Coming of age in Samoa (Mead) Involves the findings of Mead in her study of Samoa teenage culture in 1928.

Mead's mentor Boas suspected that our human nature is a result of our civilization (extreme cultural determinism). To test this hypothesis, Mead was sent to Samoa to find out whether the "emotional stress and turmoil" of American adolescence was biologically inherent or culturally determined. She studied 25 young women in three villages in Samoa and found that for them adolescence was neither stressful nor constrained. She concluded that "the adolescence is not necessarily a time of stress and strain, but that cultural conditions make it so". She explained the stress-free character of adolescence in Samoa with differing cultural and social arrangements of the Samoans, in particular a "general casualness" and "lack of deep feeling" that was their attitudes towards life. She especially pointed out that Samoan adolescent women enjoyed a casual sexual code, limited only for the daughters and wives of chiefs. Sexual jealousy was absent and rape was foreign to their thought. Also, the child-rearing practices and attitudes toward sex accounted for the difference between American and Samoan adolescence. Especially, Samoan numerous adult caretakers released children from close attachments to their own parents, and knowledge of sexuality, birth, and death that Samoan adolescents acquired helped them gain mentally health. With the analysis of the differences, Mead called for a change in American child education. Margaret Mead and Samoa (Freeman) A critique of the findings in Coming of Age in Samoa. Freeman went to go study the Samoa himself and found that his findings were not concurrent with Meads. He also found esp. educated Samoa approaching him and asking him to help revise this perception. Points: Mead observed delinquency in only 4 of 25 girls and concluded that therefore that Samoa teenagers were less delinquent. However she was only there a shot period of time and therefore only recorded/observed that period of time. If we compare that to the delinquency rate in Britain the Samoa have a delinquency rate which is 10 times higher. Although this ^^ study was done only on girls she also applied it to boys No Samoa agrees with Meads interpretation. For example one Samoa girl talk of feelings of intense distress and resentment at being beaten by her mother and being drilled with the notion that her life was of servitude

 Children are physically punished through adolescence Samoa teenage suicide rates are high Samoa boys showed a peak in violent activity at 16 There was a peak in sexual aggression in ages 14 to 19 Samoa girls are instructed to not walk alone at night and sleep in the company of other women in order to avoid moetotolo (rape). Mead set out to disprove human nature and therefore her perceptions were skewed. Because it was a foreign place she reported the most foreign and fantastic things. The western view of the South Sea Islands 1930s was very romantic. It embodied the idea of a carefree paradise and this obviously influenced Mead. Mean then also underestimated the complexity of the Samoa culture Mead did not know the language well nor did she stay with Samoa families. Her isolated living quarters impeded her from getting close contact observations. Instead her observations were hearsay Samoa value virginity before marriage vary highly. Mead was duped. Because of the strict sexual morality of the Samoa, girls would chose to lie about their sexual activities. During Meads time the idea of tabula rasa was very accepted. We now know nature and nurture are equally important. However because extreme cultural determinism was so accepted Mead perceive Samoan culture in this way. Freeman moves towards extreme biological determinism