Talk
Tightness-Looseness: A Fractal Pattern of Human Difference
Part of "Peace Fellows Lecture Series and Residency Program 2019-2020"Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 6:30PM
NYUAD Campus, Conference Center
Past Event
Open to the Public
Many cultural differences reflect a simple, but often invisible distinction: the strength of social norms. Tight cultures have strong social norms and little tolerance for deviance, while loose cultures have weak social norms and are highly permissive. A Rosetta Stone for human groups, this distinction illuminates similar patterns across nations, states, organizations, and social classes. An understanding of this template can help us develop more empathy and to bridge our cultural divides.
Many cultural differences reflect a simple, but often invisible distinction: the strength of social norms. Tight cultures have strong social norms and little tolerance for deviance, while loose cultures have weak social norms and are highly permissive. A Rosetta Stone for human groups, this distinction illuminates similar patterns across nations, states, organizations, and social classes. An understanding of this template can help us develop more empathy and to bridge our cultural divides.
- Michele Gelfand, Distinguished University Professor in Psychology and the RH Smith School of Business, University of Maryland