Social Change

Forces of Social Change

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. Example - the Catholic Church
 Examples of Social
Change
Question 1 How has the development
of housing in Baku changed?

Question 2: 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.

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 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 .

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 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.

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 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, attitudes,
beliefs and behaviors of human being to all over the
world.

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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 enact, stop, or reverse change in some area of
society
Types of movements
Alternative Movement
Redemptive Movement
Reformative Movement
Transformative 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?

Sociologist Samuel Eisenstadt

claimed that in most societies,
there exists one or more
MODERNIZING ELITES, groups
of people who create significant
social change and influence the
direction it goes
Examples?
 Alienation of the People
Sociologist Emile Durkheim coined the
word anomie to describe the conditions
of the industrial workers who had no roots or norms as they
struggled in their lives

Sociologist Karl Marx took this term and applied it to working

people or proletariat. He claimed the workers were
exploited and controlled (employment, housing) and could
never reach full potential
This notion has been expanded it mean anyone who does
not share the major values of society and feels like an
outsider
Effects?
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. Usually, conformity implies a tendency to
submit to others in thought and behavior other than simply
clothing choice
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 parents career)
Effects?
 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 labor force
to a technology driven labor force in which
machines play a large role.
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 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 (value of child care, value of labor).
b. Work became centered and organized around
machines. Alienation from a particular group.
c. Weapons production guns, nuclear weapons.
d. Informative Society, Information are available around
us that also leads to the social change. 17
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).
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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. 19
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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
record keeping. 23
 Social
Change
5. Conflict and Competition :
These also play an important role to social change.
For examples: War due to religion, ethnic tensions,
competition for resources, gender and womens
movement like for equal payment and property.
Race and Civil Rights Movement, collective political
power, homosexuality becoming more available, but
still denied civil and human rights. But Positive
Outcomes are like solidarity, safety notions,
positively social development, welfare activities are
enhancing . 24
 Social
6. Political and Change
Legal Power:
a) Elected officials:
Redistribution of wealth to the all the peoples by the
elected persons and control over income and
property taxes. They can charge over negative
action, ability to sue insurance companies, increase
minimum wage in labor (leads to change in
unemployment, part-time employment, health
insurance.
b) Unelected officials:
Such as the civil society ,they can control over
corporate power (jobs, goods and services and cost
of culture, donations to political campaigns. 25
 Social
Change
7. Ideology :
a) Religious beliefs. Rise of capitalism in the world
,due to religious beliefs Protestantism emerged and
many other work ethics developed in the work place.
Religious beliefs sometimes lead to revolution and
civil wars which lead to new countries. Like in Iran,
Islamic revolution occurred in 1979 and developed a
Islamic republic.

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 Social
8. Diffusion:
Change
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.
9. Acculturation
Examples: Asian Americans, American Indians are
being eliminated through the dominancy of white
American people. People can prevent social change by 27

preventing acculturation,
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
Effects?
External Events as Forces
of Social Change
External events are events that have occurred on
a large scale affecting an entire nation or several
nations
These events have a large and immediate impact
on social change

Examples
American Civil War abolished slavery

WWII forced women into the workforce and they never

returned home
September 11/2001 a change of thought regarding

national threat and security

Poverty and
Affluence
Karl Marx was first to point
sociology to study inequality
in society
Income inequalities:
gap between earnings of the rich and poor
Is social inequality an inherent part of human social
structures?
Does society have a responsibility in trying to deal with
the effects of income inequality?

Effects? - education, crime, housing

Values and Social Change:
Pluralism
Singularity- belief that everyone in society should act
and think the same way
Pluralism- widespread acceptance of differences in
culture, religion, values and lifestyle
Inclusiveness- all law abiding people, regardless of their
particular background, should be able to play a
constructive role in the life of the nation

Examples: struggle for inclusiveness with women

obtaining equal roles and status to traditionally male
roles
 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
Greatest invention of the

millennium? Guesses?
Impact
Coping with Technological Change
Positive or Negative???
Over dependency
Creation of mass culture
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