The role of culutre

• Culture is defined as the ideas, customs, social behaviour of a particular group of people in society.
• Cross-cultural research contributes to the nature vs nurture debate. For example, particular gender roles are consistent across different cultures. This means that this represents an innate, biological difference between males and females.

  On the other hand, if it's found that some gender-role behaviors are culturally specific then its sensible to assume that certain behaviors are nurtured.
• Cultural differences (Margret Mead)


  Mead carried out a cross-cultural study in Papua New Guinea.

  • She found one tribe that was gentle and responsive (similar to western stereotypes of women).
  • One tribe was aggressive and hostile (Western stereotype of masculinity).
  • One tribe where women were dominant and men were considered decorative. (The reverse western stereotype).
• A03

  Limitation) Mead was accused of making generalisations based on a short period of study. A researcher conducted a follow up study of the same tribes and stated that meads findings were flawed as she had been misled by her participants and that her western preconceptions of sex and gender influenced her interpretation of what she saw. This is an example of observer bias and ethnocentrism.

  ->This suggests that Mead was not being objective and it questions the conclusions that she drew.