Why a theory of human nature cannot be based on the distinction between universality and variability: Lessons from anthropology.
We welcome the critical appraisal of the database used by the behavioral sciences, but we suggest that the authors' differentiation between variable and universal features is ill conceived and that their categorization of non-WEIRD populations is misleading. We propose a different approach to comparative research, which takes population variability seriously and recognizes the methodological difficulties it engenders.
Astuti
Rita
R
Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics and Political Science, London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom. r.astuti@lse.ac.uk
Bloch
Maurice
M
D000883:Anthropology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D040821:Human Characteristics; D006801:Humans