ABSTRACT
A general understanding of social phenomena requires a theoretical framework within which both old and new empirical findings can be conceptualized. To be useful, the theory must have both specificity and generality. That is, the assumptions of the theory must be clearly stated, empirically verifiable and, in various combinations, able to generate testable hypotheses. At the same time, the theory must be sufficiently general that newly discovered and unexpected phenomena can be interpreted in terms of its assumptions.
