Episode 14: Wisdom & Social Norms (with Michele Gelfand)

Is it wiser for a society to be ‘tight’ – strictly enforcing social rules, or ‘loose’ – in which social rule-breaking barely raise an eyebrow? What do social norms have to do with a sense of threat? And might wise leaders have worked out how to dynamically calibrate the tightness or looseness of their organisations as the situation demands? Michele Gelfand joins Igor and Charles to discuss the role of threat in ‘tight vs loose’ societies, the goldilocks principle, ‘real vs perceived’ threat’s in Trump’s America, autocratic recidivism, rum-fuelled meetings, transgressive hand puppets, and the case for recalibrating the internet. Igor reflects on the tight-loose contradictions at the beating heart of the Disney Corporation, Michele cautions against ‘flipping-off’ drivers in the honour culture of the southern states, and Charles makes peace with his inner spirit muppet, Kermit the frog. Welcome to Episode 14.

Special Guest: Michele Gelfand.

Links:

• Michele Gelfand Homepage
• The Tight-Loose Quiz - Mindset Quiz: How Tight or Loose Are You? (michelegelfand.com)
• Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World - Michele Gelfand (Book)
• Differences Between Tight and Loose Cultures: A 33-Nation Study - Gelfand et al (2011)
• The Secret Life of Social Norms - Michele Gelfand (TEDxPaloAltoSalon talk)
• Culture as the menacing force behind today’s crazy politics - Michele Gelfand (The Economist, 2019)
• Here’s the science behind the Brexit vote and Trump’s rise - Michele Gelfand (The Guardian, 2018)
• An upper-class mindset doesn’t make you classy - Michele Gelfand & Jesse Harrington (Boston Globe, 2018)
• The Self and Social Behavior in Differing Cultural Contexts - Triandis (1989)
• Horizontal and Vertical Dimensions of Individualism and Collectivism: A Theoretical and Measurement Refinement - Singelis, Triandis, Bhawuk, Gelfand (1995)
• A theory of individualism and collectivism - Triandis & Gelfand (2012)
• Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context - Hofstede (2011)
• A Theory of Cultural Value Orientations: Explication and Applications - Schwartz (2006)
• Effects of Cultural Tightness and Collectivism on Self-Concept and Causal Attributions - Carpenter (2000)
• Misperceptions about immigration and support for redistribution - Alesina, Miano, Stantcheva (2018)
• We Need a High Wall With a Big Gate - Friedman (New York Times, 2018)