Introduction to Sociology

What is Sociology?

 ...is the scientific study of human behavior in groups and

of the social forces that influence that behavior.
 ...the scientific study of human society and social
behavior.
 Sociology - A systematic and objective study of society and
social behavior.
Sociology and Common Sense

 Common sense assumptions are usually based on very limited

observation.
 Moreover, the premises on which common sense assumptions are
seldom examined.
 Sociology seeks to:
• use a broad range of carefully selected observations; and
• theoretically understand and explain those observations.
 While sociological research might confirm common sense
observation, its broader base and theoretical rational provide a
stronger basis for conclusions.
Sociology and Science
The Scientific Method

 Science is “...a body of Analyze Data

systematically arranged
knowledge that shows the
Gather Data
operation of general laws.”
 As a science, sociology
employs the scientific Choose research design
method
Formulate hypotheses

Review of literature
Sociology and the Social Sciences

 Cultural Anthropology
 Psychology
 Economics
 History
 Political Science
 Social work
The Development of Sociology

 Sociology emerged as a separate discipline in

the nineteenth century
 This was a time of great social upheaval due
largely to the French and Industrial Revolutions
 Several early sociologists shaped the direction
of the discipline
Auguste Comte (1798-1857)

 Responsible for coining the term

“sociology”
 Set out to develop the “science of man” that
would be based on empirical observation
 Focused on two aspects of society:
• Social Statics—forces which produce order and
stability (the study of conditions and pre
conditions of society)
• Social Dynamics—forces which contribute to
social change (The study of Progress and
Evolution)
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

 Authored the first sociology text,

Principles of Sociology
 Most well known for proposing a
doctrine called “Social Darwinism”
• Suggested that people who could not
compete were poorly adapted to the
environment and inferior
• This is an idea commonly called survival of
the fittest
Karl Marx (1818-1883)

 Marx is the father of conflict theory

 Saw human history in a continual state of
conflict between two major classes:
• Bourgeoisie—owners of the means of
production (capitalists)
• Proletariat—the workers
 Predicted that revolution would occur
producing first a socialist state, followed
by a communist society
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

 Durkheim moved sociology fully into the

realm of an empirical science
 Most well known empirical study is called
Suicide, where he looks at the social
causes of suicide
 Generally regarded as the founder of
functionalist theory
Max Weber (1864-1920)

 Much of Weber’s work was a critique or clarification

of Marx
 His most famous work, The Protestant Ethic and
the Spirit of Capitalism directly challenged Marx’s
ideas on the role of religion in society
 Weber was also interested in bureaucracies and the
process of rationalization in society
Theoretical Perspectives: Functionalism

 Functionalism sees society as a

system of highly interrelated parts
that work together harmoniously
 The image that functionalists use to
understand society is a living
organism
 Each part of society works together
for the benefit of the whole much
like a living organism
Theoretical Perspectives: Conflict
Theory
 Conflict theory is grounded in the work of Karl Marx
 Society is understood to be made up of conflicting interest
groups who fight for power and privilege
 This dynamic results in continuous social change, which is
the normal state of affairs
 Conflict theory focuses heavily on inequality and differential
distribution of power and wealth
Theoretical Perspectives: The
Interactionist Perspective
 George Herbert Mead developed this theory.
 Focuses on how individuals make sense of and
interpret the world. It is the study of how individuals
shape society and are shaped by society through
meaning that arises in interactions.
 This perspective tends to focus on the “micro-order” of
small groups
 Has given rise to several specific approaches:
 Symbolic Interactionism developed by George Herbert Mead
 Ethnomethodology developed by Harold Garfinkel
Social Processes & Social
Interaction
 Status

 Status and role theory was developed by Ralph Linton

 Status – a social position that an individual occupies.
 Every status is part of our social identity.
 It defines who and what we are in relation to others.
 Status

 A status set – all of the statuses a person holds at a given

time.
Status

 Ascribed status – a social

position a person receives at
birth or assumes involuntarily.
 Status

Achieved status – a social

position a person assumes
voluntarily that reflects
personal ability.
 A Master Status
 Some statuses matter more than others, often shaping a
person‟s entire life.
 A master status – a status that has special importance for
social identity.
 Role

