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LECTURER: DR MERCY OTSIN

LECTURE 2&3
FORCES OF SOCIAL CHANGE
◦ There are numerous causes/forces of social change. However our
focus will be on the following:

◦ social institutions

◦ Population

◦ Environment

◦ Technology
•All these four factors/causes of social change
impacts when and how society changes. They are
all interrelated and therefore a change in one can
result in changes in the others
Marriage/kinship

Religion

Education

Economic

Political/government
 What is a social institution
Social institutions are the systems within a
society that governs human interactions and
shape norms, values and behaviour. social
institutions exist to meet the fundamental
needs of the society such as providing structure,
guidance and order egs. Family, religion, educ,
etc.
The family
It is the backbone of the
society. Family is the link
between the individual and the
society.
It is a group of people who are
related by marriage, blood or
adoption and they often live
together.
Functions of the family

Regulation of sexual
activty
Reproduction of the race and rearing of the young
Cultural transmission
Socialisation of the child
Providing affection and a sense of security
Providing social status
 Types of family
Nuclear or conjugal family
 the husband, wife and children

Extended or consaguine family

Consist of the married couple, their parents, siblings,
grandparents, aunts, cousins etc.
Based on nature of
succession

Matrilineal Patrineal
 Changing patterns
Increase in single parent families
Blended families
Cohabitation
Break down of the extended family system
Dual earner families
High rates of divorce
Reduction in the number of children
Gender role changes
Changing patterns in the family are driven by
various factors of social change.
Discussion: what do you think could be some of the
contributory factors to the changes we are seeing in
families?
•Lets discuss some of the implications of the changing
family patterns on health
One of the major ways in which changes in the family
structure reflect on health is through the social support
that families provide. Social support is essential for
maintaining physical and mental health.

However changes occurring in the family has led to a

decline this
Religion
 It is a system of beliefs and rituals
that serves to bind people together
through shared worship

What is religion
It is a set of beliefs and practices that
pertain to a sacred or supernatural
realm that guides human behaviour
and gives meaning to life among a
community of believers
Religion is the social institution that answers questions and explains the
seemingly inexplicable. Religion provides explanation for why things happen
and demystifies the ideas of death and birth.

We have monotheistic and polytheistic religions

Monotheistic- belief in a single deity

Polytheistic – belief in multiple deities

 Functions of religion
Serves as a means of social control
Exerts great influence on personality development
Allays fear of unknown
Explains events or situations which are beyond
comprehension of man
Gives man comfort, strenght and hope in times of
crisis and despair
 Influence of religion on health
•Religion can influence health through:
1. Promotion of healthy behaviours: Eg. prescribing certain diet
and/or discouraging the abuse of alcoholic beverages, smoking
etc

2. Psychological states: Religious people can experience better

mental health. Religion often helps its adherents to have more
positive psychological states which in turn can lead to a better
overall physical health due to less stress
 Influence of religion on healthcare
•Though religious issues in healthcare is
often associated with a myriad of
ethical dilemmas, as a healthcare
administrator it is important to know the
various ways in which religion can
impact healthcare
What will you do if faced with the following ethical
dilemmas?
•Jehovah's Witnesses refusing blood transfusions
•Patients refusing care since they see the disease
as punishment from God.
• Patient believes their depression or cancer is result of a
spirit
•Patients refusing treatment for ovarian cancer
because they believe is a punishment from God
for an abortion committed years ago
Government or political institution
is the distribution system of power
and authority used to maintain
social order
Society is based on rules and
regulations which are prepared by
the government.
It is the institution through which power is
acquired by some people and groups. Political
activities such as elections, legislations and public
opinion etc. plays a crucial role in bringing about
social change.
Laws act as an instrument of socio-economic
and political change in the society.
Government/political institution has the power to
legislate new laws and repeal old ones to bring
about changes in the society
Laws regarding:
 child marriage
inheritance,
criminal libel
unnatural canal knowledge.
 The government and health
•The largest provider of health services in our country is
the government

