biostudies-literatureEriksson KKnut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse (Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation)145https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12504534biostudies-literatureUnknown3(1)Every social situation that people encounter in their daily lives comes with a set of unwritten rules about what behavior is considered appropriate or inappropriate. These everyday norms can vary across societies: some societies may have more permissive norms in general or for certain behaviors, or for certain behaviors in specific situations. In a preregistered survey of 25,422 participants across 90 societies, we map societal differences in 150 everyday norms and show that they can be explained by how societies prioritize individualizing moral foundations such as care and liberty versus binding moral foundations such as purity. Specifically, societies with more individualistic morality tend to have more permissive norms in general (greater liberty) and especially for behaviors deemed vulCommunications psychologyEveryday norms have become more permissive over time and vary across cultures.PMC125045342022.0191Andersson PASimpson BAlvarado Ortiz AEOnyishi IELin MJNussinson RNanda HTakemura KThogersen JTiliouine HRoss RMIbikounle MCaycho-Rodriguez TCorkalo DFrank CHrebickova MNejat PContreras-Ibanez CCManhique BABlumen SNoe-Grijalva MSonessa DEHaji Mohammad Ali MHBui HTTQuesada-Roman ABerezina EKaminskiene Zde Zoysa PSan Martin ALep ZBarrera DArikan GTung HWang YTLado LDrace SGraf SPerez Floriano LRLiik KLeslie LMBoum YLandon BAbdi KAStrimling PBatool AHadziahmetovic NMuradzada NEscudero Perez IKapovic IMaloku EOnyedire NGAruta JJBRHaas BWMandal MBjornstjerna MYankson EDemetrovics ZMbende NMKapoor HStanley SKVartanova IFulop MPersson MGjoneska BLopez-Lopez WFreidin EMerchan Tamayo JPHalama PRodrigues RBKarim GRodriguez-Romero JDHunter JASmith SJWaechter REngelmann JBAlvarez DPWu JAliyev KGrigoryan AUlambayar TChiweshe MKNastina ERosun NHadjisolomou SPNettle DHazrati MBatkeyev BSoboleva NRaver JLLanda-Blanco MNtone RGarcia Jimenez MAChen YHapunda GPedovic IRomano SLobos Rivera MESmederevac SHartanto ADinic BMKirschner JBStoyanova KParvez MSCruz-Torres CEKawakami KAndrighetto GBanos-Chaparro JChoi HSHaddock GTeixeira MLMAd NLind Hjordisar Jonsdottir HPasin GLVan Lange PAMBostjancic EPortillo JRYambio BMAldashev ALi YKousar SEriksson KBruno KNipassa OJAKohut MIlisko DPerez de Leon PEuh HGrowiec KKrasniqi BUzdavinyte EMPotang AAyikwa CLEl-Haddad RWMedhioub IAlrefaee YMHAHakokongas EKhachatryan NCzako APop-Jordanova NYeh KHHolka SGill CMHDMohammed LLMoraligil BSadikovic SAli HMGavreliuc AKiyonari TNtampaka PBimina SNBriguglio MGardarsdottir RBAli MBarsyte JStoyanov DHerbas-Torrico BCFang XPanagiotopoulou PGamsakhurdia VKiruja JGlockner AMoore SNOljaca MBoski PfalseEveryday norms have become more permissive over time and vary across cultures.Every social situation that people encounter in their daily lives comes with a set of unwritten rules about what behavior is considered appropriate or inappropriate. These everyday norms can vary across societies: some societies may have more permissive norms in general or for certain behaviors, or for certain behaviors in specific situations. In a preregistered survey of 25,422 participants across 90 societies, we map societal differences in 150 everyday norms and show that they can be explained by how societies prioritize individualizing moral foundations such as care and liberty versus binding moral foundations such as purity. Specifically, societies with more individualistic morality tend to have more permissive norms in general (greater liberty) and especially for behaviors deemed vul2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Oct2026-06-04T06:28:37.078Z2026-06-01T03:06:27.21ZS-EPMC125045344105769610.1038/s44271-025-00324-4