Culture's Constraints: International Differences in the Strength of Social Norms

• Published in: Current directions in psychological science : a journal of the American Psychological Society Vol. 21; no. 6; pp. 420 - 424
• Main Author: Gelfand, Michele J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.12.2012; Sage Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cross cultural psychology; Cultural differences; Cultural Pluralism; Cultural psychology; Culture; Developmental psychology; Deviant Behavior; Ecological history; Environmental Factors; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Individual Differences; Industrial and organizational psychology; Norms; Psychological research; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Social attribution, perception and cognition; Social norms; Social psychology; Tolerance; ecology; social norms; culture; situational strength; Social environment; Human; Social norm; Crosscultural study; Cultural environment; Ecology
• ISSN: 0963-7214; 1467-8721
• DOI: 10.1177/0963721412460048

Recent research has identified a critical contrast between societies that are tight (i.e., societies that have strong norms and a low tolerance for deviant behavior) and those that are loose (i.e., societies that have weak norms and a high tolerance for deviant behavior). I review differences between tight and loose cultures—from differences in ecological and historical conditions to the strength of everyday social situations and individual differences in psychological processes—and discuss the implications of this cultural contrast for research and practice in psychological science.