What are the three levels of cultural complexity that sociologists use to study different cultures? For example, if we look the concept of greetings in American culture, the first level would be the actual greetings, like saying "Hi" to a good friend. The second level would be to look at all of the greetings as components of a bigger idea, and the third level would be the whole concept of applying those greetings in different settings, the big picture of the original tool, act, or belief.