Still, this idea should also be supported by data about birth control use and an analysis of how often responsible attitudes towards sexuality are discussed in the media, rather than a deconstruction of a few ads.
The issue of ethics in psychology and anthropology also requires a certain rigorous and rule-based methodology. To avoid exploiting or changing home cultures, anthropologists must maintain a proper distance from their subjects. Researchers in psychology cannot abuse subjects in a laboratory environment to prove a theory.
The issue of 'common sense' inevitably plays some role in social science theory, given that researchers are human...
But common sense can never replace statistical, experimental, and recorded data about another culture. What constitutes common sense varies widely from culture to culture and era to era. 'Common sense' or cultural misconceptions may tell us that the 1950s was a happy era of "Leave it to Beaver" although statistics may show that far more women worked than images of the era suggest, and memories and cultural artifacts show that there was tremendous fear in the country, as evidenced by McCarthyism, air raid drills, and reluctance to discuss sexual issues openly.
