cultural convention
Shared behavioral expectation
A cultural convention is an established practice or unspoken rule that a society follows by tradition rather than law.
Shaking hands in greeting, tipping service workers, and removing shoes indoors are cultural conventions—expected behaviors that vary across cultures.
The term often appears when examining why people do things a certain way: It's just a cultural convention, not a universal truth.
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- customHabitual group practice
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- rite of passageTransition-marking ceremony
- normAccepted behavioral standard
social norm · etiquette · proper etiquette · taboo · saving face · ceremony · manners · table manners · unwritten · unwritten rule · expectation · social · behavior · folkway · practice · heritage · protocol · propriety
cultural conventionnatural instinct
instinct · genetic predisposition · inborn trait · evolutionary adaptation · reflex
cultural conventionnatural law
Inherent moral principles
law of nature · physical law · natural order · universal truth · logical necessity
cultural conventionwritten law
Enacted and recorded legislation
statutory law · legal mandate · natural law · divine commandment
cultural, culture, cultures, cultured, culturing, cultivate, cultivated, cultivation, cultivator