ABSTRACT
In 1937 Sol Tax discussed what he called ‘kinship accommodations’ as an aid to the understanding of ‘the science of social organization’. He was concerned to redress what he conceived to be an imbalance in Radcliffe-Brown’s kinship theory by stressing the way in which elements of social organization are the result of a complex of social forces or principles, acting in particular social situations. The interrelation of the responses, the way in which one affects another, is an aspect of the social organization. Studies in social organization demand attention to three criteria: the magnitude of the situation; the alternatives open for choice and decision; and the time dimension. We must look to analysis of social organization to help in the understanding of social change. In terms of social change the interesting thing is that, despite the exposure of Tikopia society to external influence over the last quarter of the century, there had been practically no change in the marriage patterns.
