Sociology Ch. 3 S. 3Social Change

Sociology Ch. 3 S. 3Social Change

Obj: Identify and describe the main ______of social change; Describe the ______that lead people to resist social ______.

All cultures ______over time. Yet some cultures change much faster than others. The pace of change is closely related to the total ______of culture traits that a culture has at a particular time. The more culture traits a culture has, the faster the culture can change since more possibilities for change exist. The rate of change can also accelerate because each change brings about other changes. For example, the invention of the automobile did more than furnish Americans with a new form of transportation. It also provided ______and affected they way people shopped, where they lived, and what they did with their leisure time.

Sources of Social Change

The ______world changes rapidly. Each week brings new ______goods, new styles of dress, new ways of doing things, and new ideas. What causes all of these changes? There are many factors that ______change. This section addresses six factors: values and beliefs, technology, population, diffusion, the physical environment, and wars and conquests.

Values and Beliefs

As ______sociologists have noted, society is a system of interrelated parts. A change in one aspect of society produces change throughout the system. Changes in values and beliefs, therefore, can have far-reaching consequences for ______--. These ______are particularly noticeable when new values and beliefs are part of a larger ideology.

An ______is a system of beliefs or ideas that justifies the social, moral, religious, political, or economic interests held by a group or by society. Ideologies often are spread through social movements. A social ______is a long-term conscious effort to promote or prevent social change. Social movements usually involve large numbers of people. Examples of social movements include the prohibition movement, the women’s rights movement, the ______movement, the gay rights movement, and the civil rights movement.

The consequences of ______in ideology can be seen by examining how the civil rights movement changed politics in the US. As recently as the 1950s, African Americans were forced to live as second-class citizens throughout the US, particularly in the South. Laws limited where they could live, go to school, sit on buses, and eat lunch. Through ______and illegal means, African Americans were denied the right to ______or to hold public office.

Civil rights supporters staged ______, marches, and demonstrations to publicize this situation. A surge of support for change among US citizens soon developed. Responding to public pressure, Congress passed a number of civil rights laws, including the voting Rights Act of 1965. This act ______the various methods that had been used to ______African American the vote.

The changes brought about by the civil rights movement ______the American political landscape. Today African Americans are a powerful group of voters. The number of African American ______officials has jumped from fewer than 1,500 in 1970 to nearly 9,000 by the end of the 1990s. More than half of these officials hold offices in ______states.

Technology

Social ______also occurs when people find new ways to manipulate their environment. The knowledge and tools that people use to manipulate their ______are called ______. Two ways that new technologies arise are through discovery and invention.

______occurs when people recognize new uses for existing elements in the world or begin to understand them in new ways. Examples of discoveries include atomic ______, chewing gum, and oil shale. Oil shale was discovered by accident. Many stones along the banks of the Colorado River contain rock shale saturated with oil. According to one story, a man used these stones to construct a fireplace. When he lit a fire in the fireplace, the fireplace itself burst into flames! Nevertheless, a new use of ______shale as fuel provided new resources for America’s growing industrial society.

______occurs when people use existing knowledge to create something that did not previously exist. Inventions can take the form of material objects, ideas, or patterns of ______. New tools, such as a gadget to take the pits out of cherries or a computer small enough to hold in your hand, are examples of material inventions. Examples of nonmaterial inventions include political movements, ______movements, new hobbies, and business organizations.

Population

A change in the ______of the population may bring about changes in the culture. For example, the population of the US has increased rapidly since the early 1900s. The ______of new groups of people with their own unique cultural traits, and values has influenced American culture. For example, ______brought to the country by immigrant groups – such as Mexican, Chinese, and Italian food – have become common in American kitchens.

______increases and decreases affect the economy. By increasing the demand for goods and services, a growing population may increase employment and stimulate the ______. On the other hand, a community with a declining population may need fewer goods and services. As a result, there may be limited ______opportunities for the people who remain.

An increase in the ______population also means that there are more people occupying the same amount of space, which creates more crowded ______. In addition, the larger population brings increased ______for energy, food, housing, schools, stores, and transportation.

People bring about changes simply by moving from one ______to another. When a family moves to a new community, change is stimulated both in the community it leaves and in the new ______it enters. Migrations of people within a country can cause social changes, such as the loss of regional distinction within the ______.

Social and cultural changes also result from changes in the average age of a ______. When fewer people are having ______, for example, there is less need for schools, recreation centers, and other services geared toward children. The need for specialized services geared toward ______people, on the other hand, increases as more people live longer.

Diffusion

People often borrow ideas, ______, and material objects from other societies. This process of spreading culture traits from one society to another is called ______. The more contact a society has with other societies, the more culture traits it will borrow. Today, with mass transportation and instant communication through radio, television, the telephone, and the ______, diffusion takes place constantly.

