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Universals, Culturals, Personals

To properly understand culture you must first understand the three levels of behavior that exist in human interactions. First of all there are Universals. Universals are behaviors that are common to all people groups. Some examples are family, emotions, basic physical needs, occupation or work, and some form of knowledge acquisition and transmission. How these things are accomplished may be very different from culture to culture, but the basic need or concept is a universal reality. �In other words, EVERY culture has the Universals listed below, but how they handle it may be very different from other cultures. Below is a list of Universals. Look over this carefully as you may be surprised that some of these things are universal realities.

Universals (adapted from �The Common Denominator of Cultures� by G. Murdock)

The next aspect of interaction that must always be considered is Culturals. Here we will define culture as a concept distinctive of the other levels. Culture is an accumulated pattern of behaviors, beliefs, and values shared by an identifiable group of people with a common history and a common verbal and nonverbal symbol system. This definition differs slightly from your textbook. This definition is clear and contains the essential elements of culture. Let�s break this down and look at some of the aspects here.

The use of the word �accumulated� implies that time was needed to create this pattern of behavior. The word �shared� means that one person cannot be his/her own culture. The words �identifiable group� means we can put our finger on a map or point out very distinctive groups that carry these patterns of behaviors. �History� means this culture took time to develop, though it need not be a long history. This definition also points out that language (both verbal and nonverbal) must be shared or in common. Language is the basis for sharing experiences and transmitting cultural values, so it must be common to a people group to create a cohesive culture.

Culturals though are only patterns of behavior. Not all individuals will follow the pattern of the culture. For example, in your culture it may be common (a Cultural) to wear a wedding ring when you are married. Maybe you, however, have an allergy to jewelry or have a profound objection to wearing a wedding ring so you don�t wear one. It is still cultural to wear one, but the third level of human interaction, Personals, has surfaced. Personals are those behaviors or beliefs that are unique to individuals. People are more than the sum of their culture. They have individual personalities and �bents� that make us all countercultural in some way. Individual uniqueness must always be considered in human interaction.

So, in every interaction you have the interplay of the Universals, the Culturals, and the Personals. All levels must be carefully considered in intercultural communication.