ented, structural functional theory must move beyond metatheory in ways that predict
when functional outcomes are most likely
and explain how they are likely to develop if in fact functional outcomes do occur.
The same set of theoretical principles should,
at the same time, identify conditions under which dysfunc- tional outcomes are most likely
and explain how dysfunctional results come about.
People interested in developing structural functionalism as a scientific theory ask:
What mechanisms function to move a social system toward optimal solutions,
and how do those mechanisms malfunction in moving a social system in the direction of suboptimal solutions?
When and how are those tendencies activated? When and how are they stopped?