BROADCASTS.com

b'

The United States\\u2019 disjointed and detrimental response to the COVID-19 pandemic stands in stark contrast to the actions we\\u2019ve seen in other countries. While some people elsewhere seem more than willing to wear masks and avoid close contact with others, many Americans have balked at measures that they see as encroaching on personal freedoms, even as COVID-19 cases begin to spiral out of control once more.

There are several factors at play, including what some have described as a failure of leadership at the national level. But, according to Michele Gelfand, a psychology professor at the University of Maryland and author of \\u201cRule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World,\\u201d we can also look to cultural and social norms.