Culture’s Constraints

Abstract

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.