9600273 Morling This award supports a 24 month Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellowship for Dr. Beth Morling in the Department of Psychology, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. Dr. Morling will work with Dr. Shinobu Kitayama, professor in the Division of Integrated Human Studies, on a research project entitled, "Cross- Cultural Concepts of Psychological Control." The proposed research will: 1) develop a positive, active description of self-directed control by collecting examples of control in Japan; 2) examine cross-cultural data to ascertain whether self-directed control is indeed more common in Japan or in the United States, and; 3) investigate the positively framed conception of self-directed control and its relationship to emotional and mental well-being. Recent research in social psychology has established that feelings of control over the environment contribute to mental and physical health, the primary research question being which strategies individuals use to adapt to external realities. Preliminary studies in Japan suggest that self- directed control strategies are more widely used than other adjustment strategies, and because these are not emphasized in Western culture, they remain understudied. The research will provide significant insight into the creation of psychological confidence, competence, and well-being in Japan, with the results likely to provide lessons for strategies of social adaptation across cultures. ***
