Abstract

An attempt was made to understand coping mechanism based on a control theory. To begin with, a brief conceptual summary concerning control theory was presented. Then, based on a more applicable control theory to human behavior, various aspects of coping mechanism such as definition, resource, function, mode, style were explored. In addition, a comprehensive three dimensional model of coping mechanism was constructed concerning coping resources, coping functions, and coping styles. According to this three dimensional model, coping resources consisted of personal coping, social coping, and religious coping. And coping function is centered around to maximize the four basic functions of a control system : problem-solving control (effector), informational control (detector), motivational control (motivator), and decisional control (controller). Major coping styles, given the above mentioned coping resources and coping functions, include the following coping styles : (1) Personal Coping Resources ; active coping, passive withdrawal, planful problem-solving (effector); behavioral distraction, addiction, active forgetting, denial/information seeking (detector); perseverance, positive comparison, positive interpretation, accommodation, devaluation, acceptance/wishful thinking (motivator); restraint, self-criticism/indecisiveness (controller) ; (2) Social Coping Resources : Tangible support (effector), informational support (detector), motivational support (motivator), decisional support (controller) : Religious Coping Resources; religious coping. Further, similarities and dissimilarites between the present model and two other relevant models on coping(Lazarus & Folkman; Carver & Scheier) were presented. Finally, some characteristics of the present model are discussed and some implications for future studies are suggested.