culture lag

Definitions of Culture Lag

1. (noun) The period of time between the introduction of new technological developments (material culture) into a culture or society and the acceptance of the developments by legal and moral institutions (nonmaterial culture) in a culture or society.
2. (noun) (informal) The time it takes for culture to catch up to innovations in technology.

Example of Culture Lag

• Laws and mores adapting to medical science’s ability to keep an individual alive through artificial means.

Etymology of Culture Lag

• Coined by William F. Ogburn (1886–1959) in Social Change with Respect to Culture and Original Nature (1922).
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Culture Lag Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: cul·ture lag

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ˈkʌlʧər læg/
• British English – /ˈkʌlʧə læg/

Usage Notes

• Plural: culture lags
• The period of time between introduction and acceptance of a technological development leads to conflicts and social problems.
• Also called:
  • cultural lag
  • cultural lag theory

Related Videos

Additional Information

• Word origin of “culture” and “lag” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Choukas, Michael. 1936. “The Concept of Cultural Lag Re-examined.” American Sociological Review 1(5):752–60. doi:10.2307/2084134.
• Hall, Edward T. 1976. Beyond Culture. New York: Doubleday.
• Hickman, Charles Addison. 1947. World Economic Problems: Nationalism, Technology & Cultural Lag. New York: Pitman.
• Ogburn, William F. 1922. Social Change with Respect to Culture and Human Nature. New York: Dell.
• Ogburn, William F. 1964. On Culture and Social Change: Selected Papers. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Woodard, James Wroten. 1935. Intellectual Realism and Culture Change: A Preliminary Study of Reification. Hanover, NH: Sociological Press.
• Everyday Sociology Blog – Technology and Cultural Lag: everydaysociologyblog.com
• Sociology Guide – Cultural Lag: sociologyguide.com
• The Sociology of Educational Technology – The Cultural Lag Theory: sites.google.com

Related Terms

• automation
• digital divide
• capitalism
• e-readiness
• knowledge gap
• material culture
• neo-Luddite
• non-material culture
• planned obsolescence
• technological diffusion
• technology

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Cite the Definition of Culture Lag

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “culture lag.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved November 28, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/culture-lag/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

culture lag. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/culture-lag/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “culture lag.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed November 28, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/culture-lag/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“culture lag.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 28 Nov. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/culture-lag/>.