9:18 a.m., April 15, 2010----Beth Morling, associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Delaware, has received a Fulbright Scholar award and will be lecturing and conducting research in Japan for 10 months beginning in August.

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Morling will be teaching two classes at Kyoto University and will be conducting a research project with her colleague, Yukiko Uchida of the Kokoro Research Center at Kyoto University.

“Our project is studying social support in the U.S. and Japan,” Morling said. “Some previous research by other scholars has shown that in East Asian cultural contexts, people are somewhat reluctant to ask friends or family for help or support when they are under stress. They don't want to burden other people with the obligation to help them.

“In contrast, in European-American contexts, people tend to feel more comfortable doing this, perhaps because European-Americans think that others are free to provide the help or not, by individual choice. We are going to be studying this phenomenon by asking people to read about social support situations from both cultures, and describe how they would feel if they were in a similar situation.”

The project is partly a continuation of a senior degree-with-distinction project begun by UD's Sandra Frentrup, a psychology major and Honors Program student.

Morling will travel to Japan with her family, noting that “allowing families to travel together is a hallmark of the Fulbright program. Having families along can help Fulbright scholars become more involved in their local communities." Her husband is Darrin Pochan, professor in UD's Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Morling is a graduate of Carleton College and earned her doctorate in personality and social psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She has held teaching-centered positions at Union College, Muhlenberg College and at the University of Delaware. Since 2007, she has been a team member for the Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (ITUE).

The Fulbright Scholar Program, sponsored by the U. S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, sends 800 U.S. faculty and professionals abroad each year to lecture and conduct research in a variety of fields.