Culture is the totality of our shared language, knowledge, material objects, and behavior. While we establish relationships through culture to the external world, society consists of the structure of relationships within which culture is created and shared through regularized patterns of social interaction. How we structure society constrains the kind of culture we construct. Cultural preferences vary across societies.

Virtually all societies share common practices and beliefs known as cultural universals. Some common cultural universals include athletic sports, cooking, funeral ceremonies, medicine, marriage, and sexual restrictions. Expressions of cultural universals vary from one society to another. Sociobiology is the systematic study of how biology affects human behavior, and looks at cultural universals from a biological perspective. Innovation is the process of introducing a new idea or object to a culture. Discovery involves making known or sharing the existence of an aspect of reality. Invention results when existing cultural items are combined into a form that did not exist before. With globalization, more and more cultural expressions and practices are crossing national borders through a process known as diffusion. This process results in the melding of cultural traditions, which is not universally welcomed in all nations.

Culture consists of both material and nonmaterial elements. Sociologists are more concerned with the nonmaterial elements of culture, which include customs, beliefs, and patterns of communication. Technology is cultural information about how to use the material resources of the environment to satisfy human needs and desires. In its many forms, it has increased the speed of cultural diffusion and broadened the distribution of cultural elements. Culture lag refers to the period of adjustment when the nonmaterial culture is struggling to adapt to new conditions of material culture. Language is a system of shared symbols; it includes speech, written characters, numerals, symbols, and nonverbal gestures and expressions. It provides the foundation of common culture. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis holds that the language a person uses shapes his or her perception of reality and therefore his or her thoughts and actions. Nonverbal communication is the use of gestures, facial expressions, and other visual images to communicate.

Values are collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable, and proper—or what is considered bad, undesirable, and improper—in a culture. Values may be specific or they may be more general. The values of a culture may change, but most remain relatively stable during any one person's lifetime. Norms are the established standards of behavior maintained by a society. Norms are classified as either formal or informal. Formal norms generally are written down and specify strict punishments for violators. Laws are formal norms enforced by the state. By contrast, informal norms are generally understood, but not precisely recorded. Norms are also classified into mores and folkways. Mores are norms deemed necessary to the welfare of society, and demand obedience. Folkways are norms governing everyday behavior; their violation raises relatively little concern. Acceptance of norms is subject to change as the political, economic, and social conditions of a culture are transformed. Sanctions are penalties and rewards for conduct concerning a social norm.

Cultural beliefs are influenced by the dominant ideology. Within the dominant culture, segments of the populace may develop cultural patterns that differ from the patterns of dominant society. These aspects of cultural variation include subcultures and countercultures. Culture shock occurs when a person feels disoriented or uncertain due to experiencing cultural practices different from their own. Ethnocentrism refers to the tendency of a person to assume that one's culture and way of life are superior to all others. Observing other cultures through from the perspective of their own culture is referred to as cultural relativism. It places priority on understanding other cultures, rather than dismissing them as strange or exotic.