Social change, theories and characteristics

Musleh Saadi
Sep 30
4 min read

SOCIAL CHANGE

The term Social change Comprises of two words: Socio and change, Social change is mean the change the situation of the society over a period of time. Social change, the alteration of mechanisms within the social structure, characterized by changes in cultural symbols, rules of behavior, social organizations, or value systems. Social change can arise from contact with other societies, technological and environmental changes, population growth, and social movements. Viewed this way, social change is an ever-present phenomenon in any society. A distinction is sometimes made then between processes of change within the social structure, which serve in part to maintain the structure, and processes that modify the structure

For example: Such change have resulted from social movements in (civil rights, women's rights, and LBGTQ rights), to name just a few. Relationships have changed, institutions have changed, and cultural norms have changed as a result of these social change movements.

Theories of Social Change

1-Technological Theory

Basis of all types of Social change as those changes occurring in the technological field and established between Social change and inventions. Technology and Social Change Technology is the application of scientific knowledge to the making of tools to solve specific problems. Technological advances such as automobiles, airplanes, radio, television, cellular phones, computers, modems, and fax machines have brought major advances and changes to the world.

For example, the development of the internal combustion engine has made possible many mechanisms driven by such power plants.

2-Linear Theory

Sequence of Social development is historical and they imagined such as a society where the cycle will stabilize. Linear theory of social change- This theory of social change states that improvement and advancement in society take place as society moves to a higher civilization gradually. Therefore with the transformation of the people in society, society transforms itself.

Auguste Comte has said that all societies passed through three stages of growth-Technological stage, Metaphysical stage, Scientific stage.

3-CYCLE Theory

Social cycle theories are among the earliest social theories in sociology. Unlike the theory of social evolutionism, which views the evolution of society and human history as progressing in some new, unique direction(s), sociological cycle theory argues that events and stages of society and history generally repeat themselves in cycles. According to Sorokin, there are three classes of the society-abstract, emotional and idealistc, which bring a change in the society as per time. Spranger has mentioned three cycles of social incidences-birth, maturity and end, which are responsible for bringing about a change in the society. Cyclical theories of social change hold that civilizations rise and fall in an endless series of cycles.

Characteristics of Social change

Social change is universal because it is present in all societies and all times. No society remains completely static. The rate of the degree of change may vary from society to society from time to time but every society keeps on changing.

Social change is continuous process. In the process of change every society grows and decays, where it finds renewal and accommodates itself to various changing conditions, The sources, directions, rate& forms of change may vary time to time but it always continuous.

Change is inevitable. It is the human nature that desires change and also if is his tendency to bring change and to oppose or accept change. Human wants are unlimited which always keep on changing. To satisfy these wants social change has become a necessity to society.

Change can occur in the entire social structure or in the one of its organizations.

It is not necessary for all changes to be permanent. The permanent being perceived today, may further change in the future.

This is not necessary that the changes occurring in the society will take it towards progress, Sometimes some changes lead the society towards degrees also.

Types of Social Change

1-Evolutionary changes occur in course of a long period slowly and gradually and through evolutionary process. For example, if the family is taken as a basic social unit, the first stage in social evolution was the bringing together of these families and their integration into a larger unit known as ‘society.

2- Fluctuating change – the change may be upward & downward. The demographic change is such also economic change, Cyclical change – the change is in a cycle. Industrialisation is an example of how social change affected social institutions. Previously the family, being a large unit, would take care of agriculture, education and so on. However, as through industrialisation progressed, families broke into smaller units and social institutions such as schools and industries began to take up their roles.

3- Cyclic change Much of ordinary social life is organized in cyclic changes: those of the day, the week, and the year. These short-term cyclic changes may be regarded as conditions necessary for structural stability. For example: cyclic change, says that everything happens in a cycle. For instance, how we calculate time and have the cycle of the seasons, or in business, in which it is believed the economy goes through cycles of economic boom and recession.

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