Tightness‐Looseness Revisited: Some Preliminary Analyses in Japan and the United States

The construct of tightness‐looseness is considered to be important in differentiating cultures (Pelto, 1968; Triandis, 1977, 1989). The objective of the present paper is to advance understanding of this construct. Specifically, we present a conceptual framework for the construct and formulate some general research hypotheses derived from our conceptualization. In addition, we examine one of our general hypotheses that cultures differing in the tight‐loose dimension will differ in the way language is used. Using a data set from Osgood, May, and Miron (1975), we compared the Japanese and the US samples of this study and found evidence supporting the hypothesis that Japan is a tighter culture, as compared to the USA. In addition to studying the construct of individualism‐collectivism, we suggest that tightness‐looseness is an important cultural dimension that can explain and predict cultural differences in many kinds of social behaviour.