 Role –expected behavior of someone who holds a

particular status.
 Role performance varies according to personality.
 Role set – a number of roles attached to a single
status.
 Status & Role

 "Role" is what the doctor does (or, at least, is expected to

do), while status is what the doctor is. In other words,
"status" is the position an actor occupies, while "role" is the
expected behavior attached to that position.
 People occupy status. People perform roles.
Status Set and Role Set
 Role Conflict and Role Strain

 Role conflict – conflict between roles corresponding to

two or more statuses.
 When we experience being pulled in several different
directions.
Role Conflict and Role Strain

Role strain – tension among roles

connected to a single status.

Performing various roles attached

to one status feels like a
“balancing act.”
 Role Exit
 Role exit – the process by which people disengage from
important roles
 Role Exit

Non Coined Terms Coined Terms

 Ex-doctor  Retiree
 Ex-convict  Divorcee
 Ex-baseball  Widow
player  Alumnus
 Ex-president
 Social Interaction

 The process by which people act and react in relation to

others.

 Strauss(1968)
 defines social interaction as the way persons or groups
act or communicate with one another
 Concept of Social Processes

 We use the term social processes to describe the types of

interaction that go on in relationships.
 As members of a society interact with each other,
different social processes take place in the organized life
of society.
 Sociologists are interested in studying and analyzing these
repetitive forms or patterns of behaviors, actions, and
reactions.
 Micro and macro levels
 Modes of Social Processes

 Sociologists have classified and discussed social relationships

in terms of kinds of interaction.
 The major forms of social interaction are:
 Cooperation
 Competition
 Conflict
 Accommodation
 Assimilation
 Cooperation

 Cooperation occurs when people work together to achieve

shared goals
 Cooperation is a social process whereby people join hands
towards achieving common goals
 Spouses cooperate in raising their children
 Cooperation also operates at a much broader social level
 nation’s citizens may support higher taxes to provide health
care for the needy.
 Cooperation

 Individuals are most likely to cooperate when faced with

a common threat, when cooperation seems in their
economic self-interest, when they share a sense of
community identity, and when they value belonging to a
community
 Two modes of cooperation in a
Social life
 Direct cooperation – includes “those activities in which
men do like things together ” – play together , worship
together , etc.
 Collective goals in our social life cannot be achieved without
cooperation
 Indirect cooperation – is found wherever people perform
unlike tasks towards a single end – like where there is a
division of labor or mass production.
 All the progress that mankind has made in various fields is to
be attributed to the cooperating spirit of the people.
 Definitions of Competition

 Competition is the process where by individuals, groups,

societies, and countries make active efforts to win
towards getting their share of the limited resources.
 Competition is any struggle over scarce resources that is
regulated by shared rules.
 Competition is that form of social action in which we
strive against each other for the possession of or use of
some limited material and non-material good.
 It is an impersonal attempt to gain scarce and valued
resources of wealth, land, health care services, etc.
 Competition

 In our society, for instance, there is competition for jobs,

for goods, power , social position, fame and all other
things one cannot get by mere asking.
 It performs many useful functions in our society.
 Competition tends to stimulate economy, efficiency, and
inventiveness. It tends to increase one’s ego and to give
one satisfaction
 Competition

 One positive consequence of competition is that it

stimulates achievement and heightens people‟s
aspirations.
 It also, however, often results in personal stress, reduced
cooperation, and social inequalities.
 As a result of competition, stratification, physical
separation and so on may happen in a given society.
 Competition involves

 struggle,
 efforts,
 decisions,
 actions, etc.,

 To survive Competition is balanced by

 Cooperation.
 Conflict
 Conflict is a struggle over limited resources that is not
regulated by shared rules; it may include attempts to destroy,
injure, or neutralize one‟s rivals.
 That form of struggle in which “men contend against one other
for any object”
 Whether the conflict is between warring superpowers or
warring street gangs, the „us against them‟ feeling that
emerges from conflict with outsiders causes group members to
put aside their jealousies and differences to work together
 In the process of competition for power (which could be
economic, social, and political) and resources, conflict is
bound to take place.
 Conflict Involves

