A CONTENT-ANALYSIS OF INTERPERSONAL COPIN G-BEHAVIOR IN JAPANESE AND BRITISH PRIMARY-SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS

This study conducted a content analysis of various coping-behaviors of the characters illustrated in elementary school texts in Japan and En gland. 212 stories, appearing in the readers used for 6-to 9-year old children in Japan and in England were analyzed. Japanese and English t exts were examined on the types of stimuli toward the characters in ea ch story and their corresponding coping-behaviors. Two results were ob served. (1) When the stimuli caused some conflict with the characters' requests or behaviors, the stimuli were portrayed to be more unintent ional in the Japanese than in the English texts. This exemplified the Japanese interpersonal relationships where members were expected to av oid causing any intentional or direct conflicts with others. (2) The c oping-behaviors of the characters in the Japanese texts accepted the c onflicts caused by the stimuli more actively than in the English texts . The results not only supported Weisz's secondary control hypothesis, but also showed how Japanese members were expected to change their ow n requests actively or willingly depending on the situation.