ABSTRACT
The current generation of older Americans was born between 1910 and 1945. They were raised in a period in which only limited government services were available to individuals. Sociologist William Ogburn (1922) coined the term “cultural lag” to describe the process whereby one part, section, or institution in a culture will change and thus require alterations and adjustments in other parts of the culture. Ogburn viewed culture as functioning in much the same manner as a machine or a clock. All the parts of the clock are mechanically synchronized. For the clock to work, all the moving parts must turn at the right time, the right speed, and to the right degree. Ogburn states that because
The considerable time it may take for various elements of a culture to catch up to a change in another part of the culture is referred to as cultural lag.
