Japanese Psychological Research最新文献

This series of studies developed the Japanese version of the State Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (SCFQ-J) and examined its psychometric properties. In Study 1, 411 participants completed the questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a one-factor model for the SCFQ-J. In Study 2, to examine the responsiveness of the SCFQ-J to a brief defusion exercise, 40 Japanese participants were randomly assigned to either a cognitive defusion or control condition. The SCFQ-J showed superior responsiveness to a brief defusion exercise than a commonly used measure (thought believability). In Study 3, to examine whether the SCFQ-J was more sensitive to dissociated movements than the original Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ-J), 40 Japanese participants were randomly assigned to either an SCFQ-J or CFQ-J condition. The SCFQ-J showed better sensitivity than the CFQ-J to a brief defusion exercise, supporting its suitability for experimental studies. Our findings suggest that the SCFQ-J is a valuable measure of state cognitive fusion in Japan.

The present study examined how task-relevant and task-irrelevant prime stimuli influence the affective priming effect. An emotional picture (unpleasant or neutral) and a checkerboard picture were presented simultaneously as a prime stimulus. Participants were required to pay attention to either the emotional picture (EP-attended condition) or the checkerboard picture (CP-attended condition). An emotionally neutral picture (target) was then presented, and participants were asked to evaluate the emotional valence of the target. The evaluation score was more negative following the unpleasant prime picture, and this priming effect was larger in the EP-attended condition, in which the emotional prime picture was task-relevant than in the CP-attended condition, in which the emotional prime picture was task-irrelevant. The late positive potentials (LPPs) elicited by the prime stimuli were larger when the emotional prime picture was unpleasant, whereas the LPPs elicited by the target stimuli were smaller when the emotional prime picture was unpleasant. More importantly, significant association between the LPP amplitudes and the magnitude of affective priming effects were observed in the EP-attended condition but not in the CP-attended condition. This indicates that the degree of the affective priming effect induced by the task-relevant prime stimulus was related to attentional resource allocation, but this was not the case for the affective priming effect induced by the task-irrelevant prime stimulus. The present results suggest that affective priming effects induced by task-relevant and task-irrelevant prime stimuli occur in a different manner in terms of attentional processing.

Previous research reveals that past moral behavior can promote future moral behavior, or sometimes discourage people's engagement in moral behavior. This is known as the moral licensing effect. Although most previous research on moral licensing has focused on adults, a few studies have also investigated children. The present study investigated moral licensing effects in preschool children. Participants were 47 Japanese preschool children between the ages of 43 and 77 months. We manipulated licensing by inducing participants to experience prosocial behavior. More specifically, we provided participants in the license condition an opportunity to share their resources with another. Then, all participants allocated five stickers to themselves and others in a resource allocation task. The results showed that the children in the license condition were less likely to engage in prosocial behavior than those in the control condition. This is the first study showing that moral licensing effects also occur in children, suggesting that like adults, applying morality for preschool children is flexible with regards to situations and experiences.

The Cognitive Attentional Syndrome Scale 1 Revised (CAS-1R) is a 10-item self-report measure designed to assess dysfunctional metacognition, a transdiagnostic predictor of psychological disorders (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder, major depression disorder). Dysfunctional metacognition is classified into “cognitive attentional syndrome” and “metacognitive beliefs,” and the latter in turn into negative and positive beliefs. We translated the CAS-1R into Japanese (CAS-1R-J) and examined its reliability and validity in a Japanese community sample. We recruited 552 participants via the Internet and received responses from 552 individuals (Time 1) and 112 individuals (Time 2). Of these, the data of 87 individuals were used to examine test–retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the factor structure (three-factor model) of the CAS-1R-J was appropriate. Each subscale showed good internal consistency. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis showed discriminant and incremental validity for anxiety and depressive symptoms, meaning the CAS-1R-J is valid to assess state cognitive attentional syndrome and metacognitive beliefs among Japanese individuals.

