The Sociodynamics of Culture UP216
Abraham Moles in 1966 wrote The Sociodynamics of Culture, a book attempting to explain many cultural phenomena through the lens of market philosophy and the economic realities of the market. On the basis of Durkheim’s statement that social phenomena are things that can be measured and evaluated (that is, measured and evaluated phenomena), Moles built a bridge from the concept of “information” / “message” to economic theory. With a foundation in information theory, he proposed considering information in materialistic terms and introduced the concept of goods in reference to information. Moles’ theory of communication considers man as an individual deeply related to his environment, from which he has always received the first communicative messages and with which he maintains a close relationship. As a direct consequence, it modifies its behavior based on the messages received.
According to Moles, mass communication takes place in society through two cycles: one short and one long. The short cycle communicates the events through the mass media to society. It starts from a sociocultural framework, where there are observers who select events, report them through the media to society and opinion leaders. While the long cycle starts from a sociocultural framework from which a creator makes his realization or expression, he passes to the micro-environment, from there to the mass media and from there to society. In this cycle, many times, the communicative products are saved.
Moles says that culture advances through a cycle in which four factors participate:
According to Moles, mass communication takes place in society through two cycles: one short and one long. The short cycle communicates the events through the mass media to society. It starts from a sociocultural framework, where there are observers who select events, report them through the media to society and opinion leaders. While the long cycle starts from a sociocultural framework from which a creator makes his realization or expression, he passes to the micro-environment, from there to the mass media and from there to society. In this cycle, many times, the communicative products are saved.
Moles says that culture advances through a cycle in which four factors participate:
- Society, which acts as the macro-environment with its experience and cultural heritage;
- The creators who carry out cultural innovations;
- The group, which acts as the micro-environment, which promotes and drives the cultural innovations of the creators;
- And finally, the mass media that circulate innovations.