Shinrigaku Kenkyu最新文献

Based on Bandura’s social learning theory, this study conceptualized the end-of-life care efficacy (EoLCE) of elderly care facility staff. In Analysis 1, an EoLCE scale was developed. Factor analysis identified two factors ―instrumental care efficacy and emotional care efficacy— with psychometric adequacy. In Analysis 2, a path analysis was used to examine the relationships between EoLCE and the number of care experiences provided (Care Experiences) as well as the four theory-based sources of self-efficacy: the frequency of feeling a sense of achievement (Achievement), number of opportunities to observe role models, number of opportunities to receive linguistic persuasions (Linguistic Persuasions), and negative emotional responses to end-of-life care. After controlling for these sources, we found that Care Experiences negatively influenced emotional care efficacy. Achievement had the strongest significant relationship with EoLCE. The three other sources showed significant relationships with EoLCE, but there was no relationship between instrumental care efficacy and Linguistic Persuasions. To increase EoLCE, the subjective number of social learning experiences relevant to end-of-life care was important, rather than the number of care experiences provided.

In this study, we examined the difference in the processing of one’s own name and other people’s names using a mental rotation task. In Experiment 1, the observer’s own name and other common names were presented visually. In Experiment 2, the observer’s name and the names of people who were familiar to the observer were presented. The observer saw the name and judged whether it was mirror-reversed or not. The results show that reaction times and error rates were shorter, when the observer processed his/her own name compared to when processing others names. These findings might be due to peculiarities and familiarity of one’s own name.

We examined two psychological processes of prosocial behavior: feeling gratitude and indebtedness. First, we asked if the value of the behavior for the receiver promotes gratitude; and second if the cost of the behavior for the giver promotes indebtedness. Gratitude and indebtedness were measured as behavioral indices of a quid pro quo (indirect reciprocity and direct reciprocity) to avoid social desirability effects in self-report measures. In Study 1, 119 undergraduates recalled a past experience in which they had been the recipients of prosocial behavior while emphasizing the value, cost, or situation (control) of the event. The level of gratitude was higher, and indirect reciprocity was observed more frequently, in the value condition than in the cost and control conditions. Indebtedness, however, did not differ across the conditions. In Study 2, 59 participants received a gift (the value and cost of which were manipulated) from an imaginary confederate. The value manipulation promoted indirect reciprocity, and both value and cost manipulations encouraged direct reciprocity. Implications for adaptive functions of gratitude in social selection processes are discussed.

This is a micro-ethnographic study focusing on a traditional custom at Tōshi Island in Japan. When first-born sons in the island graduate from junior high school, they form a small group of neya-ko (quasi-brothers) and sleep over at neya-oyas’ (quasi-parents) house every night until they become 26 years old. They keep the quasi-family relationship alive and help each other all through life. We investigated the maintenance process of this cultural custom by participant observations and unstructured interviews. Because of the recent drastic environmental changes around the island, people face difficulties maintaining the custom. In spite of these circumstances, they have been able to maintain the custom not by challenging the environmental changes, but by constantly changing the custom itself to fit the environment. Their flexible decision making may derive from their ecological basis as fishermen. Based on the findings, we discuss the sustainability of cultural customs facing environmental changes.

Three studies tested the reliability and validity of a Japanese version of the scale that measures compassionate goals to support others’ well-being and self-image goals to construct and defend a desired self-image. Consistent with Crocker and Canevello’s (2008) original English scale, the Japanese scale had a correlated two-factor structure and showed high reliability. Study 1 found that when controlling for self-image goals, compassionate goals were associated with lower zero-sum thinking, lower validation-seeking, higher growth-seeking, and higher independent self-construal. Controlling for compassionate goals, self-image goals were associated with higher validation-seeking and higher interdependent self-construal. In Studies 2 and 3, compassionate goals were associated with self-compassion and private self-consciousness to a greater extent than self-image goals, whereas self-image goals were associated with insecure attachment and with public self-consciousness to a greater extent than compassionate goals. A promotion focus and a prevention focus were moderately associated with both goals, suggesting that compassionate and self-image goals are different from these constructs.

The term sociosexuality is used to describe individual differences in people’s willingness to engage in uncommitted sexual relationships. The authors developed the revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory in Japanese (SOI-J) to assess sociosexuality. In addition, we examined the effect of sociosexuality on flirting behaviors. In study 1 and study 2, we translated the revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory into Japanese and confirmed its reliability and validity. The results of study 3 showed that male sociosexuality had an effect on male and female flirting behaviors. On the other hand, the results showed that female sociosexuality had no effect on male and female flirting behaviors. These results suggest that relationship initiation is controlled by females.

The present study aims to develop and examine the reliability, internal validity, and criterion validity of the Life Skills Scale for Adolescents and Adults (LSSAA) that would enable measurement of the level of life skills in Japanese adolescents and adults. In study 1, 238 university students completed a 41-item questionnaire for the LSSAA based on a previous study (Kase et al., 2016). Exploratory factor analysis was divided into four sub-scales: decision-making (8 items), interpersonal relationships (5 items), effective communication (5 items), and coping with emotion (3 items). In study 2, the reliability, content validity, and criterion validity of the LSSAA were examined by administering the questionnaire to 500 Japanese adolescents and adults. Confirmatory factor analysis and correlation analysis showed that the LSSAA had high reliability and validity. Additionally, it was confirmed that the LSSAA was effective for measuring the life skills needed for a satisfactory social life for a wide range (based on sex and/or age) of Japanese adolescents and adults.

This study examined relationships among regulation strategies, emotional and behavioral engagement, and academic achievement. Regulation strategies included metacognitive and motivational regulation strategies. Motivational regulation strategies have three subtypes: autonomous regulation strategies, cooperative strategies, and performance strategies. A self-reported survey was administered to 199 undergraduates from four universities, and an examination was conducted three months after the survey. Path analysis showed that use of metacognitive strategies was positively correlated with test scores, mainly through behavioral engagement. Moreover, use of autonomous regulation strategies was positively correlated with emotional engagement. Emotional engagement was positively correlated with test scores via behavioral engagement. On the other hand, use of performance strategies was negatively correlated with emotional engagement. Use of cooperative strategies was not correlated with engagement. These results indicate that each regulation strategy has a different function in learning, and that engagement mediates the relationships between various regulation strategies and academic achievement.

Certain participants are insincere, or careless when they respond to questionnaires. To identify such participants, we included three items in a questionnaire that instructed participants to choose a particular response category. Nurses (N = 1,000) responded to this questionnaire in a Web survey. One-hundred-twenty participants failed to follow the instructions for at least one item (non-followers). Analyzing their responses indicated the following: (a) non-followers were more likely to give identical, or midpoint responses; (b) the correlations between their responses to regular and reversed items were low or positive, and their responses to scales containing reversed items tended to show lower internal consistency; and finally, (c) the mean scores of non-followers were closer to the midpoint of the scale, regardless of whether the scale included reversed items. One reason that including reversed items lead to lower internal consistency could be because participants occasionally missed responding to these items. However, the results suggested that non-followers were not diligent in responding to regular items, and merely deleting reversed items from scales will be insufficient to ensure accurate results.