Is it inevitable that societies exploit useful technologies?

David Trafimow

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00224

Abstract

Is it inevitable that societies exploit useful technologies?

Highlights

In some applied areas of psychology— engineering psychology, human factors psychology, and related areas—a common underlying assumption is that it is inevitable that people will seize upon useful new technologies and exploit them with dispatch, though some have suggested more complex points of view (Davis, 1993)
There can be little doubt that the stirrup and gunpowder both had an enormous influence on the history of Western Civilization
The historian, Dreyer (2002), both acknowledged the importance of the stirrup and gunpowder in Europe while denying equal importance in China: “China’s long history of technological progress provides scant comfort for theories that see certain kinds of social and political change as the inevitable result of specific technologies

Summary

Introduction

In some applied areas of psychology— engineering psychology, human factors psychology, and related areas—a common underlying assumption is that it is inevitable that people will seize upon useful new technologies and exploit them with dispatch, though some have suggested more complex points of view (Davis, 1993). Historians credit two technological innovations with being responsible for much of the history of Western Civilization. There can be little doubt that the stirrup and gunpowder both had an enormous influence on the history of Western Civilization.

Results

Conclusion