cultural lag: Meaning and Definition of

cul'tural lag'

Pronunciation: [key]
— Sociol. Sociol.
  1. slowness in the rate of change of one part of a culture in relation to another part, resulting in a maladjustment within society, as from the failure of the nonmaterial culture to keep abreast of developments in the material culture.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.