•The government has the responsibility to provide

quality health care services that are accessible and
affordable to the citizenry
Economic Institution
•It is the social institution that
ensures the maintenance of
society through the production,
exchange, distribution and
consumption of goods and
services.
•Goods: They are tangible objects that are necessary eg.
food or desired eg. mobile phones.
•Services: They are intangible activities for which
people are willing to pay eg. going to the movies. It can
also be said to be activities that benefits others eg.
teaching etc
Sectors of the economy

primary

Economy
secondary
Tertiary
 Sectors of the economy
Primary sector: extraction of raw materials and resources from the
environment. Egs. fishing, farming, mining, animal husbandry
Secondary sector: it refers to the sector of the economy that transforms
raw materials into finished products or goods or products through
manufacturing and industrial processes. This sector adds value to primary
resources and turns them to consumer and industrial goods eg.
automobile manufacturing, electronics production, textile production,
food processing
Tertiary sector: Services sector of the economy egs. financial institutions,
schools, transport etc.
 Some functions of economic institutions
1. Power and Authority: Power is the intentional
influence over the beliefs, emotions and
behaviours of people while authority refers to the
formal power to act. Economic resources provide
power and authority to its holder.
Need Satisfaction
Another function of economic institutions is to fulfil
the human needs for which they were developed.
The various sectors of economy play an important
part in this regard.
Social stratification: refers to a system by
which a society ranks categories of people in a
hierarchy. The society is often categorised by
the distribution of economic resources.
Educati
on
 Education
Education is an important agent of social change. It is through the
medium of education that the traditions, culture, knowledge and skills
from one generation is handed onto the other.

Education helps society to achieve the ff.:

◦ socialise, shape and develop the individual according to societal needs

◦ Fulfil society’s human resource needs

 Formal and informal education
Education imparted in a well defined institutional
setting is formal and the one which an individual
acquires in the course of his or her daily activities
and interractions with the family and society at
large is informal
Informal education- prevalent in tribal and agrarian societies. The
following is often learnt informally:
Language, traditional practices, folk songs, productive skills like fishing,
farming, cattle rearing etc. It is often learnt through observation and
interactions with the family and the wider society

In advance or modern societies informal education still occur egs.

manners, etiquette and social skills
Formal education

• Regular and recognised schools

• Definite and properly spelt out content

• Definite rules and regulations

Development of human resources

Education trains individuals in the requisite skills and knowledge needed by

the society.
This function was formally carried out by the family where the child learns
the occupation of the parent but as changes and growth occurred in the
society this function was given to educational institutions
Educations ensures that you are given a position in society based on the skills
you have acquired
 Education and health knowledge
Individuals with more formal education are likely to
have greater knowledge about health conditions,
treatment regimens and better self-management skills.
This has been found across a range of illnesses
including HIV/AIDS, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.
A study of people categorised as obese found
that those with lower literacy levels were less
likely to believe they needed to lose weight or that
to do so would be a health benefit.
Demographic factor
Demographical factors plays an
important role in the process of
social change. The term
demography is derived from two
Greek words ‘Demos’ and
‘Graphs’ meaning the people
and to draw or write
Demography is defined as the scientific
study of the human population with respect to
the size, the structure of the population, the
composition of the population.
Population composition is changing at every level
of the society. Births increase in one nation and
decrease in another. Population changes can be
due to external forces, like epidemics or changes
occurring in the other social institutions mentioned
earlier.
•Population trends have a tremendous interrelated
impact on all other aspects of society.
•Globally, the countries with the highest fertility
rates are least able to absorb and attend to the
needs of a growing population. Family planning is
an important step in ensuring that families are not
burdened with more children than they can care for.
•Rapid increase in population creates problems
of unemployment, malnutrition and poverty
 Environment
•Individuals and the environment affect each other. Changes
in the natural/physical environment may be either due to the
activities of humans or independent of them.
•Changes which occurs in the physical environment can be
either very slow or fast.
•Erosion, air pollution, deforestation are all human activities
that contributes to a change in the natural/physical
environment.
•Disasters in the form of storms, floods, earthquakes,
disease outbreaks, volcanic eruptions, fires has an
impact on social life.
•The prevalence of flora and fauna creates a social order
based on it. Physical environment promotes and limits
the growth of civilisations. Evidence suggests that there
is often limited social life in hostile environment.
•Some historians have expressed the view that even great
civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia disappeared due
to unfavourable physical environmental conditions.
• Availability of natural resources is necessary for human
life and human societies are often created in places
where resources is plentiful.
•The depletion of natural resources after their
exploitation leads to disintegration and change in
human settlements.
•Misuse of physical environment by human beings
resulted in green house effect pollution, shortage of
potable water and non-availability of land for houses
etc.
 Technology
•Technology has made our lives easier. Imagine what
your day would be like without the internet, the
automobile, or electricity.
•Technological changes have converted the world into a
global village and produced profound social changes
• Industry, agriculture, transportation, communication,
sources of energy, food processing, housing, and physical
environment are influenced by technological changes.
• Almost all technological developments has brought
about changes the patterns of interaction and social life