In contrast, explanations of social phenomena which assume that cause and effect acts upon whole classes or groups are deemed illusory, and thus rejected according to this approach.
Or to put it another way, only group dynamics which can be explained in terms of individual subjective motivations are considered valid.
[2] This framework was introduced as a foundational assumption within the social sciences by Max Weber, and discussed in his book Economy and Society.
It draws heavily upon assumptions of neoclassical economics, where social behavior is explained in terms of rational actors whose choices are constrained by prices and incomes, and where individuals' subjective preferences are treated as a given.
However, stability and uniqueness can be achieved if aggregate variables are added, and as a result he argued "the idea that we should start at the level of the isolated individual is one which we may well have to abandon".