In his piece "Of War And Kisses: How Adversity Shapes Culture",  Richard Harris discusses a study that distinguishes national cultures between "tight" and "loose" while seeking to understand the factors behind those differences:

Countries tend to have personalities just like people do. Researchers have set out to define those differences, using a scale that measures how tight the social rules and standards are. They find that cultural rules — as simple as when and where it's appropriate to kiss — are often shaped by a nation's experience with war, disease and other challenges.

Read the rest of this story at NPR News