Strict norms and perceived cultural tightness have distinct societal consequences

Cultural tightness-looseness theory posits that societies vary in norm strength and deviance tolerance. However, research has conflated two independent dimensions: perceived tightness (shared narratives of social order) and norm strictness (behavioral constraints). Analyzing 25,000 participants across 83 societies, here we show these dimensions are uncorrelated (r = 0.10) and exhibit a double dissociation. Norm strictness stems from historical threats and correlates with lower liberal democracy, whereas perceived tightness is uniquely predicted by population density. Crucially, only perceived tightness predicts coordination benefits: lower COVID-19 mortality, lower homicide rates, and lower obesity. Norm strictness instead predicts higher pandemic mortality, suggesting behavioral rigidity hampers adaptation to novel crises. We provide validated scores for 83 societies, including 15 under-sampled African nations, expanding resources for cross-cultural research. These findings demonstrate that cultural narratives of social order facilitate collective action independently of enforcement, providing a new empirical foundation for understanding societal resilience.