“When people perceive threat — whether real or imagined, they want strong rules and autocratic leaders to help them survive,” explains psychologist Professor Michele Gelfand. Gelfrand has written an entire book on the subject of tight-loose cultures, Rule Makers Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World. “My research has found that within minutes of exposing study participants to false information about terrorist incidents, overpopulation, pathogen outbreaks, and natural disasters, their minds tightened,” Gelfrand told scientific journal Behavioral Scientist. “They wanted stronger rules and punishments.”
