Culture consists of both tangible and intangible elements that are shared by a group of people. The intangible elements include knowledge, beliefs, norms, and values, while the tangible elements are human-made objects. Each culture provides a design for living that is learned and passed down through generations. While cultures vary in their practices, there are also cultural universals across societies, such as the need for social order and communication. Understanding different cultures requires avoiding ethnocentrism and instead taking a relativistic view to evaluate them based on their own social and environmental contexts.

1. culture