culture

• X mead criticised for observer bias - not separating her own opinions from her description of samoan life and making generalisations
• X derek freeman - follow up study on mead’s research of samoan people

  • argued that mead’s findings were flawed as her preconceptions had influenced her interpretation of events
• X shankman - freeman‘s account has also been challenged for supporting his own theoretical viewpoint
• X imposed etic when western researchers impose their own cultural interests and understanding upon the indigenous populations they are studying
• X shankman - some researchers argue that western ideas have become dominant worldwide through globalisation, leading to homogenisation of values across countries
• X difficult to separate the influences of nature and nurture in the development of gender roles

  • as soon as children are born, their socialisation into a particular society starts as well as the gender role expectations
  • therefore is difficult to determine where nature stops and where nurture begins