Download Sociology Ch. 3 S. 3 Social Change

Sociology Ch. 3 S. 3
Social Change
Obj: Identify and describe the
main sources of social change;
Describe the factors that lead
people to resist social change.
All cultures change over time. Yet some cultures
change much faster than others. The pace of
change is closely related to the total number 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 employment and
affected they way people shopped, where they
lived, and what they did with their leisure time.
Sources of Social Change
The modern world changes rapidly. Each
week brings new material goods, new
styles of dress, new ways of doing things,
and new ideas. What causes all of these
changes? There are many factors that
stimulate change. This section addresses
six factors: values and beliefs, technology,
population, diffusion, the physical
environment, and wars and conquests.
Values and Beliefs
As functionalist 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 society. These
consequences are
particularly noticeable when
new values and beliefs are
part of a larger ideology.
An ideology 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
movement 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 peace
movement, the gay rights movement, and
the civil rights movement.
The consequences of shifts 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 legal and illegal means,
African Americans were denied the right to
vote or to hold public office.
Civil rights supporters staged boycotts,
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 outlawed the various
methods that had been used to deny
African American the vote.
The changes brought about
by the civil rights
movement transformed the
American political
landscape. Today African
Americans are a powerful
group of voters. The
number of African
American elected 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 southern states.
Technology
Social change also
occurs when people
find new ways to
manipulate their
environment. The
knowledge and tools
that people use to
manipulate their
environment are called
technology. Two ways
that new technologies
arise are through
discovery and
invention.
Discovery 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 fission, 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 oil shale as
fuel provided new resources for America’s
growing industrial society.
Invention 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 behavior. 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, religious movements, new
hobbies, and business organizations.
Population
A change in the size 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 arrival of
new groups of people with
their own unique cultural
traits, and values has
influenced American
culture. For example, food
brought to the country by
immigrant groups – such
as Mexican, Chinese, and
Italian food – have become
common in American
kitchens.
Population increases and decreases affect the
economy. By increasing the demand for goods
and services, a growing population may increase
employment and stimulate the economy. On the
other hand, a community with a declining
population may need fewer goods and services.
As a result, there may be limited employment
opportunities for the people who remain.
An increase in the general population also means
that there are more people occupying the same
amount of space, which creates more crowded
conditions. In addition, the larger population
brings increased demand for energy, food,
housing, schools, stores, and transportation.
People bring about changes simply by moving from
one place to another. When a family moves to a
new community, change is stimulated both in the
community it leaves and in the new community it
enters. Migrations of people within a country can
cause social changes, such as the loss of
regional distinction within the country.
Social and cultural changes also result from
changes in the average age of a population.
When fewer people are having babies, for
example, there is less need for schools,
recreation centers, and other services geared
toward children. The need for specialized
services geared toward elderly people, on the
other hand, increases as more people live longer.
Diffusion
People often borrow ideas, beliefs, and
material objects from other societies. This
process of spreading culture traits from
one society to another is called diffusion.
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 Internet,
diffusion takes place constantly.
Some culture traits 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
Christianity have blended Christian beliefs with
elements of their traditional religions.
Sociologists refer to this process of adapting
borrowed cultural traits as reformulation.
The Physical Environment
The environment provides
conditions that may
encourage or discourage
cultural change. People in
some societies wholly rely
on foods that they can grow
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 change.
Natural disasters 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. Dams
may be built to lessen the effects of floods
and droughts. People may also adopt new
construction methods to enable buildings
to better withstand earthquakes or
tornadoes.
A change in the supply of natural resources may
bring about cultural change. For example, in the
1970s high fuel prices and fuel shortages caused
long lines at American gasoline 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-efficient cars,
such as high-performance sports cars, increased
once again.
Wars and Conquests
Wars 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 September Il, 2001, some industries
contributed to the war on terrorism by providing military
supplies and services. War can also promote advances in
technology and medicine 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 opposition. 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 adapt. Changes in the role of
women in the workplace first met with some
resistance that has wained in recent years.
Ethnocentrism, cultural lag, and vested interests
are among the reasons that people resist cultural
change.
Ethnocentrism
Change that comes from
outside a society often meets
with particularly strong
resistance. People tend to
believe that their own ideas and
ways of doing things are best.
This tendency to view one's
own culture or group as
superior to others is called
ethnocentrism. Extreme
ethnocentrism can make
cultural borrowing difficult or
even impossible.
The "Buy American" campaign of the I970s and
1980s provides an example of how
ethnocentrism can affect one culture's
acceptance of another culture's material objects
and ideas. One target of the campaign was the
importation of Japanese 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 patriotic thing to do. Some
American autoworkers went further.
They demonstrated their feelings by publicly
demolishing 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 made 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
economic 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 rapidly, and the
transformation of others
may take considerable time.
This situation is called
cultural lag. Material
culture usually changes
faster and nonmaterial
culture lags behind. Often,
technological change
results in cultural lag.
Sociologist James M. Henslin identified the
traditional school year 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 summer 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 computers 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 technologynotably the "trapping" and storing of information
about users-have created questions concerning
privacy 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 resist 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 standard 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 replace them and cost them
their jobs.
Entire industries also have vested interests to
protect. Consider the American oil industries, for
example. During the energy 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 renewable fuels
One reason it was difficult to implement an
energy policy to permanently solve the
energy problems of the 1970s and 1980s
was that many people in the oil industry
benefited from the high prices of
petroleum products. To protect their vested
interests, oil companies and workers in the
oil industry have lobbied the government
to protect their industry and interests in the
energy issue.