UNIT 4 SOCIAL CHANGE: CONCEPT AND

FACTORS INVOLVED IN SOCIAL

CHANGE

4.0 Objectives
4.1 Iiltroduction
4.2 Concept and Definitions of Social Change
4.3 Concept of Social Progress and Social Development
4.4 Factors of Social Change
4.5 Social Attitudes, Social Values and Social Change
4.6 Let Us Sum Up
4.7 Key Words
4.8 Suggested Readings
4.9 Answers to Check Your Progress

4.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you should be able to:
know the concept of social ch'ange, social progress, social development
and cultural lag;
distinguish between social progress and social development;
understand the factqrs of social change;
grasp social change as a universal and continuous phenomena;
understand the role of social change in formation of social attitude and
social values; and
understand the effects of social change on day-to -day human life.

4.2 INTRODUCTION
The word 'change' immediately brings to mind something different from
yesterday or past. Change is the irrefutable law of nature. It may be or may
not be visible but all things are changing at varying paces. There are changes
in physical environment, flora and fauna, water table, so on and so forth.
Similarly, social environment which has been created by human beings
themselves is coiltinuously in the process of change. A look into the histoly of
society reveals that all social institutioils such as hmily, religioil, marriage,
political, economic, social values and social attitudes have undergone a drastic
change over a period of time. The social life being lived by human being at
present during the dawn of 21" celltury was not so about hundred or more
years back. Permanence of human society is an illusion. Human society is in
an ever-changing process, growing, decaying, renewing and adjusting itself to
new-found ideas, inventions and ways of living.
Introduction to Society
4.2 CONCEPT AND DEFINITIONS OF SOCIAL
CHANGE
The concept of social change was introduced by August Comte, a Frenchman,
known as founding father of Sociology. Later on, the concept of social change
was further refined and developed by Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx and a number
of other sociologists. No human society is static and at the same time it is
difficult to predict the forms and directions of social change. The reason is
that the factors which cause social change do not remain uniform always. The
population changes, expansion of science and technology, ideologies and social
values take on new forms, and as a result of that social structure, social system,
and social institutions change their functioning. The process of industrialization
and urbanization has changed the whole set of social relationships. It is quite
visible that the contemporary world is not changing uniformly and is also
manifesting complexities in social change. Slow and simple forms of social
change may intersect with quick and intricate forms of social change. Migration
of illiterate persons from remote rural areas to metropolitan cities will effect
the institutions of family life in it, add to stress and strain of daily living due to
fast pace of city life and new social values required for industrial and urban
living.
From the middle of nineteenth century onwards, a large number of sociologists
have tried to define social change. Some often quoted definitions of social
change are:
August Comte: Societies progress through a series of predictable stages based
on the development of human knowledge.
Anderson and Parker: Social Change involves alterations in the structure or
functioning of social forms or processes themselves.
Davis: By social change it is meant only such alterations as occur in social
organization, that is, structure and functions of society.
Gillin and Gillin: Social changes are variations from the accepted modes of
life; whether due to alteration in geographical conditions, in cultural equipment
or composition of the population, etc.
Ginsberg, M.: By social change, I understand a change in social structure
e.g. the size of society, the composition or balance of its parts or the type of its
organization.
Koening, S.: Social change refers to the modifications which occur in the
life-patterns of people.
Lundberg and Others: Social change refers to any modifications in established
patterns of inter-human relationships and standards of conduct.
MacIver and Page: Our direct concern as sociologist is with social
relationships. It is the change in these relationships which alone we shall
regard as social change.
Mazumdar, H.T.: Social change may be defined as a new fashion or mode,
either modifying or replacing the old, in the life of people, or in the operations
of society.
Merrill and Eldredge: Social change means that a large number of persons Social Change: Concept
are engaging in activities that differ from those which they or their immediate and Factors Involved in
Social Change
forefathers engaged in sometime before.
Smelser, Neil J.: Social change is the alterations of the way soc:ieties are
organized.
The important features that emerge from the definitions of social change are:
1) Social change is the effect of certain causes.
2) Social change modifies social structure, social organization and social
functioning.
3) It modifies the life-pattern of people.

4) Technological and cultural changes are different from social change.

5) Social change is reflected through social attitudes, social values and ways
of living.
Check Your Progress I
Note : a) Use the space provided for your answer.

b) Check your answers with those provided at the end of this unit.
1) Explain social change.

4.3 CONCEPT OF SOCIAL PROGRESS AND

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Social progress is a relative term in the sense that, to some people, changes in
daily living, social functions, social relationships, attitudes and values may
mean progress and to others, social change may seem to be an erosion of
established social values and social practices. Social progress refers to forces
which make human life socially and biologically better. Human beings are
continuously making efforts to control the external environment and generate
forces which make their life better. Development in knowledge, inventions
and use of various technologies and gadgets initiates modified standards of
living, social relationships, social functioning, attitudes and values. To start
with evolution and social progress were considered synonyms but later on,
sociologist made a distinction between evolution, social evolution and social
progress. Social evolution is one aspect of evolution and social progress is a
further associate of social evolution. Some important definitions of social
progress are:
Introduction to Society MacIver and Page: By progress we imply not merely direction, but direction
towards some final goal, some destination determined ideally not simply by
some objective considerations at work.
Burgess: Any change or adaptation to an existent environment that makes it
easier for a person or group of persons or other organized form of life to live,
may be said to represent progress.
Lumley: Progress is change but it is change in a desired or approved direction,
not any direction.
Ogburn: Progress is a movement towards an objective, thought to be desirable
by the general group, for the visible future.
Hobhouse: Social progress is the growth of social life in respect of those
qualities to which human beings can attach or can rationally attach values.
Mazumdar, H.T.: Social progress is a movement based on following six
parameters:

1) enhancement of the dignity of man;

2) respect for each human personality;

3) ever-increasing freedom for spiritual quest and for investigation of truth;

4) freedom for creativily and for aesthetic enjoylnellt of the works of nature
as well as of man;

5) a social order that promotes the first four values;

6) promotes life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness with justice and equity to
all.
The above given statements of social progress highlights the following features:

1) Social progress is a movement towards ideally determined objectives;

2) Social progress is a movement of adaptation for existing environment that

makes life easier;

3) Social progress is not just a movement in any direction;

4) Social progress is a movement that creates a social order based on

spirituality, dignity of human beings, liberty, happy life full of moral values;

5) Social progress is lin~itlessand social change is inherent in it.

The concept of social development is further improvement of social progress.
The concept of social develop~llentis based on long history but recent emphasis
on it, is mainly due to following three factors:

1) Decolonizatio~lprocess which started during twentieth century and got

accelerated after the end of Second World War;

2) Growing concern with developed countries;

3) The desire of people and of newly established governments to achieve

the objective of welfare state.
The review of literature on social developlnent reveals two interrelated Social Change: Concept
and Factors Involved in
dimensions. First, the development of capacity of people to work continuously Social Change
for their own and society's welfare. Secondly, the alteration of institutions so
that human needs are met at all levels especially the lowest, through the process
of improving the relationships between expression of needs and the means to
attain them.
Social development is a comprehensive concept which means structural changes
introduced deliberately to transform society. Social change is a value- free,
objective description of societal processes, whereas social development is value-
laden term which refers to subjective statement of desired direction of social
change. Therefore, the goals of social development are:

1) To create a society where living conditions of the people are better. They
do not suffer from hunger and they are not denied basic necessities of
life.

2) To remove regional imbalances and rural-urban disparities.

3) To create infrastructure where basic needs of the people are met at all
levels, including those who constitute the poorest and deprived sections
of society.
These views were also endorsed by the General Assembly and the recent
World Sulnnlit for Social Development (1995) of United Nations. The
ilnportant highlights of the Summit were:

I) To leave no section of the population outside the scope of social

development;

2) To effect structural change which fi~vourssocial development and activate

all sectors of the popillation to participation in the social development
process;

3) To aim at social equity;

4) To give high priority to the development of the human resources, including

vocational and technical training.
It may be made clear thai in order to achieve social development the economic
development is necessary which means increase in production leading to high
rate of growth as measured through Gross National Product.
Keeping in view the comprehensiveness of social development M.S. Gore
has rightly said that social development means social, cultural, economic,
political and environment development.
Check Your Progress '11:
Note : a) Use the space provided for your answer.

b) Check your answers with those provided at the end of this unit.

1) Explain how social change is inherent in social progress and social

development ?
Introduction to Society

4.4 FACTORS OF SOCIAL CHANGE

Physical Environment and Social Change

Physical environment is the most important phenomenon which influences

social life. There are slow as well as fast changes in physical environment.
Disasters in the form of storms, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fire,
seasonal variations etc. determine the form of social life. The prevalence of
flora and fauna creates a social order based on it. Physical environment
promotes and limits the growth of civilization. At poles and deserts, there will
be a limited social life due to hostile climatic conditions for hu,man living. The
forces generated by the physical environment determine the form, growth and
change in human society.

