Transcript 1 Social Change intro

Unit 2
Social Change
WITHOUT SPEAKING!!!
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If you were a world leader, what change would you
make?
1.Without telling anyone write it down on your piece
of paper
2.STILL WITHOUT SPEAKING, circulate around the
room and look at other changes your classmates
would make
3.Are there similarities? Discuss
Unit 2 Learning Goals
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Overall Expectations
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Evaluate the differences and similarities in the methodologies and
strategies of Anthropology, Psychology, & Sociology applied to the
study of change
Describe the key features of major theories from Anthropology,
Psychology, & Sociology that focus on change
Analyze the ways in which theories of early social scientist have
influenced subsequent social-scientific thinking
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Unit 2 Learning Goals
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Overall Expectations
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Define and correctly use anthropological, psychological and
sociological terms correctly
Demonstrate an understanding of the main areas of study in
anthropology, psychology, and sociology and of the similarities among
them
Demonstrate and understanding of the different research methods used
by anthropology, psychology and sociology to investigate question of
importance within each field, and apply relevant skills correctly and
ethically
Communicate the results of their inquiries effectively
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Explain the significance
How does the picture
represent social change?
10 commandments for changing the world
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You gotta believe
 Change can & does
happen because
individuals take bold
initiatives
® Can you think of some
individuals that have
contributed to social
change??
Challenge Authority
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Don’t be afraid to
question authority
Experts are often
proved wrong
Any other examples?
Know the system
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Learn how decisions
are made
How is bureaucracy
structured?
Know the system
Take action
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Do something
 Anything is
better than
nothing
 Bounce ideas
around with
your friends
then act
Use the media
 Stage a dramatic event
and invite the media
 They love an event that
gives them an
interesting angle or good
photo
Build alliances
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Seek out your common
allies.
The system wins
through divide and
conquer
Apply constant pressure
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This drives those in
power crazy
Be creative to get your
prospective heard
Teach alternatives
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Propose and articulate
alternatives to the
status quo
Learn from mistakes
Take care of yourself & each
other
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Avoid burnout
Share task, delegate
Remember... You are
not alone
In a Group of 3 or 4...
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1. Create a chart to
show five (5)
questions that each
social science would
ask to investigate
social change
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2. Describe five (5) ways that
social change has affected
you NOW and five (5) ways
that social change will affect
you in the future (30 years
from now)
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Create a visual to illustrate
these effects
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Share with the class
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What is Social Change?
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Refers to changes in
the way society is
organized, and in the
beliefs, and practices
of the people who
live in it
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OR...it is a change in
the social structure
and institutions of
society
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Social scientists try to understand the nature
of social change and what forces drive it
 They do not attempt to predict it
 Most change occurs almost naturally, as a
result of a multitude of factors operating
within society
 Not as a result of people’s conscious efforts
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Anthropology & Social Change
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Anthropologists see
cultures as
constantly changing
organisms (an
organism is a whole
with interdependent
parts)
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Change process is
normally gradual &
cultures normally do
not change suddenly
and completely unless
they are destroyed by
another culture.
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The Anthropological Questions
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1. What are the known
basic mechanisms of
social change?
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2. What ideas or
explanations can we use
to describe what causes
cultures to change?
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3. How adequate are
these ideas or
explanations when we
apply them to the modern
world?
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4. What are the
implications for
anthropology? Are the
findings for one period
valid in another?
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Change in Various Countries
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Originally
anthropologists
studied isolated
cultures (e.g.
Yanomamo in the
Amazon) but now
they study cultural
groups in
mainstream society
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30 industrialized
nations in the world
are developed
countries & the
remaining 180 are
developing countries
(little or no industry)
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Anthropologists study  Sources of Cultural
Change: Three major
why the gap between
sources:
developed &
developing countries 1. Invention - new
products, ideas, &
has increased in the
social patterns that
past 50 years
 They suggest ways of
closing this gap
affect the way people
live (e.g. cell phone,
tablet)
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Sources of Cultural Change
Continued
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2. Discovery - finding
something that was
previously unknown
to a culture (e.g.
space exploration)
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3. Diffusion - the
spreading of ideas,
methods, & tools from
one culture to another
(e.g. herbal medicine
from China in Canada)
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Enculturation
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The process by which members of a culture
learn and internalize shared ideas, values,
and beliefs
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Aspects of Culture
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1. Physical environment
(e.g. climate in Canada)
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2. Level of technology degree of technology
available together with the
physical limitations of the
environment determines
how receptive a culture will
be to the need for change
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3. Social organization - how
the culture is organized helps
determine how readily a
given culture can change
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4. Systems of symbols physical objects like clothing
labels, gestures, hairstyles,
or anything that identifies a
person as a member of a
particular culture
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Psychology
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Focuses on people’s
behaviours (what
they do) & attitudes
(what they think)
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Key Questions: what
must people do to
successfully change their
behaviours? What factors
make behaviour
modification programs
successful? Do most
people need help
changing behaviour?
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Psychology
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It is difficult to change
people’s attitudes &
behaviours
 Do individuals have to
change their attitudes
before their behaviour can
be changed?
 Can people be persuaded
to practice behaviour that
is inconsistent with their
attitudes?
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Rewards help BUT bigger
rewards do not help
Persuasion is of great interest
to advertisers
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Social Psychology
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Why & how we change our
minds
 Cognitive consistency the desire to avoid
attitudes that conflict with
each other, which
generally results in the
ability to live more
satisfying lives
 Attitudes & behaviours
match
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If attitudes &
behaviours don’t
match...
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Cognitive Dissonance Theory
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People try to avoid
conflicts between
what they think &
what they do
Dissonance creates
discomfort, inner
conflict, anxiety,
hostility, anger
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Therefore, this makes
us change our
attitudes to avoid this
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Sociology
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Focuses on massive
shifts in the
behaviours &
attitudes of groups &
whole societies
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Key Question: is
change patterned &
predictable or arbitrary
& irregular?
 See change as an
inevitable process
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Three Ways of Explaining Social
Change:
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1. From decay - Societies
begin in an ideal state & then
decline as a result of
becoming more materialistic
& less spiritual
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2. From cycles of growth &
decay - societies go through
cycles rather than inevitable
destruction
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3. From progress - each new
society builds on experiences
of its predecessors & social
institutions change as a
result
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A final thought...
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In addition, it is necessary to
examine if change results
from one factor or from an
interplay of many factors
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E.g. Karl Marx believed that
the struggle for economic
power between competing
social groups caused change
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Reductionist - theories of
those who believe that a
single specific factor causes
change (also called
determinist)
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Many feminists also use the
Marxist analysis seeing men
as those with the power
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Activity
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Taking what you have
learned today, use some
form of social media to justify
how social change is
occurring & where we’re
headed in the future.
In groups of 3 or 4, you are
to create a 30 second public
service announcement
informing the general
population of the changes
occurring in our world
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Make use of:
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Vines
- Instagram
- etc.
You may present this live, or you
make use your phones to prerecord this. Try to make use of
some of the questions and
theories the various disciplines
use to evaluate social change.
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