Social Change and Deviance

Social change, which sociologists see as the destiny of societies, is one of the basic issues of sociology. Within this framework, sociologists emphasize that social change is natural, constant, and inevitable. Although the speed of social change varies from one society to another, there are similarities between societies' social change processes. In addition, deviant behaviors manifest structural or regional differences within the framework of social change theories.

Social structure is shaped by the interaction of individuals, and change in individuals' attitudes, values, and behaviors and in individuals' interactions can bring about a change in social structure, a process known as social change. Changes in social structure are of two types. The first type is gradual general change in social structure. The second type is characterized by change in relations between institutions within the social structure. Yet these two change types are so much intertwined that it is almost impossible to consider one apart from the other.

Social changes can establish new social institutions; they can also raise existing social institutions to a higher position or make them unimportant. For instance, the Industrial Revolution brought about a change in relations between the ruler and the ruled as well as created new social institutions such as the proletariat class or syndicates.

Although opinions about social change differ from one writer to another, there is a consensus on certain aspects. These agreed-on aspects can be summarized as follows: change is a natural, inevitable, constant, and necessary phenomenon, and it shares several similarities among societies. As can be inferred from this, social change is not a concept emphasizing a negative or positive impact. That is to say, social change expresses any kind of positive or negative impact in micro- and macrolevels on social structure and social institutions. Therefore, social change should not be confused with concepts such as improvement, development, growth, or modernization, which tend to emphasize the impact.

Because source, direction, impact, speed, or results of change cannot determine whether the process is social change, social change does not depend on any one principle or rule. Because these aspects of change can affect different societies in different ways and at different speeds, outcomes and results of change also vary from one society to another. For instance, while technological innovations in the information sector can quickly and radically influence the industrial environment, the business world, or the science community, they do not generally influence the agricultural sector as radically or as quickly. Yet innovations in gene technology, for example, can have a profound effect on the agricultural sector.