SOC 1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: George Murdock, Tungsten

• School: Irvine Valley College
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1
• Professor: brown

Document Summary

Describe how discovery, invention/innovation, and diffusion inspire cultural change. Discovery occurs when something previously unrecognized or reinterpreted is found to have social or cultural applications. Historically, discovery involved findings from the natural world for example, fire and gravity. Today, discoveries can occur as a result of the scientific process for example, the ability to split the atom allowed the production of weapons of mass destruction but also the generation of inexpensive electricity. Invention/innovation occurs when existing cultural items are manipulated or modified to produce something new and socially valuable. The differences between invention and innovation may appear slight, but the distinction is important. Invention refers to creating something completely new that has not existed before for example, marconi"s (1874 : device that received the first transatlantic wireless communication at signal hill in. Diffusion occurs when cultural items or practices are transmitted from one group to another.