Folk theory of social change
Kashmina, Yoshihisa Bain, Paul Haslam, Nick Peters, Kim Laham, Simon Whelan, Jennifer Bastian, Brock Loughnan, Stephen Kaufmann, Leah Mary Fernando, Julian
Kashmina, Yoshihisa
Bain, Paul
Haslam, Nick
Peters, Kim
Laham, Simon
Whelan, Jennifer
Bastian, Brock
Loughnan, Stephen
Kaufmann, Leah Mary
Fernando, Julian
Abstract
People have a folk theory of social change (FTSC). A typical Western FTSC stipulates that as a society becomes more industrialized, it undergoes a natural course of social change, in which a communal society marked by communal relationships becomes a qualitatively different, agentic society where market-based exchange relationships prevail. People use this folk theory to predict a society's future and estimate its past, to understand contemporary cross-cultural differences, and to make decisions about social policies. Nonetheless, the FTSC is not particularly consistent with the existing cross-cultural research on industrialization and cultural differences, and needs to be examined carefully.
Keywords
culture, folk theory, individualism, stereotype
Date
2009
Type
Journal article
Journal
Asian Journal of Social Psychology
Book
Volume
12
Issue
4
Page Range
227-246
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Behavioural and Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences