Breaking down the question
The question names a specific theory and its principal authors, so the note must state the theory accurately, explain its key distinction and mechanism, illustrate it and offer a brief critical appraisal. The concept of cultural lag was developed by William F. Ogburn and popularised in the textbook he co-authored with Meyer F. Nimkoff.
The core idea is the distinction between material culture — technology, tools, techniques and physical apparatus — and non-material culture — values, beliefs, norms, laws and institutions. Ogburn argued that material culture tends to change faster than non-material culture, and the period of maladjustment during which the latter catches up is the cultural lag. The examiner wants that mechanism stated precisely.
The theory sits within the broader debates covered in the note on theories of social change.
How to approach it
Begin by attributing the concept to Ogburn and Nimkoff and defining the two parts of culture. State the central proposition: the two parts do not change at the same rate, material culture ordinarily leading and non-material culture lagging behind, producing a strain of maladjustment.
Then illustrate with a clear example — such as the gap between rapid advances in medical and reproductive technology and the slower evolution of ethical norms and law, or between industrial technology and environmental regulation. Finally, offer a short critical note: the theory is insightful about the unevenness of change but has been criticised for technological determinism and for the difficulty of measuring lag precisely. Conclude by affirming its lasting value as a description of asynchronous change.
Model answer
The theory of cultural lag was formulated by William F. Ogburn and elaborated in the well-known textbook he wrote with Meyer F. Nimkoff. It rests on a fundamental distinction between two components of culture. Material culture consists of the tangible products of human activity — tools, machines, technology and physical goods. Non-material culture consists of the intangible elements — values, beliefs, customs, norms, laws, institutions and ways of thinking.
Ogburn's central proposition is that these two components do not change at the same speed. Material culture, driven by invention and accumulation, tends to change rapidly, while non-material culture — especially the adaptive institutions and values that must respond to it — changes more slowly. The interval of maladjustment between a change in material culture and the eventual adjustment of the corresponding non-material culture is what Ogburn called the cultural lag. During this period the older norms and institutions are ill-fitted to the new material conditions, generating strain, disorganisation and social problems.
A familiar illustration is the relationship between technology and regulation. The invention of the motor car rapidly transformed transport, but traffic laws, insurance systems and urban planning took considerable time to catch up. In our own era, advances in medical, digital and reproductive technology have far outpaced the ethical codes and legal frameworks needed to govern them, producing precisely the maladjustment Ogburn described. Industrial expansion, likewise, long outran the environmental norms required to contain its effects.
The theory has been influential but also criticised. Critics charge it with technological determinism, since it tends to treat material culture as the leading variable and non-material culture as merely reactive, whereas in reality values and institutions can also drive technological change. It is also difficult to specify exactly which element is "leading" and which is "lagging", or to measure the length of a lag with any precision. Some non-material changes, moreover, may precede material ones.
Despite these limitations, cultural lag remains a valuable and enduring concept. It captures the uneven, asynchronous character of social change and explains why periods of rapid technological advance are so often accompanied by moral confusion and institutional strain — an insight of continuing relevance in a fast-changing modern society.
Examiner's perspective
The examiner wants the specific theory, correctly attributed, with the material and non-material distinction stated cleanly and the mechanism of differential rates of change explained. A concrete, well-chosen example is expected to demonstrate understanding rather than rote reproduction of a definition.
Higher marks go to answers that add a balanced critical note — flagging the charge of technological determinism and the measurement problem — before closing with a fair judgement on the theory's continuing usefulness. Weak notes stop at the definition and the two-fold distinction without either illustration or appraisal, and therefore fail to show command of the theory.