficult to implement an energy ______________ to permanently solve the
energy problems of the 1970s and 1980s was that many people in the oil industry benefited
from the high ____________ of petroleum products. To protect their vested interests, oil
companies and workers in the oil industry have ___________ the government to protect
their industry and interests in the energy issue.