Societal Development

Examples of Societal Development in the following topics:

• Lenski's Synthesis

  • In Lenski's view, inequality is a natural product of societal development.
  • In sociologist Gerhard Lenski's view, inequality is a product of societal development.
  • Human groups begin as hunter-gatherers, move toward pastoralism and/or horticulturalism, develop toward an agrarian society, and ultimately end up industrializing (with the potential to develop a service industry following industrialization).
  • As societies developed more advanced technologies and underwent industrialization, more surplus was created, increasing the potential for social inequality.

• Introduction

  • Sociologists distinguish between society and culture despite their close interconnectedness primarily for analytical purposes: It allows sociologists to think about societal development independent of culture and cultural change (which are discussed in the next chapter in greater detail) even though societal change and development are contingent upon culture.

• Societal Development

  • The sociological understanding of societal development relies heavily upon the work of Gerhard Lenski.
  • Some people in developed nations are driven into such primitive methods by poverty.
  • As noted throughout the above discussion of societal development, changes in the social structure of a society - in this case the primary means of subsistence - also affect other aspects of society.
  • The diagram shows societal development along the top and the implications of societal development along the bottom.
  • The point being, these are interdependent aspects of societal development that co-evolve.

• The Four Social Revolutions

  • Most societies develop along a similar historical trajectory.
  • In comparison with the previously mentioned societal types, agriculture supports a much greater population density and allows for the accumulation of excess product.
  • The industrial division of labor, one of the most notable characteristics of this societal type, in many cases leads to a restructuring of social relations.
  • Most highly developed countries are now post-industrial.
  • The relationship between the stages of societal development (top row) and its implications (bottom row) are complex and interdependent.

• History

  • The study of human populations has its roots, like sociology generally, in the societal changes that accompanied both the scientific and industrial revolutions.
  • Some early mathematicians developed primitive forms of life tables, which are tables of life expectancies, for life insurance and actuarial purposes.
  • The development of demographic calculations started in the 18th century.

• Subcultures & Countercultures

  • Subcultures bring together like-minded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and allow them to develop a sense of identity.

• Aging is Both Biological and Sociological

  • Aging may be seen as a relatively objective biological process whereby one becomes older and experiences varied biological developments.
  • Aging may also be seen as a subjective series of social processes whereby people interpret, negotiate, and make sense of biological development in relation to existing conceptualizations of what it means to be a certain age.
  • However, this child born in the United States in 1980 will experience social development characterized by many factors.
  • As a result, this child's biological age (how far from birth one is) may or may not match this child's subjective age (how old he/she feels and what responsibilities develop at what age).
  • Additionally, this child may not align with societal age norms by not doing what society expects the child to do at certain ages.Aging is a complex process of subjective biological and social realities intertwined with relatively objective biological and social standards that shift within and between historical and cultural periods.

• Gender and Research

  • Gender, and how it is shaped by societal influences, is an important focus of much sociological research.
  • As societal stereotypes changed, however, assumptions of the unidimensional model were challenged.
  • This led to the development of a two-dimensional gender identity model, in which masculinity and femininity were conceptualized as two separate, orthogonal dimensions, coexisting in varying degrees within an individual.

• The Labeling Approach

  • The labeling approach to health and illness claims that mental illness is manifested solely as a result of societal influence.
  • Developed by sociologists during the 1960s, labeling theory holds that deviance is not inherent to an act.
  • Scheff challenged common perceptions of mental illness by claiming that mental illness is manifested solely as a result of societal influence.
  • A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological pattern, potentially reflected in behavior, that is generally associated with distress or disability, and which is not considered part of normal development of a person's culture.

• 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.
  • 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.
  • Many developed countries now have a population that is static or, in some cases, shrinking.
  • Whether or not it will accurately depict changes in developing societies today remains to be seen.