Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode The hidden forces shaping your choices.
Social norms vary dramatically from one culture to another — but why? Psychologist Michele Gelfand unpacks why societies and individuals develop either tight or loose attitudes toward rules.
About Michele Gelfand
Michele Gelfand is a professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and professor of psychology by courtesy at Stanford University. She is the author of Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World.
Gelfand created a quiz to see where you fall on the tight-loose spectrum.
This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Katie Monteleone and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour and James Delahoussaye. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.
Web Resources
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Related TED Topic: Psychology
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