Description
Unlike the measures reviewed above, the T&LS was constructed to measure the perceived normative environ-
ment in one’s society, rather than personal preferences (e.g., values, personality and beliefs). The items were first
developed by five team members and subsequently refined by other collaborators based on construct definition,
clarity, conciseness, readability, distinctiveness and redundancy ( Gelfand, et al., 2011 ). Back-translation ( Brislin,
1980 ) was used to develop the non-English versions of the measure. The T&LS consists of six items ( Gelfand
et al., 2011 ). A 6-point Likert-type response scale is used (1 5strongly disagree; 6 5strongly agree).
Samples
In the scale validation study ( Gelfand, et al., 2011 ), responses to the scale were collected from 33 nations across
all five continents. The respondents were university students (49.2%) and adults (50.8%).
Reliability
Internal Consistency
The Cronbach alpha coefficient of the T&LS at the national level was found to be .85 ( Gelfand et al., 2011 ).
Test/C0Retest
Because the T&LS is a newly published scale, test /C0retest reliability coefficients are not currently available.
Aggregation and Inter-Rater
Multilevel analysis was performed on the data from the 33 nations using a referent shift consensus composi-
tion model ( Chan, 1998 ). rwg(j) for 33 nations exceeded the recommended cut-off value of .70 ( M5.85,SD5.08),
indicating that there was consensus within a society on perceived cultural tightness-looseness. ICC(1) exceeded
the recommended cut-off value of .06 (ICC(1) 5.13), indicating that 13% of the variance in cultural tightness-
looseness can be explained by country differences in the scale. ICC(2) exceeded the recommended cut-off value
of .70 (ICC(2) 597), indicating that the cultural tightness-looseness means at the national level are reliable.
Validity
Convergent/Concurrent
The evidence for convergent/concurrent validity of the scale is based on analysis of the correlations of T&LS
with other measures of cultural values and beliefs at the society level. Tighter nations have greater concern with
social order; they have a stronger belief that the government’s most important responsibility is to maintain order
in society ( r5.61) and a stronger preference for political systems with a strong leader who does not have to
bother with Parliament elections and army rule systems ( r5.38). Tighter nations are less open to foreign influ-
ences; these nations have a stronger belief that their way of life needs to be protected against foreign influence
(r5.57) and a greater aversion to having immigrants as neighbors ( r5.43).
Conceptually, Cultural Tightness should be related to the GCV societal values of Family Collectivism,
Institutional Collectivism and Power Distance. As expected, Cultural Tightness has moderate positive correla-
tions with Family Collectivism ( r5.49), and Institutional Collectivism ( r5.43). Cultural Tightness also has a
moderate positive correlation with the VSM dimension of Power Distance ( r5.42).
Gelfand et al. (2011) proposed that Cultural Tightness should be related to but distinct from the SAS dimen-
sions of Conservatism and Hierarchy. Consistent with this proposal, Cultural Tightness has a moderate positive
correlation with Hierarchy ( r5.43) and Conservatism ( r5.43). Gelfand et al. (2011) also posit that Cultural
Tightness should be related to the SAS dimensions of Fate Control and Religiosity. As expected, Cultural
Tightness is correlated with Religiosity ( r5.52) and Fate Control ( r5.44).
Divergent/Discriminant
Nations scoring high on Cultural Tightness are more inclined to comply with norms and not tolerate deviance.
Consistent with this idea, nations scoring high on Cultural Tightness are less likely to justify socially deviant
behavior ( r52.48) and accept promiscuous sexual behavior ( r52.44). Cultural Tightness is also negatively
associated with the VSM dimension of Individualism ( r52.47). Finally, as Gelfand et al. (2011) hypothesized,
Cultural Tightness is unrelated to the WVS dimensions of Survival vs. Self-Expression ( r52.13) and Traditional
vs. Secular-Rational values ( r52.11).647 OVERVIEW OF THE MEASURES
VI. SOCIOCULTURAL INTERACTION AND CONFLICT