Structural functionalism views society as a system of interconnected parts that work together to maintain stability. Talcott Parsons was a key developer of this theory and proposed that all social systems aim to fulfill four basic functions: adaptation, goal attainment, integration, and pattern maintenance. Parsons argued that institutions like the family, education system, economy, and polity help societies achieve these functions. Structural functionalism emphasizes how social structures and cultural values promote social order, consensus, and equilibrium within a society.