Shinrigaku Kenkyu最新文献

Our preferences are influenced by the presence of others. However, it is unclear how the simultaneous presence of multiple others influences preference judgment. In this study, we presented multiple happy or disgust face images around a target and examined their influence on target preference. In Experiment 1, we presented only happy or disgust faces in order to examine the influence of quantity. In Experiment 2 and 3, we manipulated the ratio of happy or disgust and neutral faces. Findings revealed that the happy face increased the target preference and its effect varied by the ratio of happy faces. On the other hand, the disgust face decreased the target preference only if there was one such face. These results indicate that although the numeric information of others’ facial expressions influences preference judgment, this influence differs with the nature of others’ expressions.

This study was used to develop a Japanese version of the International Personality Item Pool-Interpersonal Circumplex and examined its reliability and validity. Participants included 625 Japanese university students. They completed the IPIP-IPC-J and one or two other scales: the Japanese version of Ten Item Personality Inventory (Oshio et al., 2012); a short form of the Japanese Big Five Scale (Namikawa et al., 2012); the Japanese Version of Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (Tamura et al., 2015); the Friendship scale (Okada, 1995); or the Assertion Inventory (Murayama et al., 1991). The IPIP-IPC-J was administered again to 65 participants five weeks later to determine test-retest reliability. The results generally supported the reliability and validity of the IPIP-IPC-J.

Research on correctional treatment based on the risk principle (Andrews & Bonta, 2010) has found that the intensity of intervention matched with the risk level of offenders’ recidivism is successful to reduce recidivism. However, there is no research dealing with this issue in a non-Western context. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the risk principle in rehabilitation for Japanese juvenile delinquents. The sample was 321 Japanese male inmates of the juvenile detention and assessment centers. They were followed for an average of 573 days after discharge to assess recidivism. Among high-risk juvenile delinquents, those who were treated in the juvenile training school showed significantly lower rates of recidivism than those who were placed under community supervision, while among low risk juveniles, there was no significant difference in recidivism between the two treatment conditions. The results indicate that the risk principle is valid for the correctional treatment of Japanese juvenile delinquents, suggesting its cross-cultural universality. Implications for juvenile justice policies and directions for future research are discussed.

A number of studies have investigated behavioral case linkage between crimes of a specified type, such as linking one residential burglary with another residential burglary. However, only a few studies have investigated the effectiveness of case linkage across crime types, which have been limited to the UK. This study examined whether linking across crime types using spatio-temporal proximity was possible in samples that were different from the UK in terms of the structure of crime classification. This was accomplished by calculating the discrimination accuracy between linked crime pairs (two offenses committed by the same offender) and unlinked crime pairs (two offenses committed by different offenders) using geographical (inter-crime distance) and temporal proximity (number of days between offenses) across various crimes committed in Japan. Both the geographical proximity and temporal proximity had statistically significant levels of discrimination accuracy across crime types as assessed by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. This suggests the possibility of identifying a crime series by geographical and temporal proximity across multiple crime types in Japan.

This study aimed to develop a scale for unexpected reality for childcare training (Study 1) and examine the change and influence it exerts on the efficacy of preschool teachers (Study 2). In Study 1, the sample consisted of 571 university and junior college students enrolled in a childcare course. After exploratory factor analysis, four factors were extracted: “actual feelings for childcare as a field of study,” “difficulties faced during involvement with children,” “negative aspects of the childcare worker,” and “severity of work.” The study’s scale was shown to be internally consistent and valid. In Study 2, the sample consisted of 122 junior college students enrolled in a childcare course. The results showed that the high-scoring groups of each unexpected reality subscales experienced less unexpected reality in the subsequent training session. Moreover, the results of multiple regression showed that preschool teacher efficacy was predicted positively by “actual feelings for childcare as a field of study” and negatively by “difficulties faced during involvement with children.” Thus, we suggest that for effective pre- and post-guidance of childcare training, unexpected realities should be considered.

Intrusive thoughts and difficulty in controlling thoughts are common, not only for people with psychological disorders, but also for healthy people. Individual differences in thought control ability may underlie such problems. The Thought Control Ability Questionnaire (TCAQ), which consists of 25 items, was developed by Luciano et al. (2005) in order to measure individual differences in the perceived ability to control unwanted intrusive thoughts. The purpose of the present study was to develop the Japanese version of the TCAQ and evaluate its reliability and validity. We translated the English version of the TCAQ into Japanese. We also conducted confirmatory factor analysis with a one factor solution, similar to the previous study. Based on the analysis, we excluded items whose factor loadings were lower than .30, resulting in 22 items for the Japanese version of the TCAQ. The model exhibited acceptable goodness-of-fit. The Japanese version of the TCAQ also demonstrated good reliability as well as evidence of construct validity. Thus, the development of the Japanese version of the TCAQ was successful.

Although research has indicated that dysfunctional attitudes (DA) and depressogenic inferential styles (DIS) lead to depression when negative life events occur, little is known about how these factors function when negative life events do not occur. This longitudinal study examined the hypotheses that DA and DIS at Time 1 would lead to positive life events at Time 2 (four weeks later) in the absence of, but not in the presence of, negative life events at Time 2. This study also examined whether the effects of DA and DIS on positive life events differ depending on initial levels of depression. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that in the prediction of positive events, interactions of DA and DIS with negative events and depression were not significant. The main effect of DA was significant and positive; the main effect of DIS was significant and negative. The results indicate that the effects of DA and DIS on positive events differ, and the effects do not depend on the frequency of negative events.

We investigated characteristics of spatial attentional bias in the elderly with the use of a visual statistical learning paradigm. Triplets consisting of pictures that appeared in the same consecutive order were simultaneously presented to the left (LVF) and right visual-field (RVF) across a center fixation point. In the learning phase, both younger (N = 40) and older (N = 40) adults were instructed to attend to either the LVF or RVF and to perform a 1-back task on the visual-field. The test phase was conducted immediately after the learning phase. Implicit memory for the sequential order of the triplets was tested using a speed detection task. Younger adults showed visual statistical learning for both the attended and unattended triplets. The elderly who directed attention towards the LVF showed visual statistical learning not for the attended triplets presented in the LVF, but rather the unattended triplets presented in the RVF. These findings suggest that the elderly show a stronger visuospatial attention bias to the right visual-field, with a decline in executive function compared to younger adults.

We developed a scale to measure time management and assessed its reliability and validity. We then used this scale to examine the impact of time management on psychological stress response. In Study 1-1, we developed the scale and assessed its internal consistency and criterion-related validity. Findings from a factor analysis revealed three elements of time management, “time estimation,” “time utilization,” and “taking each moment as it comes.” In Study 1-2, we assessed the scale’s test-retest reliability. In Study 1-3, we assessed the validity of the constructed scale. The results indicate that the time management scale has good reliability and validity. In Study 2, we performed a covariance structural analysis to verify our model that hypothesized that time management influences perceived control of time and psychological stress response, and perceived control of time influences psychological stress response. The results showed that time estimation increases the perceived control of time, which in turn decreases stress response. However, we also found that taking each moment as it comes reduces perceived control of time, which in turn increases stress response.