 Disagreement and disharmony, which results due to

differences in ideology, living standard, and other social
factors.
 Conflict is universal phenomenon, an ever- present reality,
taking place both at micro and macro levels.
 Clash of interest between individuals in a social groups
 Family
 Work
 Societies etc
 Conflict

 It results due to power imbalance, unfair distribution of

resources.
 It produces social class and stratification.
 Conflict may be between males and females, youngster
and older generation; between different religious,
ethnic and, political groups.
 Accommodation

 Accommodation is a social process whereby people try

to accept one another, avoiding the sources of conflict
to live in peaceful coexistence.
 Accommodation is the term used by the sociologists to
describe the process by those once in conflict who can
work together in common enterprises.
 It is a conscious adjustment and compromise among
conflicting groups so that they can live with one another
without overt conflict.
 Assimilation

 Assimilation is a social process whereby a group of

individuals learns and accepts the values, norms, etc., of
another group and becomes sometimes virtually identical
with the dominant groups.
 Assimilation is the process whereby persons and groups
acquire the culture of the other persons and groups in
which they come to live – by adopting its attitudes and
values and its way of life.
 Assimilation

 Assimilation is therefore, another form of interaction

which cannot be neglected in the social process. But the
same time , the extreme differences in cultural
background, prejudice and physical differences usually Act
as barriers to assimilation.
 Assimilation involves the acceptance or the internalizing
of the larger or dominant group's culture, values and life
styles by the smaller or minority group.
 Assimilation could imposed or voluntary.
Social Groups
Observations & Common Sense:
Questions
 Three Strangers standing on a street. Is it a group ?
 10 patients in a ward. Is it a group ?
 500 students at UIPT. Is it a group ?
?
 Answer: According to sociology
Social Group

 Social group is a collection of two or more people who

interact frequently with one another, share a sense of
belonging and have a feeling of interdependence.
 Individuals who share common features or who are at the
same time and place constitute a group.
Aggregate
 A collection of people who happen to be in the same
place at the same time but share little else in common
 Examples
 People at signal waiting it to open constitute an
aggregate.
 Persons shopping in a departmental store
 Passengers on an airplane
 People sharing common purpose (arriving at certain
destination but don’t interact frequently)
Category
 Examples
 Educational level, Age group, Gender, Race (Butt, Khan)
 Categories are not social groups because people in
them do not usually create a social structure or have
anything in common other than a particular trait.
 Occasionally people in categories or aggregates form
a social group.
 Graduate students may become aggregate as they get
together at college , some of them may form a social
group.
Social Categories and Aggregates

 Groups are sometimes mistaken with social

categories and social aggregates.
 Social Categories: People who share a social
characteristics
 Example: High school seniors, women

 Social Aggregate: People who happen to be at the

same place at the same time
 Example: People waiting in line at the airport
Types of groups By C.H. Cooley

 Primary group
 Secondary group
Primary Group
 A Small less specialized group in which members engage in face to
face emotional based interactions over an extended period of time.
 What is a primary group ?
 The term was first used by Symbolic Interactionist Charles Cooley
 A primary group is made up of people who are emotionally close, know
each other well and seek each other’s company
 People in these groups have primary relationships (relationships that are
intimate, caring and fulfilling)
 Primary groups are important in socialization
 People participate in primary groups throughout their life (Permanent)
How do they develop?

 There are several factors that are preferable for the

development of primary groups
 Small Size: It is hard to develop close personal relationships in
large groups. Small groups are needed to get to know people well.
 Face to Face Contact: F to F contact allows people to
communicate with non verbal's.
 Continuous Contact: People need to meet on a regular basis to
develop a primary relationship.
 Proper Social Environment: The environment where the
interaction takes place needs to be suitable to the relationship.
What are their Functions?

