Psychological Pathology and Social Reciprocity

Abstract

A theoretical framework is presented which places psychological pathology in a context of human reciprocity. Reciprocity is described as a social dialectic circumscribing the way that the experiences of persons develop relative to one another. It includes, therefore, a psychological dimension of individual development and a sociological dimension of interactive development. Within this context, psychological pathology can be conceptualized as both formally distinguished from other types of experience and existentially continous with all experience.