Patterns or traits that are globally common to all societies are known as?

• A. Cultural Universals
• B. Material culture
• C. Ethnocentrism
• D. Xenocentrism

Answer: (A)

Cultural universals are patterns or traits that appear in every human society, showing how people everywhere share fundamental ways of organizing life. These include aspects like language for communication, kinship and family structures, norms and rules guiding behavior, and some form of ritual or ceremony that marks transitions or collective beliefs. The idea is that, despite vast cultural differences, there are common human needs and social practices that recur across cultures, even if each culture expresses them in unique ways. It’s worth noting that universals are tendencies rather than exact replicas; cultures adapt and symbolize these patterns differently. By contrast, material culture refers to tangible objects and artifacts, ethnocentrism is judging other cultures by one’s own standards, and xenocentrism is valuing foreign cultures over one’s own.