 There are 3 important functions of Primary

Groups
 Emotional Support: Strong support ties keep you going
in difficult times
 Socialization: Teaches children and later adults how to
participate in social life as well as norms and values
 Encourage Conformity: Apply pressure to conform to
their norms and values
Secondary Group

 A Larger group, More specialized, in which members

engage in more, impersonal goal oriented relationships for
a limited period of time.
 The size of secondary group may vary.
Secondary Group

 People who share only part of their lives while focusing on

a goal or task
 These impersonal relationships exist only to accomplish a
specific purpose
 Members of these groups interact involving only parts of
their personality
 Secondary Relationships: impersonal relationship involving only
parts of the personality
 Examples:
 Employers/Workers, Clerks/Customers
Sumner`s In groups and Out groups
 All Groups set boundaries, who are insiders and who are outsiders

In Group
 In group is a group to which a person belongs and with which the
person feels a sense of identity

Out Group
 Out group is a group to which a person does not belong and toward
which a person may feel a sense of competitiveness or hostility.
In Group & Out Group

 Group boundaries may be formal with defined criteria

for membership
 Membership of Lahore gymkhana
 Friendships groups may not have clear guide lines for
membership
 The boundaries may be informal and vaguely defined
In group and out group may promote

 Classism
 Racism
 Ageism

 Members in a group view them self positively and

members of other groups negatively
References groups

 A reference group is a group that strongly influences a

persons behavior and social attitudes regardless of
whether that individual is an actual member.
 Example
 We refer to our membership groups
 Professional groups
 We accept the norms and values of group which we identify
 We behave as a member of a group to which we belong
Culture
Culture

 Culture is everything which is socially learned and shared

by members of a society.
What is Culture ?
Basics in Sociology
 Language, Beliefs, Values, Norms, Behavior Passed
from One Generation to the Next
 Material – Jewelry, art, buildings, etc.
 Nonmaterial – beliefs, values, etc.
Material and Nonmaterial Culture

 Material Culture includes all those things that humans

make or adapt from the raw stuff of nature: houses,
computers, jewelry, oil paintings, etc (Stick from the
forest might be a part of material culture)
 Nonmaterial culture is a group's way of thinking
(including its beliefs, values) and doing (its common
pattern of behavior, including language and other forms
of interaction)
Culture determines…

 Food we eat
 Clothing
 Music
 Games we play
 How to express emotions
 What is good or bad
Culture and appearance
Society vs. Culture

 Society refers to a group of people who are relatively

self-sufficient and who share a common territory and
culture
 Members of the society preserve and transmit it from one
generation to the next (through literature, art, video
recording and other means of expression)
Diffusion

 Is the process by which a cultural item is spread from

group to group or society to society
Elements of Culture

 Symbols
 Language
 Values
 Norms
 Beliefs
Symbols
 A symbol is anything that carries a particular meaning
recognized by people who share a culture.
 A word, a whistle, a wall covered with graffiti, a flashing
red light, a raised fist all serve as symbols.
 Winking an eye, which can convey interest, understanding,
or insult
 Symbolic meanings also vary within a single society. To some
people in the United States, a fur coat represents a prized
symbol of success, but to others it represents the inhumane
treatment of animals
Symbols

13
Language

 Language, the key to the world of culture, is a system of

symbols that allows people to communicate with one
another.
 Humans have created many alphabets to express the
hundreds of languages we speak.
 Language not only allows communication but is also the
key to cultural transmission, the process by which one
generation passes culture to the next.
Values

 Values are culturally defined standards that people use to

decide what is desirable, good, and beautiful and that
serve as broad guidelines for social living.
 Values define what is desirable and morally correct;
thus, values determine what is considered right and
wrong, beautiful and ugly, good and bad.
Beliefs

 Beliefs are shared ideas held collectively by people within

a given culture about what is true. Shared beliefs are part
of what binds people together in society.
 Beliefs are specific thoughts or ideas that people hold to
be true.
Norms

 Norms are the specific cultural expectations for how to

behave in a given situation.
 Norms are rules and expectations by which a society
guides the behaviour of its members.
 For example, when joining a line, there is an implicit
norm that you should stand behind the last person, not
barge in front of those ahead of you.
Folkways and Mores

 Folkways - Norms not strictly enforced

 Walking on the right side of the sidewalk
 Holding a door
 Mores - Core Values: We insist on conformity
 Taboo – Most extreme more
 Law
Folkways

 Folkways are the norms for routine or casual interaction.