Some historians have expressed the view that even great civilizations of Egypt
and Mesopotamia disappeared due to unfavourable physical envirohmental
conditions. Availability of natural resources necessary for human life lead to
settlement of human society around them. The depletion of natural resources
after their exploitation leads to disintegration and change in human settlements.
Misuse of physical environment by human beings resulted in green house effect,
pollution, shortage of potable water and non-availability of land for houses in
urban areas and so on.

In present day India, intensive agriculture operations resulted in green revolution

and sufficiency in food production I J at~the cost of erosion in soil fertility
and depletion of water table. Economic and technological developments led
to ecological imbalance and damage to it. Physical environmental compulsions
such as famines, droughts, floods, earthquakes led to human migration to distant
places with a consequence of disruption to settled human life. Physical
environmental compulsions effect social life by producing new ways of living
and set of social relationships. It is now evident that physical environmental
factors induce social change.

Demographic Factors of Social Change

Demography is the study of human population. 'Demos' is a Greek word

which means people. Demographic factors that induce social change are fertility,
mortality, migration, changing age structure, sex ratio, age at marriage, patterns
of marriage, child bearing age, life expectancy, use of contraceptives , levels
and types of morbidity. These factors have a far reaching effect on society
with the pressure to produce changes in social and political institutions.
In the developed countries of the world, the population growth is negative or
. stable but in developing countries such as India it is alarmingly high. Both the
trends cause social transformation. The countries where fertility and mortality Social Change: Concept
and Factors Involved in
is low, their standard of living is high and in the countries where it is high,
Social Change
their standard of living is low. The societies with high fertility rate are choked
with over-population, infant and maternal mortality rate, child labour,
unemployment, rural-to urban migration, shortage of services required for the
sustainability of social life, family violence, marital breakdown, criminality
and slums etc. In order to check high fertility rate, family welfare and planning
measures were introduced. To start with, these measures were opposed and
considered as irreligious, immoral and acquired social acceptance only with
the passage of time. The social acceptance of family planning measures led to
change in social attitudes and social values for forming a new society based
on small family. Similarly, improvement in health measures, knowledge and
awareness generation resulted in reduced mortality.

Another demographic factor of social change especially with reference to

Indian society is the declining sex ratio. In traditional Indian society, female
infanticide was a known practice due to preference for male child. The girls
were considered a negative property, a burden on the family. The situation
has further deteriorated in modern India with the introduction of pre-birth
tests. Sex determination tests are being misused to kill the female foetus.
The misuse of these tests has spread like wild fire in Indian society despite
the ban on it through Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 (PNDT,
1994). Declining sex ratio will bring in disastrous demographic, social,
economic and even political consequences. There will be more violence
against women.

Changing age structure in all societies due to longevity and improved health
measures will have its own fall out. In the past, it was young who made bulk
of the population and there were relatively few old persons. Increase in the
population of old persons will require more social and economic support
systems. Failing health, loneliness, isolation and marginalization of old persons
are creating new social problems. In nutshell, we can say that the whole social
life is operationalized through demographic factors and changes in them will
lead to social change.

-It is an established fact that social and economic life of human beings is integral
part of each other. Economic aspect of social life is a primary feature of society.
Human society, starting from hunting and gathering stage has passed through
various stages to reach the present stage which is being dominated by industrial
production, trade and commerce along with agriculture production and its
distribution based on latest scientific techniques. Each successive stage brought
with it, its own .form of social life, social relationships and social functions.

