Social Change and Its Models

Social Change

• Social change refers to changes in the way society is organized or changes in beliefs or practices of people who live in that society
• Social change can create problems and challenges the status quo
• Types of social change include:
  • Alternations in basic structures of a social group or society
  • Changes in social institutions
  • Changes in rules of accepted behavior
  • Changes in value systems
  • Changes in social relations between members of a society

Social Change Model

• Group Values:
  • Collaboration
  • Common purpose
  • Controversy with civility (politeness)
• Individual Values:
  • Consciousness of self
  • Congruence (compatibility)
  • Commitment
• Society Values:
  • Citizenship
  • Sociocultural evolution

Types of Social Change

• Paradigmatic change: A shift from one central point of view or way of thinking to another
  • Example: Feudalism to capitalism
• Social revolution: A large uprising to change the basic foundation of a society
  • Example: Late 1700s American revolution
• Social movement: Advocating and pushing for change
  • Example: Civil Rights Movement

Sociology and Change

• Focus of studies: Massive shifts in behavior and attitudes of groups or whole societies
• The Process: Change is inevitable, thus can be predictable or patterned
• Sociological theories on change:
  • Decay: Societies begin in an ideal state and decline as they become more materialistic and less spiritual
  • Cycles of Growth and Decay: Societies have ups and downs, advances and setbacks
  • Progress: Changes as the result of continual progress, always improving

Characteristics of Change

• Direction of Change: Positive or negative
• Rate of Change: Slow, moderate, or fast
• Factors affecting the rate of change
• Sources: Exogenous (from another society) or Endogenous (from within society)
• Controllability: In what ways can social change be controlled or engineered?

Types of Change

• Tension: When a part of society diverges from the rest and causes a disturbance
  • Example: Civil Rights Movement
• Accumulation: Humans gathering increasing amounts of knowledge and technology leads to change
  • Example: Agricultural Revolution
• Diffusion of innovation: An innovation is developed and becomes mainstream, fully integrated into society
  • Example: Adoption of smartphones

Anthropology and Change

• Focus of studies: Culture
• The Process: Constantly changing, gradual, and slow unless a culture is destroyed by another culture
• Parts of culture that can change:
  • Physical Environment
  • Level of Technology
  • Social Organization
  • Systems of Symbols