Japanese Psychological Research最新文献

This study applied a two-phase, mixed-methods research design, grounded in cultural consensus theory (CCT), to examine shared beliefs about mental health held by Japanese clinical psychologists (CPs). In CCT, qualitative methods are first used to identify culturally salient elements of a domain; factor analysis is then used to quantify the degree of sharedness, an approach known as cultural consensus analysis (CCA). First, a free-listing technique with 16 Japanese CPs was conducted to elicit salient terms for the two domains: (a) how members of the general public acquire beliefs about mental health; and (b) how Japanese mental healthcare ought to be reformed. In the second phase, CCA was conducted through a survey completed by 100 CPs. The free-listing analysis generated 21 and 23 culturally salient terms for the two domains, respectively. Then, CCA demonstrated that the two domains could each be characterized as a single cultural model with a high degree of consensus. CCT provides a systematic mixed-methods approach that is particularly well-suited to investigating culturally grounded shared beliefs held by people in a specific cultural context.

While the survival function of culture against infectious disease has been investigated, little is known about its psychological processes under the real-world threat of infection. Here, we compare the subjective COVID-19-related symptoms of Japanese and French adults during the spring of 2021. We tested two regression models describing the downregulation of symptoms by germ aversion, and by interdependent happiness, together with relational mobility and demographics. We regard germ aversion as an individualized fending-off process marked by discomfort with the general other in the face of possible infection. We regard interdependent happiness as a relational safeguarding process against possible infection. Results suggest that the effect of germ aversion differed across nations, negatively explaining symptoms in Japan but not in France, and that the effect of interdependent happiness was shared. A possible psychological mechanism whereby collectivist culture suppresses infection in the face of the pandemic is discussed.

This study aimed to identify determinants of interdependent happiness (IH), with a focus on social capital resources. Using data from a population survey conducted in Sapporo, Japan, we ran hierarchical regressions to compare determinants of IH with determinants of a standard measure of subjective well-being (SWB), the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). While we confirmed the relationships of control variables generally associated with SWB also for IH, we found several decisive differences between the two well-being measures regarding social capital. For IH, an overall larger share of variance was predicted by social capital resources than for SWLS. IH is most strongly affected by social affiliation, which measures a sense of belonging to society, followed by interpersonal reliance, and social support. Reciprocal norms and institutional reliance predicted only IH, but not SWLS. Overall, our results imply that IH captures aspects of well-being related to social capital not fully covered by standard measures of SWB. Thus, for societies in which the cultural construal of happiness is more inclined to IH, the specific importance of social capital resources for SWB might be underestimated when relying solely on standard measures of well-being.

Drawing on various studies, we provide a holistic view incorporating different nested cultural contexts, organizational shame, and health outcomes. We introduce the concept of organizational shame and explain its two key domains: conformity and status/competition. Then, we comprehensively review prior studies on cultural approaches to shame and propose our cultural variance model of organizational shame. Our model illustrates an equilibrium, exhibiting dominant and stable patterns of shame domains formed by reinforcing relationships among three key nested contextual layers: individuals (workers), organizations (firms), and the labor market. We apply our model to discuss general and occupational implications and outline future research directions. Thus, we hope to conceptualize organizational shame within the dynamic contexts of organizations and cultures.

This study aimed to identify elementary school teachers' beliefs in homework and examine the relationships between such beliefs and homework assignments. In the preliminary study, we conducted an open-ended questionnaire survey and used it to draft the Scale of Elementary School Teachers' Beliefs in Homework. In the main study, an online survey was conducted using the drafted scale, external variables, and an item measuring the amount of homework that teachers assigned. As a result, a four-factor structure was extracted, comprising “promotion of learning,” “communication,” “habit formation,” and “insight into and evaluation of learning.” These four factors showed a significant correlation with all external variables, except one, as predicted. Specific relationships between teachers' beliefs and the amount of homework were observed. Correlational analysis revealed that the amount of homework significantly correlated with “promotion of learning,” “habit formation,” and “insight into and evaluation of learning.” In multiple regression analysis, “promotion of learning” showed a significant relation with the amount of homework. Further, we discuss the implications for teacher education and teaching practice, study limitations, and directions for future research.

