Process of change
- 2. Social Change -refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. Social change may include changes in nature, social institutions, social behaviors, or social relations. -the notion of social progress of socio-cultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by dialectical or evolutionary means. -a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic structure.
- 3. All cultures are inherently predisposed to change and at the same time, to resist change. There are dynamic processes operating that encourages the acceptance of new ideas and things while there are others that encourage the changeless stability . It is likely that social and psychological chaos would result if there were not the conservative forces resisting change.
- 4. 3 general sources of influence or pressure that are responsible for both change and resistance to it: 1. Forces at work within a society 2. Contact between societies 3. Changes in the natural environment
- 5. 1.within a society -process leading to change include invention and culture loss. Inventions may be either technological or ideological. -culture loss is an inevitable result of old cultural patterns being replaced by new ones. Example: not many Americans today know how to care for a horse. A century ago, this was common knowledge, except in a few large urban centers. Since then, vehicles with internal combustion engines have replaced horses as our primary means of transportation and horse care knowledge lost its importance. As a result , children are rarely taught these skills. Instead , they are trained in the use of the new technologies of automobiles ,televisions, stereos, cellular phones, computers, and iPods. -processes that result in the resistance to change include habit and integration of culture traits.
- 6. The process leading to change that occur as a result of contact between societies are: 1.Diffusion 2.Acculturation 3.Transculturation
- 7. Diffusion - Is the movement of things and ideas from one culture to another. Example: When McDonalds first brought their American style hamburgers to Moscow and Beijing, they were accepted as luxury food for special occasions because they were relatively expensive and exotic. In America, they have a very different meaning-they are ordinary every day fast food items.
- 8. Acculturation - Is what happens to an entire culture when alien traits diffuse in on a large scale and substantially replace traditional cultural patterns. - Example: the vast majority of American Indians now speak English instead of their ancestral language, wear European style clothes, go to school to learn about the world from a European perspective , and see themselves as being a part of the broader American society. As Native American societies continue to acculturate, most are experiencing a corresponding loss of their traditional cultures despite efforts of preservationists in their communities.
- 9. Transculturation -is what happens to an individual when he or she moves to another society and adopts its culture. example: Immigrants who successfully learn the language and accept as their own the cultural patterns of their adopted country have transculturated.