Cultural universal
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A cultural universal (also called an anthropological universal or human universal) is an element, pattern, trait, or institution that is common to all known
.Donald Brown's list in Human Universals
In his book Human Universals (1991), Donald Brown defines human universals as comprising "those features of culture, society, language, behavior, and psyche for which there are no known exception", providing a list of hundreds of items he suggests as universal. Among the cultural universals listed by Donald Brown are:[2]
Language and cognition
- Language is translatable
- Abstraction in speech and thought
- Antonyms, synonyms
- Logical notionsof "and", "not", "opposite", "equivalent", "part/whole", "general/particular"
- Binary cognitive distinctions
- Color terms: black, white
- Classification of: age, behavioral propensities, body parts, colors, fauna, flora, inner states, kin, gender, space, tools, weather conditions
- Continua (ordering as cognitive pattern)
- Discrepancies between speech, thought, and action
- Figurative speech, metaphors
- Symbolism, symbolic speech
- Synesthetic metaphors
- Tabooed utterances
- Special speech for special occasions
- Prestige from proficient use of language (e.g. poetry)
- Planning
- Units of time
- Language employed to manipulate others
- Language employed to misinform or mislead
Society
- Personal names
- Family or household
- Kin groups
- Peer groups not based on family
- Actions under self-control distinguished from those not under control
- Affection expressed and felt
- Age grades
- Age statuses
- Age terms
- Law: rights and obligations, rules of membership
- Moral sentiments
- Distinguishing right and wrong, good and bad
- Promise/oath
- Prestige inequalities
- Statuses and roles[3][4]
- Leaders
- Inclination towards patriarchy (dominance of men in society)
- De facto oligarchy
- Property
- Coalitions
- Collective identities
- Conflict
- Cooperative labor
- Gender roles
- Males on average travel greater distances over lifetime
- Marriage
- Husband older than wife on average
- Copulation normally conducted in privacy
- Incest prevention or avoidance, incest between mother and son unthinkable or tabooed
- Collective decision making
- Etiquette
- Inheritance rules
- Generosity admired, gift giving
- Mood- or consciousness-altering techniques and/or substances
- Redress of wrongs, sanctions
- Sexual jealousy
- Sexual violence
- Shame
- Territoriality
- Triangular awareness (assessing relationships among the self and two other people)
- Some forms of proscribed violence
- Visiting
- Trade
Beliefs
- Magical thinking
- Use of magic to increase life and win love
- Beliefs about death
- Beliefs about disease
- Beliefs about fortune and misfortune
- Divination
- Attempts to control weather
- Dream interpretation
- Beliefs and narratives
- Proverbs, sayings
- Poetry/rhetorics
- Healing practices, medicine
- Childbirth customs
- Rites of passage
- Music, rhythm, dance, and to some degree associations between music and emotion
- Play
- Toys, playthings
- Death rituals, mourning
- Feasting
- Body adornment
- Hairstyles
- Art
Technology
Nicholas Christakis' innate social universals
Based on experiments and studies of accidental and utopian societies, sociologist and evolutionary biologist Nicholas Christakis proposes that humans have evolved to genetically favor societies that have eight universal attributes, including:[5]
- romantic partners
- Love for offspring
- Friendship
- Social networks
- Cooperation
- In-group favoritism
Non-nativist explanations
The observation of the same or similar behavior in different cultures does not prove that they are the results of a common underlying psychological mechanism. One possibility is that they may have been invented independently due to a common practical problem.[6]
Outside influence could be an explanation for some cultural universals.[7] This does not preclude multiple independent inventions of civilization and is therefore not the same thing as hyperdiffusionism; it merely means that cultural universals are not proof of innateness.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Schacter, Daniel L, Daniel Wegner and Daniel Gilbert. 2007. Psychology. Worth Publishers. pp. 26–27
- ISBN 978-0070082090.
- S2CID 8406753.
- S2CID 17129083.
- ^ Nicholas Christakis (2019). Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society. Little, Brown Spark.
- ^ Language: The cultural tool DL Everett - 2012 - Vintage
- ^ Equal Recognition: The Moral Foundations of Minority Rights, Alan Patten 2014
- ^ Cultures and Globalization: Cultural Expression, Creativity and Innovation, Helmut K Anheier, Yudhishthir Raj Isar 2010
Bibliography
- Bourguignon, Erika; Greenbaum Ucko, Lenora (1973). Diversity and Homogeneity in World Societies. New Haven, Connecticut: HRAF Press. ISBN 978-0875363301.
- ISBN 978-0070082090.
- ISBN 0804709653
- ISBN 9780231038171
- ISBN 2259002110.]
- ISBN 4871872386
- ISBN 978-0252004261
- ISBN 9780142003343
- ISBN 9783110805826
- Brief news report of Psychological Bulletin article, Anderson, Hildreth, Howland (2015): Berkeley Haas School of Business. (May 6, 2015) "We all want high social status". ScienceDaily. Berkeley: University of California. Retrieved 24 March 2021