Equivalence of meaning

Refers to qualitatively different symbolic behaviors that share essentially the same underlying meaning. For example (1) receiving a peeled and segmented orange from a parent in West Bengal has much the same symbolic meaning as verbally praising a child in North America; (2) hissing at a woman in St. Kitts, West Indies is roughly equivalent to giving a wolf-whistle in the in the U. S.--both behaviors express a man's sexual admiration for a woman. In cross-cultural and multi-ethnic studies of parental acceptance-rejection one must strive to be sensitive to issues regarding the equivalence of meaning. (See culture)