SOCIAL CHANGE AND

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
MEANING AND NATURE OF SOCIAL
CHANGE
What is SOCIAL CHANGE???

Transformation of culture and social

organization/structure over time.
Alterations that occur in the social structure and
social relationship.
Alterations may occur in norms, values, cultural
products and symbols in a society.
 Three Aspects of Social Change

Social change is essentially a process of

alteration with no reference to the quality of
change
Changes in society are related/linked to
changes in culture, so that it would be
sometimes useful to talk about ‘socio-cultural
change.
 Three Aspects of Social Change
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHANGE??
Social change refers mainly to actual human
behavior.
Cultural change, on the other hand, refers to
variation in cultural phenomena such as
knowledge and ideas, art, religion moral
doctrines, values, beliefs, symbol systems
and so on.
 Three Aspects of Social Change

c) Social change can vary in its scope and in speed.

Changes can take a cyclical pattern or a revolutionary
one.

Change also varies in scope, in that it may influence

many aspects of a society and disrupt the whole social
system. Some changes occur rapidly but others take a
long time.
 Conti………………….
Change can also include short term changes (e.g. in
migration rates) as well as long term changes in
economic structures.

Changes occur rapidly but others take a long time

Four Main Characteristics of Social Change (Macionis 1996)

It happens everywhere, but the rate of change varies

from place to place.
Example: The United States would experience faster change,
than a third world country that has limited access to
technology and information.
Social change is sometimes intentional but often
unplanned.
Example: When the airplane was invented people knew that
this would increase and speed travel. However, it was
probably not realized how this invention would affect society
in the future.
 Four Main Characteristics of Social Change (Macionis 1996)

Social change often generates controversy.

Example: The move over the recent years to accept
homosexual rights has caused controversy involving the
military, religion, and society overall.
Some changes matter more than others do.
Example: The invention of personal computers was more
important than Cabbage Patch dolls.