Some culture ______spread more rapidly than others. Generally, societies adopt material culture and technology more freely than ideas and beliefs. For example, most societies readily accept tools and weapons that are superior to their own. Societies often adapt the culture traits they borrow to suit their own particular needs. For example, many of the societies in Africa Asia, and South America that have adopted ______have blended Christian beliefs with elements of their traditional religions. Sociologists refer to this process of adapting borrowed cultural traits as ______.

The Physical Environment

The ______provides conditions that may encourage or discourage cultural change. People in some societies wholly rely on foods that they can ______locally. Other societies must import much of their food or adapt new crops to grow in their area. The introduction of new foods or the scarcity of a familiar food can bring about cultural ______.

Natural ______such as droughts, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and tidal waves can also produce social and cultural change. These disasters can destroy whole communities. Afterward, people often take precautions for the future. ______may be built to lessen the effects of floods and droughts. People may also adopt new construction methods to enable buildings to better withstand ______or tornadoes.

A change in the supply of natural ______may bring about cultural change. For example, in the 1970s high fuel prices and fuel shortages caused long lines at American ______stations. This shortage encouraged Americans to seek alternative sources of energy and to develop smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. The search for alternative forms of energy slowed in the 1980s in part because the fuel shortages eased. In addition, the production of less-fuel-______cars, such as high-performance sports cars, increased once again.

Wars and Conquests

______and conquests are not as common as other sources of social change. However, they probably bring about the greatest change in the least amount of time. War causes the loss of many lives. It brings about the destruction of property and leads to the rise of new cities and towns that must be built to replace those destroyed. In addition, war causes changes in the economy as industry focuses on producing war materials rather than consumer goods. For example, after ______11, 2001, some industries contributed to the war on terrorism by providing military supplies and services. War can also promote advances in technology and ______that can have civilian applications. War may also result in changes in government as new rulers come to power. These changes may contribute to new economic policies and political rights.

Resistance to Change

Cultural change, regardless of its source, rarely occurs without some ______. For each change introduced in society, there are usually people who strongly oppose it. Social changes often result from a compromise between opposing forces. This is true both on an interpersonal level and on a societal level. Many people, after time, may accept a new idea that they strongly resisted at first. Other people may never accept the new idea but may simply ______. Changes in the role of women in the workplace first met with some resistance that has ______in recent years. Ethnocentrism, cultural lag, and vested interests are among the reasons that people resist cultural change.

Ethnocentrism

The "Buy American" campaign of the I970s and 1980s provides an example of how ethnocentrism can affect one culture's ______of another culture's material objects and ideas. One target of the campaign was the importation of ______automobiles. Allowing these cars into the United States, campaign supporters said, would put Americans out of work. Some Americans agreed with this view and refused to buy Japanese cars, stating that this refusal was the ______thing to do. Some American autoworkers went further.

They demonstrated their feelings by publicly ______Japanese cars. Nevertheless, Japanese cars were eventually accepted in the United States. Today it can be difficult to differentiate between Japanese and American cars. Some Japanese cars are now ______by American workers at factories in the United States. At the same time, some American automobiles are assembled at factories in foreign countries. Ethnocentrism and other ______factors led to the anti-Japanese- car bias, which has decreased in recent years.

Cultural Lag

Not all cultural traits change at the same rate. Some traits change ______, and the transformation of others may take considerable time. This situation is called ______. Material culture usually changes faster and nonmaterial culture lags behind. Often, technological change ______in cultural lag.

Sociologist James M. ______identified the traditional school ______as an example of cultural lag. In the 1800s the United States was a largely rural agricultural country. At that time, farming was a very labor-intensive activity. A long summer break from school was needed so that children could work on the farms. Over time, technological developments transformed the United States into a mostly urban and industrial country. Today, therefore, a long ______break is not needed. Even so, the traditional school year persists. Efforts to introduce year-round schooling have met with significant opposition.

The development of ______and the Internet has led to a cultural lag. Computers and the Internet offer many educational opportunities. However, because of costs and other factors, some school districts have yet to put this new technology to effective use in the classroom. In addition, some elements of Internet technology-notably the "______" and storing of information about users-have created questions concerning ______that the U.S. legal system is struggling to address.

Vested Interests

A person who is satisfied with the way things are now is likely to ______change. Some individuals feel that the present, even if somewhat imperfect, is better than an unknown future. They will resist any change that threatens their security or ______of living. In other words, they have a vested interest to protect. For example, workers may oppose the introduction of new technology because they fear the technology may ______them and cost them their jobs.

Entire ______also have vested interests to protect. Consider the American oil industries, for example. During the ______crisis of the 1970s, oil prices rose dramatically. While many people around the country called for a new energy policy, the oil industry benefited from the rising prices. It was not until 1992, under President George Bush, that the Energy Policy Act was passed. However, critics charged that the new policy did not focus enough on conservation or on the use of ______fuels.

One reason it was difficult to implement an energy ______to permanently solve the energy problems of the 1970s and 1980s was that many people in the oil industry benefited from the high ______of petroleum products. To protect their vested interests, oil companies and workers in the oil industry have ______the government to protect their industry and interests in the energy issue.