Social change Flashcards
Social change
changes in the way society is organized, the beliefs, and/or practices, of the people; Change in social institutions,
the rules of behavior, value systems, or the social relations of a society
sociocultural evolution
society moves forward by looking from different perspectives
paradigmatic social change
society shifts from one view or way of thinking to another (Feudalism-Capitalism)
social revolution
in order to change foundation of a society, large uprising must occur; people of a society advocate for change
Factors of social change
direction (positive or negative), rate, sources behind change, controllability (degree to which change can be controlled)
microchanges
subtle alterations in daily interactions between people
macrochanges
gradual transformations that occur on broad scale, affect many aspects of society
social continuity
structures in society meant to resist change (Catholic church)
Macroscale causes of change
shape all of our major social institutions such as economics, politics, religion, family, etc.
microscale causes of change
shape values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors
Bureaucratization
businesses, government, non-profits run organizations through use of extreme rational and impersonal thinking, and extreme division of labor, and record keeping; McDonaldization
Weber- most important component of social change
leader with charisma; large vision, strong popular support
Functionalism
depicts society as relatively stable; doesn’t really account for social change; society tends to return to an equilibrium after making small adjustments
Conflict theory
social change is result of struggles among groups over scarce resources; social change occurs as conflicts are resolved; Marx: Without conflict, no progress
Symbolic interactionist
nature and frequency of social interaction are affected by extent to which people share meanings; as shared interpretations of the world decrease, social ties weaken and social interaction becomes inpersonal