Previously published work suggests that marginalized Japanese youth have psychologies that deviate from interdependent self-orientations. To test whether this pattern extends to an independent self-construal, two previous experiments originally conducted in Japan were replicated in the United States. In Study 1, risk of marginalization was measured among 109 American undergraduates according to a previously developed measure. As expected, high-risk American undergraduates were less independent. That is, they were less motivated by success than by failure compared to low-risk American undergraduates. Similarly, in Study 2 with 144 Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) Americans, high-risk American MTurkers were, again, less independent. That is, they were less motivated to maintain the perception of self-consistency in their behaviours compared to the low-risk American MTurkers. Furthermore, American MTurkers who were classified as “high risk” were also living more precarious lives in the U.S. Across cultures, the patterns of results were reversed due to opposing cultural norms according to predominant self-construal. Thus, the tendency to be marginalized in society seems to predict the tendency to have culturally deviant psychologies: this pattern seems to be generalizable across both an interdependent society like Japan and an independent society like the United States.

People's daily stress experiences differ across cultures. The current study examined how people cope with daily stress by applying primary and secondary control coping and how people change their strategies across situations (actual vs. ideal situations). European Canadians (n = 100), East Asian Canadians (n = 98), and the Japanese (n = 103) read 40 stress scenarios and judged their endorsement of stress coping strategies based on their actual primary and secondary control coping usage in the past, as well as their ideal preference of each coping strategy for each stress scenario. We examined whether primary versus secondary control coping usage differs across cultural groups. The results indicated the following. (a) European Canadians showed an overall usage for primary control coping over secondary control; however, there was no selection of primary control coping over secondary control coping for East Asian Canadians or the Japanese. (b) All cultural groups preferentially endorsed primary control coping over secondary control coping for their ideal preference of coping strategy. Nevertheless, the Japanese still showed more preference for endorsing secondary control coping as an ideal coping strategy compared to European Canadians. (c) There were mediational relationships between culture, independence, and the primary–secondary difference in control coping. (d) East Asian Canadians demonstrated a unique coping pattern, and we inferred that it reflected their multicultural identity. We discussed both academic and societal implications and assert that the present findings demonstrate significant relationships between people's culture and well-being.

Previous studies have demonstrated cross-cultural differences in the levels of self-rated health (SRH), an individual's overall perception of their health, and that Korea and Japan tend to show relatively poor SRH despite higher life expectancy compared to countries like the United States. While it has been suggested that response styles and macro-level cultural values contribute to such differences, there is limited research on what other factors might be. The present study focused on influence and adjustment strategies as a potential cultural factor that could partly explain the cultural differences in SRH. Results from structural equation modeling have shown that Americans reported greater influence and positive reappraisal, plus a lower adjustment of goals than Japanese individuals, which partially explained the higher SRH among Americans than in the Japanese. These patterns were found even when a more objective measure of health (i.e., chronic conditions) was controlled for. Together, the findings highlight the role of influence and adjustment in understanding cultural differences in SRH.

Several studies have reported negative associations between help-seeking and male gender role conflict (GRC). We examined associations between three indices of help-seeking—help-seeking intentions, help-seeking attitudes, and help-seeking styles—and two aspects of GRC: restrictive emotionality and success/power/competition. Additionally, we compared the impact of restrictive emotionality and success/power/competition, both as derived from the male gender role and as not solely derived from the male gender role, on help-seeking. We conducted an online survey with 500 men who answered questions on help-seeking, GRC, and subjective needs. Multiple-group structural equation modeling indicated that restrictive emotionality derived from the male gender role was negatively associated with attitudes toward help-seeking, which supported previous studies. However, restrictive emotionality derived from the male gender role was not related to help-seeking intentions. In contrast, restrictive emotionality which is not derived from the male gender role had a negative association with most help-seeking variables. These results suggest that while GRC is related to attitudes toward help-seeking, its impact on help-seeking is nevertheless quite limited.

The current study examined cross-cultural differences in perceptions of certain externalizing symptoms, such as those of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – hyperactivity impulsivity (ADHD-HI) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). For this study, 39 American and 34 Japanese college students rated the acceptability of externalizing symptoms. The results showed cross-cultural patterns of perceptions for externalizing symptoms. In terms of ADHD-HI symptoms, Americans were less accepting of “often interrupts or intrudes on others” and “often has difficulty awaiting his or her turn” while Japanese individuals were less accepting of “often fidgets with or taps hands or feet or squirms in seat” and “often on the go, acting as if driven by motor.” For ODD symptoms, Americans were less accepting of “often blames others,” “often actively defies or refuses to comply with request,” “is often angry and resentful,” “often loses temper,” and “often deliberately annoys others.” This study showed the possible perceptual differences of symptoms between Japanese and American populations, which may be the first step in testing the nonequivalence of DSM-5 constructs of externalizing disorders.