This document provides an overview of cultural concepts including cultural lag, cultural diffusion, and acculturation.
Cultural lag refers to when cultural ideas do not keep pace with other social changes, such as new medical technologies raising questions about life and death that cultural beliefs have not yet addressed. Cultural diffusion is the spreading of cultural ideas from one group to another through various means such as direct contact, a middleman, or force. Acculturation is the process where members of one group adopt the beliefs and behaviors of another culture, such as an immigrant's family becoming accustomed to practices in their new country over generations.