 A man who does not wear a tie to a formal dinner party
may raise eyebrows for violating folkways.
Mores

 Norms that are widely observed and have great moral

significance.
 If, however, he were to arrive at the party wearing only a
tie, he would violate cultural mores and invite a more
serious response.
LAWS

 Laws, the written set of guidelines that define right and

wrong in society.
 Basically, laws are formalized mores. Violating mores can
bring serious repercussions. When any social norm is
violated, the violator is typically punished
Sanctions

 Sanctions are penalties and rewards for conduct

concerning a social norm
 Conformity to a norm can lead to positive sanctions such
as pay raise, a medal, a word of gratitude, or a pat on a
back
Norms and Sanctions
Sanctions
NORMS
Positive Negative

Salary bonus Fine

Formal
Medal Jail sentence
Social Control

 Social control is the attempts by society to regulate

people’s thoughts and behaviour.
 Doing wrong can cause both shame (the painful sense that
others disapprove of our actions) and guilt (a negative
judgment we make of ourselves). Of all living things, only
cultural creatures can experience shame and guilt.
Cultural Shock
 Cultural shock- is the disorientation that people experience
when they come in contact with a fundamentally
different culture and can no longer depend on their taken-
for-granted assumptions about life
 A North American who asks for a steak in an Indian
restaurant may unknowingly offend Hindus, who consider
cows sacred and never to be eaten.
Culture Shock

 Segments of the populations

of Australia, Asia, and Africa
consume protein-rich insects.
In the photograph, a woman
enjoys a dry-roasted insect
High Culture and Popular Culture

 High culture to refer to cultural pat- terns that distinguish

a society’s elite.
 Popular culture to designate cultural patterns that are
widespread among a society’s population.
Attitudes toward Cultural Variation

 Ethnocentrism is a tendency to evaluate and judge the

customs and traditions of others according to one’s own
cultural tastes, beliefs, and standards
 We learn that the ways of our own group are good,
right, proper, and superior to other ways
Ethnocentrism

 Has both positive and negative consequences

 On the positive side, it creates in-group loyalty
 On the negative side, ethnocentrism can lead to harmful
discrimination against people whose ways differ from
ours
Attitudes toward Cultural Variation

 Cultural relativism is the principle of regarding the

beliefs, values, and practices of a culture from the
viewpoint of that culture itself
 Cultural relativism is a tendency to understand and
evaluate a culture in the context of its own special
circumstances
 None of us can be entirely successful at practicing cultural
relativism
 We cannot help viewing a contrasting way of life through
the lens that our own culture provides
Xenocentrism

 Reverse to ethnocentrism
 Xenocentrism is the belief that the products, styles, or
ideas of one’s society is inferior to those that originate
elsewhere
 People in the U.S. assume that French fashion or Japanese
electronic devices are superior to our own
Characteristics of Culture

 Culture is shared
 Culture is learned
 Culture is taken-for-granted
 Culture is symbolic
 Culture varies across time & place
Subculture
 The term subculture refers to cultural patterns that set
apart some segment of a society’s population.
 A subculture is a culture within a broader mainstream
culture, with its own separate values, practices, and
beliefs.
 Subculture - A World Within the Dominant Culture
 Example – Physicians
 Tens of thousands of subcultures
 Some broad – Some specific
Counter Culture

 Counterculture refers to cultural patterns that strongly

oppose those widely accepted within a society.
 Countercultures - Groups With Norms and Values at Odds
With the Dominant Culture
 countercultures in the U.S. could include the hippie
movement of the 1960s, and feminist groups.
Course name: Sociology
Course code: SOC 845/11
Socialization & Personality
Development

Saba Afzal Chaudhary

Orthotist & Prosthetist (K.E.M.U)
University Institute of Physical Therapy
The University of Lahore
Learning outcomes:
 Students will demonstrate knowledge of core sociological concepts.
 Students will demonstrate knowledge of how to use theory to conceptualize a
sociological problem.
 Students will develop an ability to use social scientific research methods to
address sociological questions.
 Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate sociological knowledge
to others.
 Students will develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to be
engaged members of the community.
 Students will possess analytical skills in areas such as policy analysis,
administration/management, communication, quantitative analysis and
problem solving.
Socialization