Engels rightly said that "the ultimate causes of all social changes and political
revolutions are to be sought not in the minds of men, in their increasing insight
into the external truth and justice, but in changes in the mode of production
and exchange." Elaborating the idea further Marx said, "The sum total of these
relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society - the real
foundation, on which rise legal and political super structures and to which
correspond definite form of social consciousness. It indicates that economic
influences are powerful and penetrating on social life." The prevailing economic
system determines the social relationships and social hnctions. The agriculture
Introduction to Society system of production had a different type of social life a7 compaed to industrial
system of production. It has been found that countries with high per capita
income tend to have lower fertility rate than those with lower incomes. Since
high income is linked to industrial, technological, and educational development,
this fact supports the argument that people tend to have fewer children when
they are prosperous. The pool; uneducated, people living in slums and rural
areas had high fertility rate resulting in population explosion throughout the
world.
In subsistence economies, people produced their own household goods,
distributed and consumed them as compared to modern market economy
where work is something, people carry out to earn money. It means work is
not only social activity but also economic activity. In earlier times, village
was considered a self sufficient unit but in market economy, total village life
is dependent on outside market forces resulting in new social attitude, social
values and social relationships. In the modern world, economic disruption
brings with it a set of social problems.
Technological Factors of Social Change
Technological changes have converted the world into a global village and
produced profound social changes. Industry, agriculture, transportation,
communication, sources of energy, food processing, housing, and physical
environment are influenced by technological changes. Almost all the
technological developments brought about changes in social living, interaction-
patterns and social life.
Some of the major influences of technological factors on social life are as
follows:

1) Changes in the institution of family such as from joint family system to

nuclear family system; employment of females outside the 'household;
change in the role and relationship of husband and wife; changes in the
patterns of courtship; inter-caste and late marriage; increase in divorce
rate; small family size due to the use of technological devices for birth
control; reduced role of family in social control and neglect of the elderly
due to changes in the social attitudes and social values.

2) Changes in the very basis of social stratification; reduced effect of caste

system on employment and day-to-day living; development of
individualization and decline in community life; commercialization of
recreation; problen~srelated to migration and developments of slums in
urban areas; stress and strain as a result of competition and fast-paced
life; reduced role of superstitions in day-to-day life; emotional instability
and occasional economic disruption and insecurity.

SOCIAL ATTITUDES, SOCIAL VALUES AND

SOCIAL CHANGE
Social attitudes and social values are invisible though they govern tlle whole
gamut of human life i n an important manner. In modern day terminology,
social values and social attitudes are software for running the affairs of human
 society. Social relationships, social functioning and social behaviour are the Social Change: Concept
outcome of social attitudes and social values. Acceptance and resistance to and Factors lnvolved in
Social Change
social change is actualized through social attitudes and social values.
Social attitude is an orientation towards a person, situation, institution or social
process that is held to be indicative of underlying values and beliefs. Social
attitude is manifested through social behaviour, social relationships, and social
functioning. MacIver and Page explained social attitudes as "subtle, complex
I
and changeful modes of consciousness. They are constantly being modified
by our training, our reflection, our health, our circumstances of every sort.
I
When we attribute an attitude to a person, we can judge its character only by
I
certain external signs - looks, gestures, words. These signs suggest to us fear,
! love or pity". MacIver and Page classified social attitudes in three types which
tend to prevent, to limit or to promote social relationships. Accordingly, they
named these attitudes as dissociative, restrictive and associative. These social
attitudes produce a feeling and social interaction reflecting "inferiority,
superiority, neutrality, association or dissociation." The detail of social attitudes
as given by MacIver and Page are as follows:-

1) Attitudes implying sense of inferiority in the subject with respect to the

object of attitude:
a) Dissociative: Dread, fear, terror, envy, rashfulness.
b) Associative: Gratitude, hero-worship, emulation.
C) Restrictive: Awe, veneration, worship, devotion, humility, submissiveness,
modesty, snobbishness.

2) Attitudes implying sense of superiority in the subject:

a) Dissociative: Disgust, Abhorrence, repugnance, scorn, contempt,

disclaim, intolerance, arrogance.
b) Associative: Pity, protectiveness

C) Restrictive: Pride, patronage, tolerance, forbearance.

3) Attitudes implying neither sense of inferiority nor superiority but neutrality
: 1 in the subject:
IL a) Dissociative: Hate, dislike, aversion, distrust, suspicion, spitefulness,
malice, cruelty.
b) Associative: Sympathy, affection, trust, tenderness, love,
friendliness, kindliness, courtesy, helpfulness.
c) Restrictive: Rivalry, competitiveness,jealousy.
MacIver and Page also expressed the view that the classification of social
attitudes is just illustrative not exhaustive. "An attitude is not a static possession
of the individual. It is always a change valuation."
No doubt social attitudes and social values are interlinked but still these differ
from each other so far their explanation and application is concerned. Social
values are ideas held by the members of society about ethical or appropriate
social behaviour. Social values depict what is right or wrong, desirable or
Introduction to Society undesirable. S~nelserdefined social values as "shared beliefs about the goals
towards which human should strive. They are at the core of moral doctrines."
The features of social values are:
1) These cannot be proved
2 ) These are held to be desirable.
3) These are guides to social behaviour.
4) These grow out of personal experience.
5) These are modified as experiences and accumulate.

