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"Psychology traditionally has been individualistic in at least two ways: First, psychologists usually search for laws that govern the behavior of a single individual, and second, in searching for the causes of an individual's behavior, psychologists typically look inside the individual...In contrast, relationship scholars seek laws governing individuals' interactions with each other-or the influence each person's behavior exerts on his or her partner's behavior. Thus, the tissue of a relationship, and the object of study, is the oscillating rhythm of influence observed in the interactions of two people. This rhythm is displayed in regularities in their interaction pattern, and the goal of relationship science is to identify the causal conditions responsible for that rhythm. A relationship thus does not reside in the individual."

Ellen Berscheid.