Socio Cultural Factors Affecting Social Change

Introduction:

The idea of social and cultural aspects is one that encompasses social and cultural aspects. Knowing about the people around you and their family histories is an example of social culture. Sociocultural evolution, explains how cultures and societies have evolved over time. It is an umbrella term for theories of cultural evolution and social evolution. Whereas Cultural change refers to any substantial change in social behaviors and cultural values and norms over time. To know the theme of the study we need to understand the key terms that are interlinked in this study.

Social Change:

Social change refers to any important change in behavior patterns and societal values and norms that occurs over time. Sociologists often call this change as social effects produced through significant alteration.

Cultural Change:

Cultural change is a term used in public policy-making that emphasizes the influence of cultural capital on individual and community behavior. It has sometimes been called culture repositioning, meaning the reconstruction of a society's cultural concept. So in Pakistan, we see a huge cultural change that affects the overall behavior of a person.

Factors of Socio-Cultural Change:

Social change can evolve from a variety of sources, including interaction with other cultures (diffusion), ecosystem changes (which can lead to the loss of natural resources or widespread diseases), and technological change (which is epitomized by the Industrial Revolution that created a new social community). There is a close interweaving of social and cultural aspects. Thus, any cultural transition (ideas, ideas, opinions, etc.) brings about a corresponding change in the social order as a whole. Social institutions are unable to live on shells of life within which life is extinct.

Background of the Study:

Social shifts are affected by cultural factors. Societies and communities are strongly interrelated, and we may argue that social change is part of cultural change. In the entire process, cultural factors such as beliefs, values, behaviors, and principles of great men play an important role in shaping social change. Technology, social structures, the population, and the climate are four common factors, as recognized by social scientists. But here the question is when and how this cultural shifts impact all four of these areas. This study will reveal the extent of change that has occurred in Pakistani society due to socio-cultural change.

In Pakistan specifically, Mobility has a major influence on society's key mental and physical problems: depression, fear of abandonment, agoraphobia, obesity, sedentary behavior, etc.

In the enhancement of human and social circumstances and in the improvement of culture, positive social progress results. At several levels, including individuals, families, neighborhoods, organizations, and governments, such changes can occur. Thoughts and decisions with real-world effects are motivated by constructive social change. So that’s the overall motive of this study. The researcher will keep in mind the main objective of the study while conducting research.

Objectives of the Study:

Analysis goals concisely explain what the research is attempting to accomplish. They summarize the achievements a researcher needs to accomplish through the project and provide guidance for the study. This encourages the researcher to come up with acceptable goals for the research project. So the objectives of this study are:

• To what extent socio-cultural change can affect social behavior.
• To find out the factor involving the social change.

Research Questions:

A research question is 'a question to be answered' by a research project. An integral aspect in both quantitative and qualitative research is the choice of a research issue. The research questions for the study are:

• How socio-culture change affects social behavior?
• What are the factors that influence social change?
• Specifically what are the factors that influence social change in Pakistani society?

Literature Review:

Culture Affects Behavior:

If culture encourages a more extroverted type of personality, we may expect more social interaction to be needed. In addition, more assertive and vocal conduct is encouraged by individualistic societies. When these gregarious habits are encouraged by the general public, more ideas are communicated and self-esteem increases. Specifically in Pakistan, we own high respect for traditional family values. Pakistani society is predominantly multilingual and 96 percent Muslim, while urban families have developed into a nuclear family structure due to the socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional joint family system.

Culture and Social Behavior:

Comparative research from different cultures reveals that human social conduct differs enormously across a wide range of fields, including collaboration, fairness, confidence, punishment, violence, morality, and competition. Efforts to clarify this global heterogeneity have continually highlighted the value of social values packages or organizations.

Socio Culture Attitudes:

The cultural values of a person and the beliefs of his or her culture affect socio-cultural attitudes. Attitudes can change over time in terms of gambling. For instance, as consumerism becomes more widespread, the perception of gambling in society becomes more positive. It becomes normalized when a culture views gambling favorably great and, thus, makes it easier for individuals to gamble regularly. Social status, political affiliation, and demographics provide other sociocultural variables that affect gambling.

In general, social class refers to the social and economic status of an individual. It is also affected by family history, education level, and choice of profession. Based on political orientation, these beliefs tend to vary. For instance, as opposed to those with a liberal view, people with conservative political beliefs generally disapprove of gambling, which appears to be more accepting. Also, age can make a difference. Age cohorts are classes of individuals that were born around the same period of time. A cohort of each generation appears to share common values.

Effect of Socio-Cultural Change on Pakistani Society:

There are distinct contents and definitions of social revolution in the social sense of Pakistan. After its introduction, Pakistani society has changed drastically, and the transition has continued. Globalization is the driving force behind this transition. After the beginning of the 1990s, the advent of a free and open world after the Cold War, Pakistan's society began to undergo a significant transformation. This era's macroeconomic policies are that the banking industry enables privatization and liberalization of the domestic and commercial markets by enabling the banking industry to go for liberalization.

For instance, people often use English as a popular language, Western clothing, Western-style fast-food restaurants, single-family and love marriage, foreign education at all levels, a desire for a very independent relationship between men and women, and migration to Western countries are increasing.

