Explain the term Cultural Change.

1. Norms and values undergo change over time.

2. Certain external conditions in the contemporary society have given impetus to this change. These conditions are industrialisation, urbanisation, global network to television and computer, all of which have expanded enormously in the last few decades.

3. Values related to inter-personal relationships in the family have changed and consequently modes of behaviour of people have also changed.

Example : For instance, in Indian joint family, the authority of the eldest male member has eroded in favouring one who makes effective economic contribution to the famliy budget.

4. Change in culture is a slow but a continuous process. But this process is accelerated by two conditions. These are :

(a) When a groups of people comes in contact with other cultures, it borrows culturetraits from them. As a result, the borrowed traits either add to the culture of the borrower or replace or modify certain traits which it already has.

The more the peopole have contacts with other cultures, the more would they borrow from other cultures, modifying their own culture complexes.

(b) The culture undergoes change not only because it borrows traits from other cultures, but also by way of the process of spread of culture-traits. This process is called diffusion.

(c) Diffusion takes places not only by contact ut also by indirect means of communication.

(d) The advancement in information technology and transportation system has made contact easy and quick making the process of diffusion quite fast.