SummaryAdopter categories are the c

Summary
Adopter categories are the classifications of members of a social system on the basis of innovativeness, the degree to which an individual or other unit of adoption is relatively earlier in adopting new ideas than other members of a system. A variety of categorization systems and titles for adopters have been used in past research studies. This chapter suggests the standard set of adopter categories that is widely followed today.
Adopter distributions tend to follow an s-shaped curve over time and to approach normality (Generalization 7-1). One reason is because of the diffusion effect, defined as the cumulatively increasing degree of influence upon an individual to adopt or reject an innovation, resulting from the activation of peer networks about the innovation in the social system. This influence results from the increasing rate of knowledge and adoption or rejection of the innovation in the system.
The continuum of innovativeness can be partitioned into five adopter categories (innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards) on the basis of two characteristics of a normal distribution, the mean and the standard deviation. These five categories are ideal types, conceptualizations based on observations of reality and designed to make comparisons possible. Dominant attributes of each category are: innovators—venturesome; early adopters—respectable; early majority—deliberate; late majorityskeptical; and laggards—traditional. A series of generalizations summarize research findings about the socioeconomic characteristics of adopter categories. The relatively earlier adopters in a social system are no different from later adopters in age (Generalization 7-2), but they have more years of education (Generalization 7-3), are more likely to be literate (Generalization 7-4), have higher social status (Generalization 7-5), a greater degree of upward social mobility (Generalization 7-6), larger-sized units, like farms, companies, and so on (Generalization 7-7), a commercial rather than a subsistence economic orientation (Generalization 7-8), a more favorable attitude toward credit (Generalization 7-9), and more specialized operations (Generalization 7-10). These characteristics of adopter categories indicate generally that earlier adopters have higher socioeconomic status than later adopters. The "Cancian dip" questions whether the relationship between innovativeness and socioeconomic status is linear; this theory proposes that individuals of low-middle socioeconomic status are more innovative than individuals of high-middle status, especially in the early stages of diffusion of an innovation when the degree of uncertainty about the innovation is greatest. Reanalysis of various data sets provides some support for the Cancian dip, but there is also a good deal of contradictory evidence.
Earlier adopters in a system also differ from later adopters in per sonality variables. Earlier adopters have greater empathy (Generalization 7-11), less dogmatism (Generalization 7-12), a greater ability to deal with abstractions (Generalization 7-13), greater rationality (Generalization 7-14), greater intelligence (Generalization 7-15), a more favorable attitude toward change (Generalization 7-16), a greater ability to cope with uncertainty and risk (Generalization 7-17), a more favorable attitude toward education (Generalization 7-18), a more favorable attitude toward science (Generalization 7-19), less fatalism (Generalization 7-20), higher achievement motivation (Generalization 7-21), and higher aspirations for education, occupations, and so on (Generalization 7-22).
Finally, the adopter categories have different communication behavior. Earlier adopters have more social participation (Generalization 7-23), are more highly interconnected in the social system (Generalization 7-24), are more cosmopolite (Generalization 7-25), have more change agent contact (Generalization 7-26), greater exposure to mass-media channels (Generalization 7-27), greater exposure to interpersonal communication channels (Generalization 7-28), engage in more active information seeking (Generalization 7-29), have greater knowledge of innovations (Generalization 7-30), a higher degree of opinion leadership (Generalization 7-31), and are more likely to belong to highly interconnected systems (Generalization 7-32).
Past research, thus, shows many important differences between earlier and later adopters of innovations in (1) socioeconomic status, (2) personality variables, and (3) communication behavior.

Results (Indonesian) 1:

RingkasanKategori adopter adalah klasifikasi anggota dari sistem sosial berdasarkan inovasi, tingkat mana individu atau unit adopsi relatif sebelumnya dalam mengadopsi ide-ide baru dari anggota lain dari sistem. Berbagai sistem kategorisasi dan judul untuk pengadopsi telah digunakan di masa lalu studi penelitian. Bab ini menunjukkan menetapkan standar adopter kategori yang luas diikuti hari ini.Distribusi adopter cenderung mengikuti s-berbentuk melengkung dari waktu ke waktu dan pendekatan normalitas (generalisasi 7 - 1). Salah satu alasan adalah karena efek difusi, didefinisikan sebagai tingkat meningkat secara kumulatif pengaruh individu untuk mengadopsi atau menolak inovasi, yang dihasilkan dari aktivasi jaringan peer tentang inovasi dalam sistem sosial. Pengaruh ini hasil dari tingkat peningkatan pengetahuan dan adopsi atau penolakan inovasi dalam sistem.The continuum of innovativeness can be partitioned into five adopter categories (innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards) on the basis of two characteristics of a normal distribution, the mean and the standard deviation. These five categories are ideal types, conceptualizations based on observations of reality and designed to make comparisons possible. Dominant attributes of each category are: innovators—venturesome; early adopters—respectable; early majority—deliberate; late majorityskeptical; and laggards—traditional. A series of generalizations summarize research findings about the socioeconomic characteristics of adopter categories. The relatively earlier adopters in a social system are no different from later adopters in age (Generalization 7-2), but they have more years of education (Generalization 7-3), are more likely to be literate (Generalization 7-4), have higher social status (Generalization 7-5), a greater degree of upward social mobility (Generalization 7-6), larger-sized units, like farms, companies, and so on (Generalization 7-7), a commercial rather than a subsistence economic orientation (Generalization 7-8), a more favorable attitude toward credit (Generalization 7-9), and more specialized operations (Generalization 7-10). These characteristics of adopter categories indicate generally that earlier adopters have higher socioeconomic status than later adopters. The "Cancian dip" questions whether the relationship between innovativeness and socioeconomic status is linear; this theory proposes that individuals of low-middle socioeconomic status are more innovative than individuals of high-middle status, especially in the early stages of diffusion of an innovation when the degree of uncertainty about the innovation is greatest. Reanalysis of various data sets provides some support for the Cancian dip, but there is also a good deal of contradictory evidence.Earlier adopters in a system also differ from later adopters in per sonality variables. Earlier adopters have greater empathy (Generalization 7-11), less dogmatism (Generalization 7-12), a greater ability to deal with abstractions (Generalization 7-13), greater rationality (Generalization 7-14), greater intelligence (Generalization 7-15), a more favorable attitude toward change (Generalization 7-16), a greater ability to cope with uncertainty and risk (Generalization 7-17), a more favorable attitude toward education (Generalization 7-18), a more favorable attitude toward science (Generalization 7-19), less fatalism (Generalization 7-20), higher achievement motivation (Generalization 7-21), and higher aspirations for education, occupations, and so on (Generalization 7-22).Finally, the adopter categories have different communication behavior. Earlier adopters have more social participation (Generalization 7-23), are more highly interconnected in the social system (Generalization 7-24), are more cosmopolite (Generalization 7-25), have more change agent contact (Generalization 7-26), greater exposure to mass-media channels (Generalization 7-27), greater exposure to interpersonal communication channels (Generalization 7-28), engage in more active information seeking (Generalization 7-29), have greater knowledge of innovations (Generalization 7-30), a higher degree of opinion leadership (Generalization 7-31), and are more likely to belong to highly interconnected systems (Generalization 7-32).Past research, thus, shows many important differences between earlier and later adopters of innovations in (1) socioeconomic status, (2) personality variables, and (3) communication behavior.