44 Examples of Social Forces

John Spacey, updated on September 30, 2024

Social forces are elements of a society that are capable of changing its direction. A society can be envisioned as being pushed and pulled by a confluence of factors in areas such as politics, industry, communication and economy. These factors compete and combine to create social stability and social change. The following are common social forces.

Activism	Beliefs, Attitudes & Opinions
Books & Publishing	Brands
Celebrities / Influencers	Censorship
Consumers	Cronyism
Culture	Demographics
Economic Problems	Economic Systems
Education / Education Systems	Employment
Entertainment Industry	Families
Firms	Globalization
Government Policy	Ideas & Concepts
Income & Wealth Distribution	Industries
Language	Laws & Regulations
Lifestyles	Markets
Media	Music & Music Industry
Norms	Organizations
Political Parties	Politics
Products & Services	Public Speaking
Publications	Religion
Social Institutions	Social Media
Socioeconomic Classes	Subculture
Technology	Traditions
Word of Mouth	Working Conditions

Impact on Behavior

Human behavior is mostly shaped by social factors such as culture, norms, education, traditions, media and rules. We are social creatures that look to others to understand how to thrive in our environment.

Processes of social bonding and socialization shape our basic behaviors from early childhood. As adults, we also look for social information to make decisions and optimize towards our goals.

Most of us are also caught up in the broad social changes that occur over time that can impact how we work, live and view the world.

Overview

Social forces are the entities, environments and conditions that push and pull society to drive social change. This also influences individual and group behavior. For example, technological change that creates new media formats that end up transforming lifestyles across entire generations on a global basis.