SEVEN HUNDRED SEVEN NAVAL AVIATION TRAINEES FROM THREE STAGES OF TRAINING WERE ADMINISTERED AN ANONYMOUS QUESTIONNAIRE THAT ASKED THEM TO GIVE THEIR OWN DEFINITION OF MORALE. THEY WERE THEN INSTRUCTED TO RATE THEIR OWN MORALE ON A TEN-POINT SCALE USING THEIR DEFINITION AS A FRAME OF REFERENCE. A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE DEFINITIONS IDENTIFIED THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES--TASK ORIENTED, GROUP ORIENTED, AND SELF ORIENTED. MEAN MORALE RATES WERE OBTAINED FOR THE SUBJECTS FALLING IN EACH OF THE DEFINITIONAL CATEGORIES AND STAGES OF TRAINING. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT MORALE INCREASED AS TRAINEES PROGRESSED FROM PREFLIGHT TO BASIC FLIGHT TRAINING, THAT MORALE LEVEL VARIED AS A FUNCTION OF THE DEFINITION EXPRESSED, AND THAT THE DEFINITION EXPRESSED WAS A FUNCTION OF THE STAGES OF TRAINING EXPERIENCED. (THE DOCUMENT INCLUDES TABLES AND TWO REFERENCES.) THIS DOCUMENT, AD-655-818, IS AVAILABLE FROM THE CLEARINGHOUSE FOR FEDERAL SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION, SPRINGFIELD, VA. 22151, MICROFICHE $0.65, HARDCOPY $3.00. (AUTHOR)