 Is the process whereby the cultural

heritage is socially transmitted from one
generation to another
 Refers to that lifelong process of learning
and relearning as people move from
different stages of growth and
development, or from one social group to
another (Panopio, 1996)
Socialization
 Is the process by which we acquire those
modes of thinking, feeling, and acting that
are necessary to participate effectively in
the larger community.
 Is the process by which we acquire social
identities and internalize the values and
roles of our social world. (D. Light, 1995)
 Is the process by which a society transmits
its cultural values to individuals in order
that they can function properly as its
members. It is a process whereby a person
acquires and internalizes the behavior,
concepts, knowledge and skills that are
essential for social living. (Conklen, 1984)
Socialization
 Isthe process of fitting into an organized
way of life and established cultural
tradition; it includes the complementary
process of transmission of the culture and
social heritage and the development of
personality. (Broom and Selznick, 1977)
 Isthe learning process where the individual
acquires a status, plays a corresponding
role and emerges with a personality.
Types of socialization:

 Primary socialization
 Secondary socialization
 Developmental socialization
 Anticipatory socialization
 Re-socialization
Personality
 Is the organization of the biological,
psychological, social, cultural and moral
factors which underlie a person’s behavior. It
refers to a more or less enduring organization
of forces within the individual, associated with
a complex of fairly consistent attitudes, values
and modes of perception which account, in
part, for the individual’s consistency of
behavior (Barrnow 1963)
Personality
 Refersto the sum total of all the physical
or biological, psychological or mental,
social or cultural, emotional, and spiritual
traits of a person which underlie his
behavior and which makes him distinct,
unique, or different from all the others.
 The way by which individual is interrelated
through ideas, actions, and attitudes to the
nonhuman aspects of his environment and
biological heritage. Thus, an understanding
of the interrelationships of personality and
environment is necessary for a better
understanding of human behavior (Dewey
and Humber, 1966)
Factors that influence personality
development
Personality is the by-product of the socialization
process and is largely determined by the
interplay of heredity and environment.
1. Biological Inheritance or heredity
2. Environment
a. Geographic Environment
b. Cultural Environment
c. Social Environment
Relatives roles of heredity &
environment in
 Heredity and environment (nature and
nurture) interact in complex ways in
forming our social identities.
 Heredity provides the raw materials or the
potentialities for growth and personality
formation.
 Environmentprovides the opportunity,
nurturance and stimulation that would
determine whether the inherited biological
makeup would be developed or stunted.
Socialization for sex roles

 Sex
 refers to the general classification of
human beings as males and females based
on the differences of their primary sex
organs and their anatomical biological
characteristics.
Gender

 connotes the
physical, social and
cultural differences
between males and
females.
 refers to the
conception that
we have of
ourselves as men
or women.
 orsocialization for sex roles begins at
birth.

20
 Girlsare often
described as “weak”,
“soft”, “fine-
featured”,
“delicate”,
“modest”, and
“fragile”.
 Boys are
described as
“strong”, “firm”,
“large-featured”,
“well
coordinated” and
“hard”.
 Girls are
supposed to be
pretty, gentle,
clean, neat,
sweet, cultured,
obedient,
popular, and
dependent.
 Boys are supposed
to be clever,
strong, aggressive,
fearless, assertive
and independent.
 Childrenare generally
trained for work
appropriate for their
sex (Pal 1956). Boys
are trained to follow
their father’s work,
run errands, gather
firewood, fetch water,
etc.
 Girlshelp their mother in cooking, cleaning
the house, washing and taking care of
younger siblings.
 The woman is
expected to be
“feminine”,
seductive,
beautiful,
educated, as well
to be a companion
to her husband,
mother to her
children, and
 Themale is expected
to be “macho”, that
is, showing sexual
prowess and being
dominant, virile,
courageous, decision
maker, and
adventurous
 .He is expected to be a good provider and
breadwinner, to become the head and
guardian of the family. (Jocano, 1998)
 Thereare also distinctive college courses for
males and females.
 Education, home economics, social work,
nutrition, secretarial and the like are regarded
as women’s courses, while mathematics,
natural science, political science, engineering,
aviation, medicine and law are regarded as
more fitting for men.
 The jobs or occupations considered as
feminized occupations include teaching,
nursing, sales work, and marketing,
overseas domestic helping, secretarial
work, beauticians, hairdressers,
receptionists, and guest relations officer
are, generally, women.
 On the other hand, masculine occupations
include administrative and managerial
works, highly skilled and technical
occupations, military and police work,
tenancy, and farm labor, transport and farm
fishing.
Reference:

