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How social norms — within a culture, a city, a household — drive our decisions

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

Related TED Talk: The surprising psychology behind your urge to break the rules

Related TED Topic: Psychology

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Copyright 2025 NPR

Manoush Zomorodi
Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour.
Katie Monteleone
Sanaz Meshkinpour