The authors describe the patterns of interactional behavior of three familial pairs of chronic alcoholics before, during, and after a 14-day period of experimentally induced intoxication. Their observations have led them to propose that alcoholic behavior can best be understood in the context of how it contributes to the functioning of an ongoing system. Each of the three pairs described split up at the conclusion of the study; the authors speculate that the rigidity of their drinking systems made them particularly susceptible to the "therapeutic" interventions inherent in the study conditions.Abstract Teaser