Demographic theories

Examples of Demographic theories in the following topics:

• Demographic Transition Theory

  • Demographic transition theory outlines five stages of change in birth and death rates to predict the growth of populations.
  • Demographic transition theory (Caldwell and Caldwell 2006) suggests that future population growth will develop along a predictable four- or five-stage model.
  • Many countries such as China, Brazil and Thailand have passed through the Demographic Transition Model (DTM) very quickly due to fast social and economic change.
  • Break down the demographic transition model/theory into five recognizable stages based on how countries reach industrialization

• Natural Cycles

  • Social cycle theories are among the earliest social theories in sociology.
  • In fact, the early theory of Sima Qian, a Chinese historiographer of the Han Dynasty and typically considered to be the father of Chinese historiography, the more recent theories of long-term ("secular") political-demographic cycles as well as the Varnic theory of P.R.
  • Sociological cycle theory was also developed by Pitirim A.
  • The presence of political-demographic cycles in the pre-modern history of Europe and China , and in chiefdom level societies worldwide has been known for quite a long time, and already in the 1980s more or less developed mathematical models of demographic cycles started to be produced.
  • Examine the change in social cycle theories throughout history, ranging from ideas of "life cycles" to political-demographic cycles

• The Demographic Transition

  • The demographic transition is a model and theory describing the transition from high birth rates and death rates to low birth and death rates that occurs as part of the economic development of a country.
  • The transition from high rates to low rates is referred to as the demographic transition.
  • This understanding of societal changes is based on the work of Thompson, Blacker, and Notestein, who derived the model based on changes in demographics over the preceding two hundred years or so.
  • Countries in the second stage of the demographic transition (see diagram) experience a large increase in population.
  • While there are several theories that attempt to explain why this occurs (e.g., Becker and Caldwell, who view children as economic commodities), why birth rates decline in post-industrial societies is still being evaluated.

• Why study demography?

  • Before proposing complex theories to explain sociological phenomena (e.g., World Systems Theory), especially at the macro and/or societal levels, sociologists should first turn to demographic indicators for possible explanations.
  • Demographic analysis is a powerful tool that can explain a number of sociological phenomena.
  • In this fashion, demographic indicators are often informative in explaining world events and should be turned to first as explanations.

• Aging in the US

  • One result of this demographic shift is that there is a greater demand for health care provision.
  • In short, as populations in specific locations age, the entire social structure must change to accommodate the new demographic, which supports the notion of equilibrium in structural-functionalist theory.

• Theories of Life History

  • Modern theories of life history incorporate life and survivorship factors with ecological concepts associated with r- and K-selection theories.
  • The r- and K-selection theory, although accepted for decades and used for much groundbreaking research, has now been reconsidered.
  • Over the years, several studies attempted to confirm the theory, but these attempts have largely failed.
  • Furthermore, the theory ignored the age-specific mortality of the populations which scientists now know is very important.
  • New demographic-based models of life history evolution have been developed which incorporate many ecological concepts included in r- and K-selection theory, as well as population age structure and mortality factors.

• Population Trends

  • Most European nations are examples of countries at the end of the demographic transition: both birth and death rates are low, so populations are static or shrinking.
  • The demographic transition helps explain the differences between countries.
  • The demographic transition refers to the shift from high birth rates and death rates to low birth and death rates; this occurs as part of the economic development of a country.
  • His arguments are widely known as Malthusianism, and present-day proponents of this theory are called Neo-Malthusians.
  • This model illustrates the demographic transition, as birth and death rates rise and fall but eventually reach equilibrium.

• The Trait-Theory Approach

  • According to trait leadership theory, effective leaders have in common a pattern of personal characteristics that support their ability to mobilize others toward a shared vision.
  • Demographic: In this category, gender has received by far the most attention in terms of leadership; however, most scholars have found that gender is not a determining demographic trait, as male and female leaders are equally effective.
  • This diagram visually represents Zaccaro's theory that distal attributes (e.g., cognitive abilities, personality, values) serve as precursors for the development of proximal personal characteristics (e.g. social skills, problem-solving skills), both of which contribute to leadership.

• Demographics of New Markets

  • Marketers typically combine several variables to define a demographic profile.
  • A demographic profile (often shortened to a "demographic") is a term used in marketing and broadcasting to describe a demographic grouping or a market segment.
  • The five types of demographics for marketing are age, gender, income level, race, and ethnicity.
  • Most demographic information is also culturally based.
  • Demographics can be measured in a variety of ways.

• Motivation

  • Internal conditions: demographics, psychographics (lifestyle), personality motivation, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and feelings
  • Incentive Theory: A reward, tangible or intangible, is presented after the occurrence of a behavior, with the intent of causing the behavior to occur again.
  • Incentive theory in psychology treats motivation and behavior of the individual as though they are influenced by beliefs, such as engaging in activities that are expected to be profitable.
  • Drive-reduction theory: Individuals have certain biological drives, such as hunger.
  • Cognitive dissonance theory: Cognitive dissonance occurs when an individual experiences an inconsistency between their views of the world around them and their own personal feelings and actions.