Cultural Change

Concepts of Culture

Before we dive into concepts such as cultural universalism and cultural change, let's study some key terms that you will encounter when studying culture in sociology.

Material and non-material culture are linked, as the former often reflects the latter. A church, a material object, represents and reflects the non-material culture of its faith. Some links may be obvious, but when we encounter other parts of the world, we may not understand their material and non-material cultures.

A benefit of coming across different cultures is that we not only understand them better, but we can compare them with our own.

Cultural Universalism, Cultural Relativism, and Culture Shock

Have you ever experienced a moment when you realized your culture is fundamentally different from a friend's or acquaintance's?

Let's examine what we mean by cultural universalism and cultural relativism.

Cultural Universalism

According to cultural universalism, the principles, ideas, and actions that distinguish different cultures can be analyzed, comprehended, and evaluated by universal standards. Cultural universalists would argue, for instance, that all cultures should adhere to the same beliefs about what is right and wrong.

This is because they believe some things are common across all cultures. Cultural universals are patterns or characteristics shared by all societies on a global scale.

George Murdock initially became aware of cultural universals while researching various kinship systems. Murdock found that common human events like birth and death, disease and recovery, or acquiring food, clothing, and shelter are often at the center of cultural universals.

Let's look at some examples of cultural universals.

The Family as a Cultural Universal

The family is one instance of a cultural universal; every human society acknowledges a family system that governs sexual reproduction and child-rearing. However, there are differences in how that family unit is conceived and managed.

Ceremonies as a Cultural Universal

Funeral ceremonies, weddings, and birth celebrations are a few further cultural universals. However, the ceremonies may be viewed very differently in each culture.

Music as a Cultural Universal

Another example of cultural universals is music. Whether traditional and communal or influenced by contemporary popular culture, music is a common element within all cultures and can be used to convey a range of emotions transcending language and nationality.

Fig. 1 - Families are a common unit in all societies, despite having different formations.

Cultural Relativism

Cultural relativism refers to the practice of judging a culture by its own norms as opposed to the standards of our own culture. It takes an open mind and a readiness to explore and even adapt to new values and standards to engage in cultural relativism.

It's not always possible to embrace all traditions of different cultures wholeheartedly, though.

Carrying on from the above example, even the most culturally tolerant individuals from egalitarian societies, in which women have political rights and autonomy over their lives, would doubt the legitimacy of practices such as forced marriage or child marriage, which are also a feature of some South Asian societies.

Culture Shock

When someone encounters an unusual way of life, they may feel disoriented and experience culture shock. Traveling abroad is frequently linked to culture shock, but it can also occur within one's own nation, state, or even hometown.

The phrase "culture shock" is credited with being first used by anthropologist Kalervo Oberg in 1960. According to Oberg's research, most people initially find experiencing a new culture exciting. But gradually, their interactions with individuals from other cultures, who spoke other languages and had different regional slang, caused them to become anxious.

New meals needed to be adjusted to, daily routines needed to be adhered to, and etiquette guidelines had to be learned. People who experience this persistent tension may feel incompetent and insecure.

Oberg discovered that when people are frustrated by a new culture, they initially reject it and exalt (elevate) their own. Culture shock can last weeks or months, and it can take years to fully acclimate to living in a different culture. However, it is very possible to get over it and become very comfortable in a new culture, as countless people have done.

Ethnocentrism and Culture Shock

Culture shock is often a result of ethnocentrism. According to sociologist William Graham Sumner, who coined the term in 1906, ethnocentrism refers to the idea that one's own culture is superior to all others.

Nearly everyone is ethnocentric to a degree. For instance, Americans frequently claim that drivers from England use the "wrong" side of the road instead of the "other" side. You might find it strange that some cultures eat certain animals, while those from countries/cultures that practice vegetarianism might find eating meat in general shocking.

A high level of respect for one's own culture can be a good thing. However, ethnocentrism has the potential to lead to misinterpretation and can breed conflict with other cultures, as well as forcing one's own values on others.

Cultural Change: Definition

Culture is constantly changing. This does not always happen in an "obvious" way - developments in material culture have a domino effect on nonmaterial culture that does not always show immediately. When anything novel (like railroads or cellphones) creates new opportunities, and when new concepts are introduced into a culture, cultures evolve (e.g., as a result of travel or globalization).

