Society is never static; it is in a constant process of change. Society is also in a cycle of growth and decline. Due to the interactions among societies of the various countries, the change in one society will impact on the other societies. In other words, when one center of growth has undergone change, the effects will spill over across the borders and bring about change in the adjacent areas, albeit with different rates of happening. There is what is called culture lag which means the inability to adopt a new culture in time and hence it will appear that a certain society can only proceed along at a slow rate of change.
The center of growth in Europe gave way to the United States and now it is giving way to China and India, to name only a few, for example. The change will impact upon other nations of the region and for that matter the world at large albeit with different degrees. The different degrees of adjustment stemmed from the cultural element of the various countries. Some culture just cannot adapt to change even for the better because it is deeply rooted and ingrained in the psyche of the people. Culture lag means the inability to catch up with new culture called for by a era. This involves ideas, concepts and realistic evaluation of the traditional culture, values and norms. Ultra-conservatism will stand in the way and is indeed directly responsible for culture lag.