6) These are evolving in nature.

In present day society the important social values are:
I) Achievement and Success.
2) Activity and work.
3) Moral responsibility.

4) Concern for people who are suffering as a result of some disaster.

5 ) Efficiency and pragmatism.

6) Progress, material comfort, freedom and independence.

7) Nationalism, patriotism, democracy and worth of a person etc.
Acceptance and Resistance to Social Change
Acceptance and resistance to social change are two sides of a coin. By and
large there is a criticism of innovation leading to social change. In modern
industrial societies, there is a diversity of social norms and social values which
permit the new generation to choose different ways of life or to reorganize the
existing social practices which in various ways oppose the social and cultural
values of older generation. There is always inter-generation gap. There is
historical evidence of resistance to social change from time to time e~therby
individual, groups or both. Generally, resistance to change can be expected
when persons or groups of people have different perceptions of the outcome.
It is easier for people to use old form, than to get adapted to new ones. People
resist social change due to desire for stability, illiteracy, ignorance, economic
cost, vested interest, inertia, lack of awareness and fear of new things. People
resist social change fearing that it may go against time-honoured values and
traditions. Inter-racial, inter-country and inter-religious caste marriages are
opposed as this goes against established social values and tsaditions. Some of
the important examples of resistance to social changes can be cited from present
day developed world: American's slavery system took a long and devastating
war to get abolished. Racial equality is being resisted even today. In England,
the introduction of woman suffrage was opposed for a very long time. Similarly
in England, the locomotive in the early days of rail road was called a "hell on
wheels" and the "devil wagon".
In India, Sclti Pmtha, child marriage, preference for female child, women Social Change: Concept
and Factors Involved in
education, human rights and democratic ways of functioning are being resisted Social Change
even today. S.C. Dube's study of India's changing villages is a fine example
of resistance and acceptance of social change. Dube shows that whereas,
tech~lologicalinnovations, such as ilnplpved seeds, fertilizers, improved breed
of animals and so on, were accepted fairly, readily, especially where the effects
became apparent in a short time, as for example higher cash prices for crops.
But, the innovations which had, or were likely to have repercussions on the
social structure, or the cultural values, met with resistance. Some new
agricilltural techniques, co-operative methods of farming, measures to improve
sanitation and education ventures, aroused much less interest and in some case
opposed. Dube observed that people are slow and extremely cautious in
accepting innovations, but these innovations had loilg-lasting effects which
ultimately changed the social life. Another classic example of Indians' resistance
and acceptance of social change is adoption of small family norms and
technology associated to it.
The development of modern capitalist economy based on' liberalization,
privatization and globalization brought into existence some social waves and
social movements which hit the traditional Indian social and cultural life. These
social waves and modernization tend to reform and modernize the Indian
society. The traditional social institutions such as joint family system and caste
sjlstem are incompatible with the rationality, mobility and egalitarianism of a
deillocratic society. Acceptance and resistance to social change is a continuous
phenomenon and not a one time affair.
Cultural Lag
Cultural lag concept was introduced by American Sociologist William Fielding
Ogburn during 1922. Ogburn studied the impact of technological change on
culture and found that various parts of culture changed differently.
Ogburn described culture consisting of two parts; one is material and the other
non-material. Material culture includes manufactured goods, factories, houses,
cars- in short, all material objects, as well as inventions and technological
changes. For non-material culture Ogburn used the term adaptive culture. It
includes social institutions, such as family, religion, education, econpmic and
political. The non-material culture also includes value systems based on
customs, modes and folkways.
Ogburn's basic thesis is that non-material culture tends to change slower than
material culture. The reason for the rate of slow change is based on prevailing
social practices being supported by religious groups, social values and social
attitudes. Ogburn gave an example of family within which some adjustments .
are made to material change. With the p~vgressof industry certain manufacturing
activities such as weaving, soap making and tanning etc. moved out of the
household to the facto~ysystem. The factory system required more females to
work outside the house. At the same time females were expected to continue
to fulfil their traditional domestic responsibilities. This resulted in wide gap
between the demand for female workers and the pressure on them to stay
back at home. This phenomenon caught the attention of Ogburn to which he
coined the term cilltural lag, that is the delay between a change in the material
culture and response of the adaptive culture.
 Introduction to Society Ogburn expressed the view that a change in one part of society especially
a technological advance requires a corresponding change in other parts.
Until such an adjustment is made, the society or at least certain parts of it,
will face a number of problems. The reasons for cultural lag are habits and
inertia. People would not like to adapt to new changes quickly. Inertia to
change also comes from the fact that modern societies consist of different
types of pressure groups catering to different interests which resist change.
Less rigid immigration laws are desired by people who want to migrate to
developed countries but these are being strongly opposed by the people
from developed countries who are afraid of losing jobs to new arrivals or
being required to provide social support through welfare funds and
allowances.

