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

摘要

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.