Michele J. Gelfand

While threat-related language naturally becomes more pervasive during wars and natural disasters, it can also spread as a result of misinformation campaigns, “engagement” algorithms, and social contagion effects. Improving our understanding of the threat environment thus has become an urgent imperative.

An important lesson from the pandemic comes from a surprising source: the dodo, a flightless bird that went extinct four centuries ago.

Why Some Societies Respond to Danger Better Than Others

Our research shows how ‘tighter’ societies do better – and how the rest must learn to adapt in order to defeat the pandemic

Reopening the economy has often been framed as a partisan issue in the US. But within households, many families are having their own arguments about how lax or strict they should be about the threat of the virus.

Different mindsets about rules can lead to different behaviors.

In the fight against coronavirus, we need every advantage. America’s scientific expertise is second to none, but are U.S. cultural attitudes and tendencies our achilles heel?

It’s not just about medicine. It’s about culture.

Your partner’s intentions might be good, but the outcome often isn’t.

Across the world, voters are falling prey to leaders who appeal to their worst instincts. Why?

Words that carry weight: In a University of Maryland study, Pakistanis and Americans who read diaries from the others’ culture often came away with a more positive and tolerant perspective.

When people feel threatened, they’re more receptive to politicians who espouse xenophobic rhetoric.

Extremely rare but vivid threats often loom large in the human mind.

Dr. Gelfand answers reader questions in Behavioral Scientist's "Ask a Behavioral Scientist" series

This psychology professor and her research team argues that it’s not about remaking the company, but introducing structure without compromising on Tesla’s commitment to innovate.

While the Islamic State has claimed responsibility, the real story is a bit more complicated than that.

On Equal Pay Day, we rightly focus on how a woman would have to work over three months more in order to make what her male counterpart did last year for the same full time work — a gender pay gap that amounts to about $900 billion in annual lost earnings for women holding full-time jobs. But inequities in the workplace go far beyond wage disparity.

According to a new book by cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand, “Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World,” much of the diversity in the way we think and act derives from a key difference—how tightly or loosely we adhere to social norms. Looking a countries, states, cities, workplaces and even families, Gelfand shows how tight and loose cultures shape our entire lives, and play a big role in the decisions we make around where we live, what company we work for and how we approach others.

A book excerpt and interview with Michele Gelfand, an author and psychologist at the University of Maryland

Research on how people make and break rules can help us understand each other.