Varioi~stechnological developments creating cultural lag are latest electronic

equipments and their use in transportation equipments, family welfare
illstruments such as contraceptives etc. These are resulting in a terrific impact
on social life. Ogburn concluded that many and frequent technological
innovations of our modern age by occurring prior to the social change
precipitate the cultural lag. What Ogburn said in the beginning of twentieth
centuly does not merely continue to be applicable instead its relevance has
increased even further.

Limitations of Social Change

All available knowledge and infoi~nationindicates that the mateiial world existed
I
before human beings arrived the scene. Once the human beings came into
existence, may be through design or chance or process of evolution, they started
manipulating the physical environment for their betterment. In the process,
human beings invented the instruments and started developing technology for
their material and non-material progress. These developments were out of the
compulsions of human beings required for their existence, continuation and
I
making life more coinfortable and happy. Human beings manipulated the
physical environment for the gratification of their needs. All these actions and
interactions constructed and produced a human society which is undergoing
changes since its inception. The changes, of which major part is social in
nature are not without limitations like any other phenomenon. The major
limitations are:

1) social change is complex in nature.

I

2) social change is pluralistic.

I
I

3) social change brings social isolation in certain cases.

4) social change brings uncertainties.

5) social change in cei-tain situations brings conflict with it.

6) sometimes, it may lead to social disintegration, and
I

7) it is difficult to predict the outcome of social change.

62
 Check Your Progress I11 Social Change: Copcept
lnd Factors Involved in
Note : a) Use the space provided for your answer. Social Change

b) Check your answers with those provided at the end of this unit.

1) Discuss Factors of Social Change.

4.6 LET US SUM UP

For the last three hundred years or so social change has been a concern of
prime impo~tancefor social scientists, especially for sociologists from the middle
of nineteenth centuiy onwards. No sociological analysis is complete without
reference to social change. It is a change in the institutional and normative
structure of society. Social evolution, social progress, social development,
changes in physical environment, technological developments, innovations,
changes in econonlic and political institutions are all having bearing on social
I

I change. Social change is inherent in all the physical and social environmental
changes. To sum up social change, MacIver and Page has said rightly that
social structure cannot be placed in a museum to save it from the ravages of
time.

