The difference between material culture and non-material culture is known as cultural lag. The term cultural lag refers to the notion that culture takes time to catch up with technological innovations, and the resulting social problems that are caused by this lag. In other words, cultural lag occurs whenever there is an unequal rate of change between different parts of culture causing a gap between material and non-material culture. Subsequently, cultural lag does not only apply to this idea only, but also relates to theory and explanation. It helps by identifying and explaining social problems to predict future problems in society. The term was first coined in William F. Ogburn's 1922 work Social Change with Respect to Culture and Original Nature.
As explained by James W. Woodward, when the material conditions change, changes are occasioned in the adaptive culture, but these changes in the adaptive culture do not synchronize exactly with the change in the material culture, this delay is the culture lag.[1] If people fail to adjust to the rapid environmental and technological changes it will cause a lag or a gap between the cultures. This resonates with ideas of technological determinism, which means that technology determines the development of its cultural values and social structure. That is, it can presuppose that technology has independent effects on society at large. However it does not necessarily assign causality to technology. Rather cultural lag focuses examination on the period of adjustment to new technologies. According to sociologists William F. Ogburn, cultural lag is a common societal phenomenon due to the tendency of material culture to evolve and change rapidly and voluminously while non-material culture tends to resist change and remain fixed for a far longer period of time.[2] This is because ideals and values are much harder to change than physical things are. Due to the opposing nature of these two aspects of culture, adaptation of new technology becomes rather difficult. This can cause a disconnect between people and their society or culture. This distinction between material and non-material culture is also a contribution of Ogburn's 1922 work on social change. Ogburn's classic example of cultural lag was the period of adaptation when automobiles became faster and more efficient. It took some time for society to start building infrastructure that would tailor mainly to the new, more efficient, vehicles. This is because people are not comfortable with change and it takes them a little time to adapt. Hence, the term cultural lag.