general and universal

[joham]

1. These actions are not good or bad, but are simply ways in which cultures have developed. I have seen, however, that cultural customs for body language are very general--not all members of a culture behave in the same way.

Question: Does 'are very general' mean 'are not universal' here?

2. Of course, body language can be misread, but many gestures and actions are universal.

Question: Can we use 'general' in place of 'universal' in this sentence?

Thank you in advance.

[Tdol]

1 Not universal within a culture
2 I wouldn't- as the writer distinguishes universal and general, they are not synonyms.