Citation

Starbuck WH. Soc. Sci. Res. 1973; 2(1): 81-109.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1973, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/0049-089X(73)90023-9

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Events such as revolutions, insurrections, and waves of hysteria imply that social systems sometimes undergo quick, dramatic metamorphoses from one, comparatively stable behavioral pattern to another. And as a result, theorists are confronted with explaining how a single system of social laws might encompass abrupt transitions from one pattern of gradual evolution to a pattern of a radically different type.

Within a mathematical framework, this paper discusses what structural properties of social systems make metamorphoses possible, what conditions permit potential metamorphoses actually to occur, what analytic problems most seriously constrain social theorists' ability to understand metamorphic systems, what empirical priorities should facilitate theory building, and what accuracy metamorphosis models can achieve as descriptions of observed behaviors.