1 Concept of Westernization:

Westernization is society's method of attempting to modernize. The elite (rich) Pakistani class has largely become the West, which is a middle and lower motivation to emulate them. Finding a career at a multinational company in Western or developing countries is the first priority of the younger generation.

2 Reasons of Prevailing the Western Culture:

There is no equality in any world society because of gaps in economic and technical skills. The effect of hybridization in the developing world is especially important, particularly economically. The key cause of changes in the social life of people, which decide social and political conditions and society and the power of the nation, are economic factors. Some cultures have more resources than others, and they can have a significant effect on others, with some lacking the resources required to penetrate and even combat other societies' strength and control.

Factors Affecting Social Change in Pakistani Society:

1 Natural Factors:

Natural factors: Even now, the social system can be affected by a hurricane, earthquake, flood, famine, disease, and similar natural events. In the social circumstances and lives of the affected individuals, natural calamities such as floods, earthquakes, droughts, famines, and other natural disasters often force changes.

2 Cultural Factors:

In order to bring about social change, cultural factors often play a part. Our social life relies on our beliefs, opinions, ideas, traditions, conventions, organizations, and the like. If there is a shift in these, it affects social life. For starters, let’s consider the marriage structure. The relationships between parents and kids have undergone a major shift in Pakistani society.

3 Biological Factors:

According to Baratam, Social change is often influenced by biological influences. Biological variables are those variables that decide generations’ structure, selection, and inherited qualities. There is an ever-changing human aspect. Every new generation is different from the generation before it. It is distinct from the previous one in terms of form, ideas, and in several other respects.

4 Socioeconomic Factors:

Economic variables are an important factor in social transition. Marx claimed that economic factors, i.e. the means of production and distribution of the material decide the entire social structure of a country. When changes in the means of production, i.e. the material productive forces of society, are produced, the social organization is often changed.

Major Cause of Social Change in Pakistan:

Some people would argue that our lives have been made simpler by innovative technology. Without the Internet, car, or power, imagine what your day will be like. Thomas Friedman argues in The World Is Flat. He says that technology is a driving force behind globalization, whereas relatively minor roles are played by other forces of social change (social structures, population, and environment). Hence we see the same technological shift in Pakistani societies. We have owned social behaviors which we might not get without using technology. Technology has evolved enough to alter our thinking patterns even, so technological up-gradation has become primarily the major cause of social and behavioral change in Pakistani society.

Methodology:

Research Design:

The system of research methods and techniques selected by a researcher is the research design. The type of study (experimental, survey, correlational, semi-experimental, review) and its sub-type are clarified by the nature of a research subject (experimental design, research problem, descriptive case-study). In this study, the researcher has used a descriptive design to interpret the data and provide an analysis over it.

Research Method:

The researcher has used qualitative data analysis to find out the factors that influence social and behavioral change in Pakistani Society. A qualitative study is focused on evidence from first-hand observation, interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, participant observation, recordings made in natural environments, records, and objects collected by the researcher. The data is typically non-numerical.

Data Collection:

Data collection is the method by which information on targeted variables is collected and measured in a defined framework, which then helps one to answer relevant questions and analyze results. The researcher has used secondary data such as websites, journals, articles, web pages, books, and all available data on the internet to get the findings.

Analysis and Discussion:

The social structure and political system of a nation are always the same, but society is divided on this issue in the opposite place in Pakistan. Spiritual multitudes have distinct beliefs. Liberals seek the promotion of liberalism. The government must recognize Islamic values as the principle of organizing the state while forming the constitution and laws.

Pakistan is the product of the expectations of the Indian Muslim community. Islam is the only force binding individuals from various ethnic groups and the only ultimate uniqueness in Pakistani society. Modernization is fundamentally important for Pakistani society, but this will not follow the idea of the West, but the achievement of Islamic modernity and economics.

An ideal Islamic culture promotes and portrays a free, modern, and universal society. A definition independent of religion, nationality, or cultural differences. Islam is a society which respects human dignity, the creation of individuals, the best requirements for living, and the eradication of poverty. It is very concerned with the advancement of education, as well as with the improvement of the family and of society as a whole. Focus on the stability of the family and the promotion of good principles, giving priority to social unity, ethics, and social welfare.

References:

1. Baratam. (2021). The factors influencing for the social change. Retrieved 23 January 2021, from https://www.slideshare.net/chinarajabaratam/the-factors-influencing-for-the-social-change#:~:text=Cultural Factors:  The cultural,consider the system of marriage.
2. Courses.lumenlearning.com (2021). Social Change Retrieved 23 January 2021, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/social-change/
3. Wikipedia.org (2021). Data Collection Retrieved 23 January 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_collection
4. Henrich, Joseph. (2015). Culture and social behavior. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. 3. 10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.02.001.
5. Greo.ca (2021). Socio-Cultural Attitudes 23 January 2021, from https://www.greo.ca/en/topics/socio-cultural-attitudes.aspx
6. E. Adams, D. Esliger, I. Taylor, L. Shera Individual, employment, and psychosocial factors influencing walking to work: implications for intervention design PLoS One (2017), pp. 1-14
7. Courses.lumenlearning.com (2021). Social Change Retrieved 23 January 2021, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/social-change/