Tightness (Normative Expectations for the Society)

What it measures

The scale measures belief in strict social norms and strong disapproval of norm violations within one's society, a well-established cross-cultural construct known as cultural tightness.

Response format

9-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 9=strongly agree)

Scale items

• I think people should follow rules at all times, even when no-one is watching.
• It is important to have social norms so that the social order be protected.
• I think people should always abide by social norms.
• There should be clear expectations of how people should act in most situations in our society.
• If someone acts in an inappropriate way, others should strongly disapprove.
• There should be clear expectations of what behaviors are appropriate or inappropriate in most situations in our society.
• If I see someone in my society act in inappropriate ways, I will strongly disapprove.
• People should have a great deal of freedom in deciding how they want to behave in most situations.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Gupta and Hagtvedt (2021) adapted this scale from Gelfand and colleagues' (2011) widely used 33-nation measure of cultural tightness-looseness, shifting the wording from descriptive ('how things are') to normative ('how things should be'). Used across two studies and an unreported post-study. Reliability was good to strong (α = .86–.92) where reported. Validity wasn't discussed. Item 8 is reverse-coded.

Citation

Gupta, Tanvi and Henrik Hagtvedt (2021), "Safe Together, Vulnerable Apart: How Interstitial Space in Text Logos Impacts Brand Attitudes in Tight versus Loose Cultures," Journal of Consumer Research, 48 (3), 474–491.

Keywords

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