Sociologists use the term "cultural change" to describe the type and scope of social change in society. It is important because it denotes changes to our ways of life, from our values to our interests and passions.

Examples of Cultural Change

Let's look at an example of cultural change that came about due to technological advancements.

The development of modern communication tools like mobile phones led to a shift in cultural norms. Phone conversations were no longer limited to being held in homes, offices, or phone booths. This caused some issues when people started to become irritated at others taking calls at any time. Clearly, cell phone usage would require specific etiquette - it was argued that people who are out in public should be aware of their environment and their companions.

Thanks to technology, there is also now a workaround to this problem: texting, which allows for discrete communication and has replaced calling as the primary method of on-the-go communication.

Causes of Cultural Change

There are three phenomena that cause cultural change in society: invention, discovery, and cultural diffusion. Let's look at each in turn.

Invention and Cultural Change

When something new is created from pre-existing objects or ideas—when things are put together in an altogether novel way—we call that an invention. The telephone, the airplane, and the computer are three examples of inventions that have significantly impacted our material culture and way of life. The minimum wage, racially-integrated schools, and women's shelters are all powerful components of nonmaterial culture.

Invention leads to cultural change by replacing traditional methods of doing things and interacting with others with new ones, or by enabling people to engage in previously unimaginable activities, inventions can impact culture. Their use may necessitate new norms for novel contexts, and their adoption reflects (and may affect) cultural values.

Discoveries and Cultural Change

A second factor contributing to cultural change is discovery, which involves discovering and comprehending something that was previously unknown but already exists, e.g. a different culture's cuisine or the political leadership abilities of women.

A broader example is the 'discovery' of America. Native American people were, of course, already familiar with the land when Christopher Columbus first arrived. However, Columbus' discovery provided new information to Europeans and paved the path for changes in both European cultures and the cultures of the newly found regions.

Cultural Diffusion, Immigration, and Cultural Change

Diffusion, or the transfer of cultural traits from one society to another, is the third cause of cultural change. Cultural diffusion has been occurring at an unprecedented rate thanks to modern travel and information technology. People can immigrate to different countries, work and vacation worldwide, and access international media and different cultures that they would never have otherwise.

This means that societies are now more culturally diverse than ever before, particularly in the case of the US. Communities from all corners of the world immigrate and settle in areas such as New York or California, bringing their cultural elements, such as cuisine and lifestyle, which then become a part of American culture.

It also means that people can incorporate elements of different cultures into everyday life. For instance, you can watch a French-language film, attend the world tour of a Korean pop group, eat at a Mexican restaurant, and join a friend's Diwali celebration, all while living in the US.

Fig. 2 - Food is one of the most prominent aspects of cultural diffusion.

Globalization and Diffusion

Unsurprisingly, cultural change has been significantly accelerated by globalization. Western governments started deregulating social services in the 1980s while allowing more freedom to private corporations. As a result, multinational corporations began to dominate global markets, which was a novel development at the time.

Since then, the integration of global commerce and finance markets has been referred to as globalization. This integration of global markets and technological advancements in recent decades has enabled increased cultural diffusion and exchange.

In addition to facilitating the flow of goods and people, improved communications and air travel have further expanded possibilities for international business relationships (Scheuerman 2014 (updated)). Many American businesses now have offices abroad where labor and resource expenses are lower. When someone from the US calls their bank or insurance company, the customer service representative can be employed in another nation.

Generation Gaps and Cultural Lag

Cultural change is not always uniformly spread across all structures and groups in society - there are generational gaps and cultural lag.

Generational gaps may result from rapidly rolled-out technological innovations, for example. A skeptic older generation will occasionally ignore technological innovations that become popular quickly with one generation. As a result, there will be a gap in the usage of such technology between older and younger generations.

Similarly, new cultural innovations can also cause cultural gaps. Technology can spread throughout society in months, while changing societal concepts and attitudes might take millennia. This is because material culture tends to develop more quickly than nonmaterial culture. The period of time between the introduction of a new piece of material culture and its acceptance as a component of nonmaterial culture is known as the "culture lag," according to sociologist William F. Ogburn (1957).