A role-playing game (RPG) is a video game genre in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. This study examined the possibility of applying an RPG task to human associative learning. Specifically, it examined latent inhibition and context-specific latent inhibition using the RPG task. In the RPG task, the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli were a monster and a treasure obtained battling the monster, respectively. Conditioning was conducted by presenting a treasure after a battle. The experimental context was the location where the battle occurred. Participants were asked to make judgments about the extent to which each monster they encountered would likely have a treasure. Prior to conditioning, a treatment of not obtaining a treasure after a battle would make it unlikely to expect the monster to have a treasure, even if it was received after a subsequent battle (i.e., latent inhibition). Furthermore, when the battle location was changed, the latent inhibition disappeared (i.e., context-specific latent inhibition). These observed phenomena suggested that the RPG task may be employed as a tool to extend research regarding human associative learning.

Abstract: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is marked by intense anxiety in social situations and negative cognitions. We developed the Social Anxiety-Awareness and Acceptance Scale (SA-AAS) to measure awareness and acceptance in anxiety-provoking social situations and examined the relationship between awareness, acceptance, and SAD symptoms. Patients (N = 412) with SAD completed the SA-AAS and a set of questionnaires that evaluated trait mindfulness, self-focused attention, cost/probability bias, avoidance behavior, and social anxiety. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that the SA-AAS has two factors: “awareness” and “acceptance.” Correlation analyses revealed that each factor had a significantly weak-to-moderate correlation with the total score for trait mindfulness and the observing, non-reactivity, and describing factors. Partial correlation analyses demonstrated no significant correlations between awareness and cost/probability bias, avoidance behavior, and social anxiety. In contrast, there were significant negative correlations between acceptance and self-focused attention, cost/probability bias, avoidance behavior, and social anxiety. A one-way analysis of variance indicated that the low awareness and acceptance cluster, and the high awareness and low acceptance cluster had higher SAD symptom scores concerning cost/probability bias and social anxiety than the moderate and high awareness and acceptance clusters. The SA-AAS has high reliability and validity, and acceptance of mindfulness was negatively related to SAD symptoms.

This study aimed to replicate a previous finding of the association between personal values in adolescence and health/mental well-being in adulthood among workers, in a large community sample, with an additional focus on eudemonic well-being. A cross-sectional study was conducted in urban and suburban cities of Japan. Subjective health status, eudemonic well-being (meaning in life), and life satisfaction in adulthood were measured in 2010; 11 types of personal values and commitment to values in adolescence were assessed with the retrospective recall in 2017. A total of 2,413 adults were included in the multiple linear regression analyses. None of the personal values were related to life satisfaction unlike the previous study. Consistent results were that commitment to values was positively associated with life satisfaction, and the value of graduating from school was positively associated with subjective health status. Personal values related to openness to change and self-enhancement were positively associated with meaning in life in adulthood. This study did not fully replicate previous findings, but added the eudemonic perspective of mental well-being to the previous study.

The present study explored the relationship between video/online game playing and suicide risk among Japanese young adults using the interpersonal–psychological theory of suicide. A sample of 310 players aged 20–39 years was recruited through an Internet research company. Each participant completed a questionnaire containing items that measured time spent on games, game addiction (GA), game categories, suicidal ideation (SI), suicide attempt (SA), perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, acquired capability for suicide (ACS), depression, and demographic variables (including age and sex). Multiple regression analyses revealed that depression and the GA × depression interaction significantly explained SI. However, the effect was limited. Additionally, the results revealed that SI was a strong predictor of SA, but the SI × ACS interaction and the SI × ACS × time spent on games interaction were also significant. It should be noted that the time spent on games explained the SA only when SI was low and ACS was high. These results may indicate the necessity of examining suicide risk in GA interventions for young adults; however, more research is needed.

While individuals' construal level has been extensively investigated in the field of traditional psychology literature, theoretical concerns of the impacts of construal level on philanthropic supporters' intentions to donate is promising but underdeveloped. This paper extends the limited attention given to charitable organizations. Specifically, this research further focuses on whether message construal and temporal distance have moderating effects on the impact of philanthropic supporters' construal level on their intention to donate. Results show that for low-level and high-level construal individuals, charitable appeals characterized by message construal (time vs. money) and temporal distance (proximal vs. distant) will elicit differential intentions to donate. Findings of this research have practical implications for charitable organizations.