This study explored role functions and interpersonal perceptions of parents and preschool teachers in Japan and the United States. Subjects were 304 mothers and teachers in the two countries. A critical incident involving potential conflict between a mother and a teacher about the mother's child was presented, and subjects were asked to respond to 24 statements, beginning with the "mother would feel" and "the mother would do," on a 7-point scale. From the 24 items, three locus of responsibility and three behavioral variables were defined. Multivariate analyses of variance showed a significant main effect for culture and strong interaction effects between culture and the derived dimensions. Further, examination of items showed that similar profiles of Americans and Japanese were often underlain by very different inner feelings.
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