In response, Gilligan could point out that people who hold the welfare of individuals as their moral ideal may have to adjust what they do to meet the requirements of the situation. The same action could be ethical in one case but unethical under a different set of circumstances. If flexibility is a fault, it is one shared by all utilitarians who seek the greatest good for the greatest number.
Many social scientists criticize the thin research support which Gilligan offers to validate her theory. For example, the small, specialized sample in the abortion study casts doubt on whether these women represent the thought of most females. Only four chose to give birth, and their voices are not recorded as examples of care. We should remember, however, that Freud’s, Piaget’s, and Kohlberg’s developmental theories were based on biased samples as well. The case study approach is always open to the charge of being non-representative. Mead and Gilligan think that the rich interpretations of self-concept make the risk worth taking.