The relationship between cultural tightness-looseness and COVID-19 cases and deaths: a global analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis, yet certain countries have had far more success in limiting COVID-19 cases and deaths. We suggest that collective threats require a tremendous amount of coordination, and that strict adherence to social norms is a key mechanism that enables groups to do so. Here we examine how the strength of social norms-or cultural tightness-looseness-was associated with countries' success in limiting cases and deaths by October, 2020. We expected that tight cultures, which have strict norms and punishments for deviance, would have fewer cases and deaths per million as compared with loose cultures, which have weaker norms and are more permissive.

Methods

We estimated the relationship between cultural tightness-looseness and COVID-

SUBMITTER: Gelfand MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7946418 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature