Final answer:
Psychological anthropology and cross-cultural studies were fundamentally shaped by the work of early anthropologists like W. H. R. Rivers, Franz Boas, Ruth Benedict, and their contemporaries, with Benedict's publication marking a significant milestone.
thus, the correct option is A).
Step-by-step explanation:
The origins or birth of psychological anthropology and cross-cultural studies are deeply interconnected with the work of several pioneers in the field of anthropology.
The establishment of psychological anthropology as a discipline can be primarily attributed to the work and influence of figures such as Franz Boas and his students, including Ruth Benedict, Margaret Mead, and Edward Sapir.
The publication of Ruth Benedict's "Patterns of Culture" was an important milestone, but the field was already being shaped by earlier work of British psychiatrist and anthropologist W. H. R. Rivers who refuted ethnocentric views with his research on sensory capabilities among Melanesian populations, illustrating that their mental capacity was equivalent to Europeans.
Additionally, 19th-century anthropologists like Edward Tylor promoted the concept of cultural evolutionism, though later disproved, which also contributed to the foundations upon which psychological anthropology and cross-cultural studies would build.