Evaluating the Theory of Cultural Tightness -Looseness: Measurement and Construct Validity
Tov, William
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/82170
Description
Title
Evaluating the Theory of Cultural Tightness -Looseness: Measurement and Construct Validity
Author(s)
Tov, William
Issue Date
2008
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Diener, Ed
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Social
Language
eng
Abstract
The construct of cultural tightness-looseness was operationalized at the nation-level using several indicators of economic, political, social, and religious regulation. A factor analysis with oblique rotation yielded two factors that were labeled government regulation and religious conservatism. These two factors correlated at .46. The construct validity of these macro-level measures of tightness was then evaluated within the theory of cultural tightness-looseness using cross-national data from the World Values Survey and Gallup World Poll. Consistent with the theory, religious conservatism was associated with narrow socialization values, and both measures moderated the effect of perceived control on global well-being in a country even after controlling for individualism and GDP per capita. However, neither measure correlated with the predicted antecedents of cultural tightness in the expected direction, nor were they consistently associated with homogeneity (reduced variance) in attitudes and values. Thus it appears that macro-level tightness is a construct that is related to but distinct from cultural tightness. Future theory on cultural tightness might advance by distinguishing broad, formal regulatory structures from more specific, informal social regulatory structures.
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