4.7 KEY WORDS

Adaptive Culture : W.F. Ogburn's term for non-material culture, including
social institutions, value systems and political
institutions.
Fertility : A number of children a woman bears during her life
time.
Human Society : A geographic unit bound together by a legal system
and having certain national identity.
,'
Inertia : Indisposition to action, motion or change.
Migration : Movement of persons or groups across symbolic or
political boundaries into new residential areas,
communities or societies.
Morbidity : The rate of disease or proportion of diseased persons
in' a society or community.
Introduction to Society
SUGGESTED READINGS
Bottomore, T.B. (1995), Sociology: A Guide to Problems and Literature,
Blackie & Sons (India) Ltd., Bombay.
Brown, L, Selzmic, P. and Dalroch, D.B.-(1981), Sociology: A Text with a
Adaptive Readings, Harper & Row Publishers, New York.
Davis, Kingsley (1980), Human Society, The Macmillan India Ltd., Delhi.
Gillin and Gillin (1950), Cultural Sociology, The Macmillan Company, New
York.
Ginsberg, Morris (1949), Studies in Sociology, Methuen, London.
Johnson, H.M. (1984), Sociology,Allied Publishers, Bombay.
Koening, S. (1981), Sociology: Man and Society, Balnes and ~ o b l eNew
,
York.
MacIver, R.M. and Page, C.H. (1996), Society: An Introductory Analysis,
Macmillan India Ltd., Delhi.
Ogburn, W.F. and Nirnkoff (1960), A Handbook of Sociology, Routledge and
Kegan Paul, London.
"
Smelser, Neil J. (1993), Sociology, Prentice Hall of India Private Ltd., New
Delhi.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress I
1) Social change is a universal and ever-continuing social phenomenon. Rate
of social change may be different in different societies at different times
but permanence of human society is an illusion. The historical evidence
reveals that all forms of social life, social attitude, and social values have
undergone drastic changes over a period of time. Human society is always
dynamic, in the changing process, decaying, renewing and adjusting itself
to new-found ideas, inventions and ways of living.
Social change is a modification or alteration in social structure, social
system and life-patterns of people. Social change is reflected through social
attitudes, social values and new says of living, social relationships and
social interactions among the members of society. Social change is
complex, limitless and value-neutral.
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1) To start with it was evolution may be biological or social which caught
the attention of human beings. With the development of knowledge and
refinement in thought structure the distinction between the two types of
evolution was made. During nineteenth century, along with social
evolution the concept of social progress was added and during twentieth
century there was further improvement in understanding through analysis
and interpretation of social life a d the concept of social development
 was identilied. The concept of social development is more comprehensive Social Change: Concept
and Factors lnvolved in
than social progress.:'No doubt, through social progress and social Social Change
development change in a direction is sought but the methodology and
fallout is different.
Social progress may be natural outcome of social change but social
development is an effort to achieve the pre-planned goals. Like social
change, social p~vgresscan also be value-free whereas social development
is value-laden social phenomenon. Social development is a focused activity
for bringing deliberate transfornution of society. The goal of social
development is to ensure that no one in society suffers from hunger and
denied basic necessities of life. Social development is required to create
an infrastructure where there is no exploitation, injustice, discrimination,
social inequality, rural-urban and regional disparities.
Econon~icdevelopment is an integral part of social progress and social
development. Economic development is an increase in all sectors of
productions leading to high rate of growth. In order to ensure increased
production human resources are to be developed through vocational and
technical training. All this indicates a highly inter-linked phenomenon. In
the words of M.S. Gore, social development is a social, cultural, economic,
political and environmental development. Development in all these areas
will ensure better quality of life. Therefore, issues of social changes are
inherent in it.
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) Physical environment, technology, economic development and

demographic changes induce social change. There are continuous
develop~ilentsin these areas leading to social change. As it is difficult to
predict social change, similarly, it is difficult to say which of these factors
is most crucial in social change. All these factors individually as well as
collectively intluence the social life, social structure, social system, social
relations, social attitudes and social values leading to social change.
Physical environment promotes and limits the growth of social life as is
clear from the patterns of social life at poles, deserts and mountains covered
with snow. There is historical evidence that great civilizations of Egypt
and Mesopotamia disappeared under the unfavourable physical conditions.
Physical environment changes through various forms of disasters,
convulsions, eruptions, produces new ways of living, social relationships,
social attitudes, social values related to disaster-management sub-culture.
Social and economic lives of human beings are deeply attached to each
other. Economic aspect of social life is primary in human society.
Development of human society from hunting and gathering stage to
latest means of production and distribution brought within, its own forms
of social and economic life. This fact has also been highlighted by
various social scientists specifically by Engles and Marx. Human beings
are what they do and accordingly constitute their social and economic
life. The world-wide trends show that economically prosperous persons
have low fertility rates. Economic affluence ensues from industrial
development based on technological and educational advancement. The
Introduction to Society poor and the uneducated people living in slums and rural areas usually
have high fertility rates. Standard of living is dependent on economic
factors.
Technological factors whikh accelerated economic development h a ~ c
converted the world into a global village producing tremendous changc ;
in social life. There is no area which has not been touched b j
technological developments. Technology has transformed the total human
social life. Technological developments led to industrialization and
urbanization which resulted in fast changes in all social institutions of
social life. Technological factors have also led to cultural lag.
De~nographicstudies have revealed that factors such as fertility, mortality,
sex ratio, changes in age structure, age at marriage, proportions marrying
and migrating also induce social change. Development of contraceptive
technology and its use have had a far reaching effect on society. The
societies with high fertility ratio are choked with population,
unemployment, child labour, migration, family violence, high marital
breakdown along with high infant mortality rate. Increase in the number
of old persons requires larger and stronger social and economic support
systems to check loneliness, violation and family health of old persons.
Small family norm adopted by human beings has chmged the demographic
and social environment throughout the world.