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Value-Added Theory

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Value-added theory, Smelser's functionalist account, holds collective behavior requires six conditions: structural conduciveness, structural strain, generalized belief, precipitating event, mobilization, and social control.

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A community's structural strain over a grievance, sharpened by a triggering event and followed by organized mobilization, illustrates the sequence.

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Each condition adds to the likelihood of collective behavior; the theory does not claim it is guaranteed once present.