(5) But now, examining private property in land from a functional standpoint as called for by his socionomy (the name he would later adopt for his scientific approach to society), he discovered that, far from being a pathology, the institution of private property in land is basic to social life.
It took a year of observation to 'build up a picture of the social behaviour of the members of a family, from which it was then possible to build up a picture of the social action-pattern or "socionomy".' The doctors' concern was with how the people engaged in the various activities which they chose.