THE PARADIGM OF FAMILY TRANSCENDENCE - NOT A PARADIGM, QUESTIONABLY TRANSCENDENT, BUT VALUABLE, NONETHELESS

The approach many social psychologists take to interpersonal relations hip phenomena differs from the approach sociologists traditionally hav e taken to marital and family relationships. Thus I must confess at th e outset that despite having enjoyed a long geographical proximity to several important contributors to the field of marriage and the family , including the late Reuben Hill, I am not well steeped in the sociolo gical theoretical tradition. Moreover, a reading of Thomas and Wilcox' s (1987) historical analysis of family theory has persuaded me that th is deficiency is not quickly remediable; as a consequence, much of the subtext of Bahr and Bahr's essay on ''family transcendence'' must rem ain beyond my comprehension. But whatever its implications for the phi losophical and theoretical wars being waged on the sociological battle ground of marriage and family, I have little difficulty appreciating t he relevance of their essay to my own theoretical and empirical intere sts within the rapidly developing multidisciplinary field of interpers onal relationships.