SOC 103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Margaret Mead, Biological Determinism, Participant Observation

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 103
• Professor: Lock Rebecca

Document Summary

Introduction: in the previous module, we explored how biological deterministic theory is based on the notion that all human behaviour is biologically and genetically derived; everything about us is biologically pre-determined, in our anatomy and genes. These ideas formed the dominant ideology between the 1880s and the end of. Biological determinists measured people"s body parts and claimed that these measurements (including a person"s shape and size) pre-determined one"s. superiority or inferiority in terms of social status, iq, occupation, and other abilities and behaviours. In contrast, margaret mead and her fellow anthropologists explored human behaviour by studying kin-ordered societies (also known as foraging societies, nomadic societies, and hunting and gathering societies). Margaret mead was most famous for her studies of papua new guinea and samoa: mead"s method for studying these societies was participant observation. Using this approach, the researcher would live with people in their own community and participate in their everyday practices and customs.