Changing the world through changing the self: Understanding a new control strategy through self-reported coping plans in two cultures

Abstract

This study proposes a new control strategy, control via self-improvement, in addition to primary and secondary control. This strategy is aimed at an actual external change (primary target), whereas the means to reach the goal is self-improvement (secondary target-the self). A study conducted in Israel and in Hong Kong indicated that the strategy of control via self-improvement exists in the achievement domain and is more prevalent in Hong Kong than in Israel. © The Author(s) 2012.