Does modern society let me be me?

Abstract

Behavior is jointly determined by one’s environment and personality, but the extent to which they influence behavior may vary across cultures. Immediate-return societies have a loose culture (i.e., few societal norms) while delayed-return societies have a tight culture (i.e., many strict societal norms). Because of this difference in societal norms, immediate-return societies (vs. delayed-return societies) allow for more expression of individual differences in strong attitudes or personality traits. In two studies, I explored the relation between two internal dispositions and related behaviors. Experiment 1 utilized a strong disposition (i.e., highly heritable), and Experiment 2 utilized a weak deposition (not highly heritable). I hypothesized that the disposition-behavior relation would be stronger for participants placed in an immediate-return (v. delayed-return) mindset when a strong disposition was tested, but that there would be no difference in the strength of the disposition-behavior relationship between condition when a weak disposition was measured. These hypotheses were supported and suggest that some societies may foster a personality-behavior link, whereas others foster a norm-behavior link.