What is Social Change?
Social change, in sociology, the alteration of mechanisms within the social structure, characterized by changes in cultural symbols, rules of behaviour, social organizations, or value systems. Throughout the historical development of their discipline, sociologists have borrowed models of social change from other academic fields. In the late 19th century, when evolution became the predominant model for understanding biological change, ideas of social change took on an evolutionary cast, and, though other models have refined modern notions of social change, evolution persists as an underlying principle. Examples of Social Change:
6. Political and Legal Power
a) Elected officials:
Redistribution of wealth: income and property taxes. Today: Sales tax, tax “relief” Pass laws: affirmative action, ability to sue insurance companies, increase minimum wage (leads to change in unemployment, part-time employment, health insurance premiums and coverage) b) Unelected officials
corporate power (jobs, goods and services and cost of, culture, donations to political campaigns interlocking directorates, inner circle/power elite
7. Ideology
a) Religious beliefs.
Rise of capitalism in U.S. due to religious beliefs and Protestant work ethic. Religious beliefs sometimes lead to revolution and civil wars which lead to new countries. b) Gender: names, jobs, welfare
c) Ideology often legitimizes inequality.
8. Diffusion:
Rate at which populations adopt new goods and services. Much of the material in this chapter can be applied to marketing (celebrity drink milk campaigns), public health (birth control in less developed countries) 9. Acculturation
Examples: Asian Americans, American Indians (Lumbee vs. Cherokee) Can prevent social change by preventing acculturation – example, China and the Cultural Revolution; Afghanistan, Iraq 10. Evolution
What is Cultural Change?
Culture change is a term used in public policy making that emphasises the influence of cultural capital on individual and community behavior. It places stress on the social and cultural capital determinants of decision making and the manner in which these interact with other factors like the availability of information or the financial incentives facing individuals to drive behavior. These cultural capital influences include the role of parenting, families and close associates; organisations such as schools and workplaces; communities and neighbourhoods; and wider social influences such as the media. It is argued that this cultural capital manifests into specific values, attitudes or social norms which in turn guide the behavioural intentions that individuals adopt in regard to particular decisions or courses of action. These behavioural intentions interact with other factors driving behaviour such as financial incentives, regulation and legislation, or levels of information, to drive actual behaviour and ultimately feed back into underlying cultural capital.
Examples of Cultural Change:
Corporate Culture
Culture at work can be shown in a variety of ways including how people dress, how the offices are designed, how the employees are treated and the way the company interjects its culture into its products services and how it projects itself to its customers. Culture of Diversity
You may live in a town that is very accepting of people of different races, genders, sexual orientations and national origins. The community calendar may be filled with festivals and events that include community members from different races and national origins.
Popular Culture
The activities of the citizens generate the popular culture. What you listen to, what you read, what you wear and how you speak are all examples of your popular culture.
Foreign Culture
You might visit a new country and marvel at the way in which people in that country talk, think or act. The language of a country binds together the citizens of a country and can allow for their effective communication. Dialects and accents can help identify the various subcultures within a country. The way a country approaches their culture is often reflected in how they spend their collective time, money and energies and may be reflective in how they establish their laws. The etiquette and customs of a country can play a key role in developing the appearance of a country. How a country acts is an important factor in the country’s fashion, language, family lives and business-to-business dealings.
Recognizing Examples of Culture
You may not think about being exposed to these different examples of culture every day, but you intuitively know that there are certain attitudes, feelings and ideas that exist when you go to a certain place. It can also instinctually tell the difference between different cultures.