HELP WANTED - A GRAND THEORIST OF INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, SOCIOLOGIST OR ANTHROPOLOGIST PREFERRED

Knowledge about interpersonal relationships is currently encapsulated within type of relationship (e.g. romantic, parental), with relationsh ip type confounded with disciplinary approach, with the characteristic s of the partners usually found in that type of relationship, as well as with the nature of the relationship phenomena examined. It is argue d that a critical issue for the relationship field is whether a grand, over-arching theory of relationships can be developed. Such a theory would directly address the principal relationship types, delineating t he similarities and differences among them with respect to the causal conditions associated with various relationship phenomena. It is furth er argued that an important class of causal conditions that governs be havior in all relationships is the culturally defined norms, roles and expectations associated with type of relationship, and that these cul tural prescriptions - as opposed to 'individualistic' causal condition s - must play an important role in any unifying theory. If so, the soc iological and anthropological perspectives need to achieve better bala nce with the psychological perspective that is becoming dominant in th eory and research on interpersonal relationships.