On January 2nd of 2024,

on a Japan Airlines flight felt their plane shake intensely as it landed in Tokyo.

Sparks started flying outside the airplane's window, and all of a sudden, the cabin was filling with smoke.

Their plane had collided with another aircraft on the runway.

When the smoking plane finally came to a stop, on the Incredibly, within just 90 seconds, they managed to get all

379 passengers off the jet and it was just in time too, because shortly

afterwards the aircraft burst into flames on the runway.

Japan Airlines managed what experts called a textbook evacuation under dire circumstances.

But what made this possible?

Arguably, their readiness was spurred by a previous tragedy.

In August of 1985 a Japan airline's flight to

Osaka crashed due to a faulty repair from aircraft manufacturers. Nearly all 524 people on board tragically died.

After this accident, the airline tightened up its culture, leaning heavily on safety drills and insisting on rigid operating procedures.

In the process, they established a stellar safety record. Today, we're going to talk about culture. We'll take a look at the

implications of how carefully people in different contexts follow social norms,

rules, and procedures.

And we'll see how strict and relaxed cultures affect the quality of our decisions,

and how to find the sweet spot depending on your goals.

I'm Dr. Katie Milkman, and this is Choiceology, an original podcast from Charles Schwab.

It's a show about the psychology and economics behind our decisions.

We bring you true and surprising stories about high stakes choices and examine how they connect to the latest research

and behavioral science.

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