Washington, May 28 (ANI): A new international study offers insights that may help explain cultural differences and bridge the gaps between them.
The study, led by the University of Maryland and supported by the National Science Foundation's Division of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, assesses the degree to which countries are restrictive versus permissive.
The researchers found a wide variation in the degree to which various societies impose social norms, enforce conformity and punish anti-social behaviour.
They also found the more threats experienced by a society the more likely the society is to be restrictive.
"There is less public dissent in tight cultures. Tight societies require much stronger norms and are much less tolerant of behaviour that violates norms," University of Maryland Psychology Professor Michele Gelfand, who led the study, said.
"Tight" refers to nations that have strong social norms and low tolerance for deviation from those norms, whereas another term, "loose," refers to nations with weak social norms and a high tolerance for deviation from them.
Gelfand and colleagues found that countries such as Japan, Korea, Singapore and Pakistan are much tighter whereas countries such as the Ukraine, Israel, Brazil and the United States are looser.
"Is important, within our view, to be mindful that we don't think that either culture is worse or better," Gelfand said.
She and her colleagues examined cultural variation in both types of societies.
"We believe this knowledge about how tight or loose a country is and why it is that way can foster greater cross-cultural tolerance and understanding," Gelfand said.
"Such understanding is critical in a world where both global interdependence and global threats are increasing," she stated.
The researchers surveyed 6,823 respondents in 33 nations. In each nation, individuals from a wide range of occupations, as well as university students, were included.
The study has been published in the May 27 issue of the journal Science. (ANI)
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