Lecture notes
For health sciences students
Introduction to sociology
EPHTI
By
Zerihun Doda M.A
Debub University
Course name: Sociology
Course code: SOC 845/11
Social Change…
Saba Afzal Chaudhary
Orthotist & Prosthetist (K.E.M.U)
University Institute of Physical Therapy
The University of Lahore
Learning outcomes:

 Students will demonstrate knowledge of core sociological

concepts.
 Students will demonstrate knowledge of how to use theory to
conceptualize a sociological problem.
 Students will develop an ability to use social scientific
research methods to address sociological questions.
 Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate
sociological knowledge to others.
 Students will develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes
necessary to be engaged members of the community.
 Students will possess analytical skills in areas such as policy
analysis, administration/management, communication,
quantitative analysis and problem solving.
What is Social
Change?
 Social Change: Changes in the way
society is organized, and the beliefs
and practices of the people who believe in
it

 All societies are involved in a process of

social change, however this change may
be so subtle and slow that society is hardly
aware of it
 The opposite of social change is social
continuity which means that there are
structures within society which are built to resist
change.

©Pine Forge Press, an imprint of Sage

Publications, 2008.
 Examples of Social
Change

Question: How has public opinion

shifted regarding social issues such
as:
-Smoking
-Domestic Violence
-Divorce
-Abortion
-Homosexuality
 Social Change: An Introduction

 Change is a general phenomena that

being occurred in society very much. In
an another sense, society is always in
changing process .
 Society can never stopped in a specific
way .
 Changes are either in positive way or in
negative way in society.
8
 Social Change
 Changes or mobilization in different
institutions are both of backward mobility
or in upward mobility. As changes occur,
people of the earth are living in the so-
called civilized world. Such as changes
from primitive society to modern society
to post modern society .

9
 Definition of Social Change
Social change is a general term which refers:
a) To change in the nature, the social
institutions, the social behaviour or the
social relations of a society, community of
people, or other social structures.

10
 Causes of Social Change
The causes of social change below affect or
characterize every aspect of society across the
world.
On a macro scale: They shape all of our
major social institutions such as economics,
politics, religion, family, education,
science/technology, military, legal system, and
so on.
On a micro scale: They shape values,
11
attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of human
What are some of the sources of change in
our society?

 Single dramatic event

 Cultural and technological
innovations
 Shifting population size
 Environmental pressures
 Diffusion from other
cultures
 Media
 Others?
Major source of change:
Technological advancement
 Technological change may
be one of most accelerated
 Computers have become
indispensable
 Convenience and access to
information
 Negatives?
 Loss of privacy
 Blurring of traditional lines
between work and home
Rising Expectations
 When conditions at their worst,
many solely focused on survival
 People more likely to seek
social change when living
conditions have improved
somewhat
 Chance for change seems
possible
 Major source of change:
Social Movements
 Social movement Continuous, large-
scale, organized collective action
motivated by the desire to stop, or reverse
change in some area of society
 Types of movements
 Alternative Movement

 Redemptive MovemenT

 Transformative Movement

 Revoutionary Movement
Power of the Individual(s)?
 Sociologist Max Weber claimed that one of
the most important components of social
change was a LEADER with CHARISMA
(large vision, magnetic style, strong popular
support and extraordinary character). This
leader places great demands on his or her
followers, promises rewards for their support .
Examples?
Conformity of the
People
 Conformity is the act of maintaining
a certain degree of similarity
(in clothing, manners, behaviors,
etc.) to those in your general social
circles, to those in authority, or to
the general status quo.
 Informational Influence: human desire
to accept information that another,
admired person tells us is valid (ie. Parent,
teacher, coach)
 Normative Influence: pressure to
conform to the positive expectations of
others (ie. Follow in footsteps of parent’s
career)
©Pine Forge Press, an imprint of Sage
Publications, 2008.
 Causes of Social Change
1.Technological and Economic Changes-
a) Agricultural advancements:
Examples include irrigation, plow system,
cotton industry that develop the surplus food
which lead to population growth and
urbanization. People were able to work
outside of the farm.
b) Industrialization :
The process of changing from a manual 19

