Janu – Lee C. Tarnate

STIMULANTS and BARRIERS of Social Change

Barriers and Stimulants:Cultural Social Psychological Physical

Cultural Factors:1. Values and Attitudes

2. Motor Patterns and Customary Position

CULTURErefers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.

culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people (Bodley, 2005).

1. Values and Attitudes Barriers

TraditionalismCultural EthnocentrismNorms of ModestyBahala na attitudePride and DignityRegionalism

*Traditionalism predisposes the society to believe that anything happens is the will of some supernatural force and cannot be modified by human effort.

*Ethnocentrism often expressed in the doctrine of absolute values, upholds the universal superiority of one’s culture.

Norms of modesty/humility specify what may be refined or vulgar in society, and innovations are judge as either appropriate or inappropriate, refined or vulgar by such norms.As a result, people tend to restrains trying new things to avoid losing face.

RELATIVE VALUESCannot eliminate people’s prejudice to change.

Judge the result of an undertaking based on their own established tradition. So, no matter how good the change people have the tendency to see certain flaws in it (Garcia, 1985).

2.Motor Patterns and Customary Body Position

These set of patterns, the manipulation of body in varied situations that are formed in childhood, are relatively harder to change since they are already set of patterns in adult.

Example:EatingSleepingGesturesHolding and using mechanical tools or equipment

Social Barriers to Change:

1. Patterns of Cooperation2. Patterns of Competition2. Authority Patterns3. Characteristics of the Social Structures

*Patterns of Cooperation may entail rigid reciprocal relationships among members of the kinship group, like compadres, of friendship of friend circles, and other primary groups.

1. Patterns of Cooperation

*Competition or conflict resulting from factionalism and vested interests prevented communities from unifying to work for the common good.

2. Patterns of Competition

*Authority patterns within the family and the political structure and those exceptional individuals may also retard social change.

Authority Patterns

•All institutions in the society are channels through which social and cultural change can be effected or stability maintained.

Characteristics of the Social Structures

Economy, government, and educational systems are more significant in initiating and directing change.

*Caste and Class Divisions

The Industrial Revolution created giant firms and corporation, the assembly line, standardization, mass production which, in turn, caused other changes throughout societies. Further, the government may not only accelerate changes through guided programs and laws within itself, but also in other systems in the society.

Elementary and secondary schools prepare individuals for the world of work, marriage, and assumption of the general rules of society has in store for them. College sharpens their attitudes and makes them more conscious for their general socio-economic-cultural environment.

Caste and Class Divisionsthe caste and class divisions within the society may retard social change. For eaxample, in facilitating in handling down orders from superior on one hand, they may limit the flow of ideas from the subordinates and thus retard change (Panopio, 1994).

Barnett and Mandelbaum identify leaders as “marginal man” and the “prestige-laden individual.”

They classify the “marginal man” as dissatisfied with tradition, so he readily accepts changes or new things within the community. The “prestige individuals” are the one, who has social position and wealth, and may reject or accept innovation because he does so.

Psychological Barriers

1.Difference in Perception

2.Problems of Communication

1.Differences in PerceptionThe phenomenon of social change entails participation of a great number of people, including the administrative officials and those in the bureaucratic ranks. Thus, participants may have different perceptions regarding the function of the agency, rules, or behavior of expectations of each and the value of activities which usually involve the exchange of goods and services

2.Problems of Communication

Communication problem may revolve around language/dialect difficulties. Some words, phrases, and sentence which mean good in one society may have bad meanings in another society.

Thus, administrators and technical experts, such as political scientist, the doctor, lawyer, accountant, agriculturist, sociologist, psychologist and the like have their own technical jargon or lingo. Hence, the jargon of one expert may not have its equivalent in that of another.

</, Fin . . .

Merci Beaucoup!