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cultural universals

Definition of Cultural Universals

(noun) Customs, patterns, and traits that occur in virtually every culture.

Examples of Cultural Universals

Cultural Universals Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: cul·tur·al u·ni·ver·sals

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /kUHl-chuhr-ruhl yoo-nuh-vUHR-suhlz/
  • British English – /kUHl-chuh-ruhl yoo-ni-vUHR-suhlz/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /kʌlʧərəl ˌjunəˈvɜrsəlz/
  • British English – /ˈkʌlʧərəl ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəlz/

Usage Note

  • Singular form: cultural universal

Additional Information

Related Terms


Works Consulted

Ferrante, Joan. 2011. Seeing Sociology: An Introduction. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.

Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Hughes, Michael, and Carolyn J. Kroehler. 2011. Sociology: The Core. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Jary, David, and Julia Jary. 2000. Collins Dictionary of Sociology. 3rd ed. Glasgow, Scotland: HarperCollins.

Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Kimmel, Michael S., and Amy Aronson. 2012. Sociology Now. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Macionis, John. 2012. Sociology. 14th ed. Boston: Pearson.

Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.

Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.

Schaefer, Richard. 2013. Sociology: A Brief Introduction. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Scott, John, and Gordon Marshall. 2005. A Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Shepard, Jon M. 2010. Sociology. 11th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Shepard, Jon M., and Robert W. Greene. 2003. Sociology and You. New York: Glencoe.

Tischler, Henry L. 2011. Introduction to Sociology. 10th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Cite the Definition of Cultural Universals

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “cultural universals.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved October 15, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/cultural-universals/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

cultural universals. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/cultural-universals/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “cultural universals.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed October 15, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/cultural-universals/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“cultural universals.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/cultural-universals/>.