labor force to a technology driven labor

 Causes of Social Change
Lead to changes in (by Industrialization ):
a. Work place, people work outside of the
home/community which lead to changes in
gender activities .
b. Work became centered and organized around
machines.
c. Weapons production – guns, nuclear
weapons.
d. Informative Society, Information are available
around us that also leads to the social change.
20
Social Change & Characteristics
of industrialized societies

1) Smaller percentage of people are

doing their activities in agriculture,
increased division of labor in
production house, specialization of
occupations, increase in education of
workforce, Increase in economic
organizations (businesses).
21
Social Change & Characteristics of
industrialized societies

 The number of Population are increasing

to a high rate day by day. Because
(a)high birth rates and low death rates in
some countries (greater population sizes)
(b)high birth rate and high death rates in
specially in African regions. And also
(c) smaller birth rate and little death rates in
European countries that equalizes their
overall development. 22
Social Change & Characteristics of
industrialized societies

▶People have fewer children as society

industrialized because role of family changes
and technological advancements allow
control of reproduction.
▶Families change from extended to nuclear
families due to geographic and occupational
mobility. Family is no longer mainly seen as
an economic unit.
23
 Social Change
2. Modernization:
The process of moving from an agrarian to industrial
society.
Characteristics of modern societies
▶Larger role of government in society and
bureaucracy to run governments,
▶Large, formal organizations and division of labor
based on specialization of skills and abilities into
occupations.
24
 Social Change
Forming of social institutions to
regulate behavior.
▶Laws and sanctions to regulate
behavior.
▶Control over and management of
environmental resources: oil, water,
land, animals, etc.
25
 Social Change
3. Urbanization:
When large populations live in urban areas rather
than rural areas known as urbanization. Usually
results from economic opportunities: either people
move to a city for jobs, or rural areas become the
sites of large businesses which lead to population
growth.
4. Bureaucratization:
By which most formal organizations in a society
(businesses, government, non-profits) run their
organizations via the use of extreme rational and
impersonal thinking, an extreme division of labor, and
26

record keeping.
 Social Change
5. Conflict and Competition :
These also play an important role to social change.
For examples: War due to religion, competition for
resources, gender and women’s movement like for
equal payment and property.

27
 Social Change
6. Diffusion:
Populations in the world are adopting new goods and
services from anywhere he or she stays. Much of the
materialist products are being applied to following the
marketing policy .(celebrities campaigns in drinking
milk, cold drinks), public health (birth control in less
developed countries) etc.
7. Acculturation
Examples: Asian Americans, American Indians are
being eliminated through the dominancy of white
American people. People can prevent social change 28
Natural Forces of
Social Change
GEOGRAPHY
 This is when the natural
lay of the land has affected
the way societies have developed
 Natural disasters can also drastically change
a society (floods, earthquakes, volcanoes)
 ENVIRONMENT
 Pollution, garbage,
ozone, car emissions,
smog, recycling
 national, provincial
and local programs
that address
environmental
problems

©Pine Forge Press, an imprint of Sage

Publications, 2008.
Technology
 Technology has
strongly affected the
way societies are
designed and how
they keep changing
 People receive their
information more
quickly now, can
communicate in
different ways
 Impact…
Coping with Technological Change
– Positive or Negative???
 Over dependency
 Changes in Gender
roles
 Social Isolation
 Addiction
 Positive and Negative
consequences?
 Luddites: People who oppose
new technologies are often
called “luddites” after a secret
society whose goal it was to
destroy new textile machines
during the early years of the
Industrial Revolution
Reference:
Lecture notes
For health sciences students
Introduction to sociology

EPHTI
By
Zerihun Doda M.A
Debub University