Stamkou and teammates studied responses to art. They report they “examine[d] how cultural tightness–looseness influences the effect of interpersonal (Studies 1–2) and intrapersonal deviance (Studies 3–4) on various indices of impact, including perceived artist influence, artwork valuation, purchase intention, and recommendation of the artist’s work to a museum. Study 1 shows that Italian participants (looser culture) perceived artists who deviated from the motif used by their contemporary artists as more impactful than Chinese participants (tighter culture). Study 2 shows that the looser U.S. communities’ response to COVID-19 rules, the more impactful they considered deviant artists. Study 3 shows that U.S. participants low in tightness mindset were more likely to recommend artists who deviated from their previous style to a company than artists who consistently followed a single style. Accordingly, Study 4 shows that U.S. participants high in tightness mindset were more likely to recommend nondeviant over deviant artworks to a museum.”
Eftychia Stamkou, Rohan Dunham, Matthew Pelowski, Ying Lin, and Michele Gelfand. 2024. “When Rule Breaking in Art Falls Flat: Cultural Tightness Deflates Deviant Artists’ Impact.” Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 14-30, https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000650