Effects of a Danish Student‐Centered Prosocial Intervention Program Among Japanese Children

Japan and Denmark represent two different educational cultures. Where Danish students in general report high scores on self‐esteem, Japanese children report low. A student‐centered and interaction‐based prosocial intervention program that was designed according to Danish educational culture was administered to children aged 11–12 years in Japan. Questionnaires measuring the children's quality of life (QoL) and metacognitive awareness were applied. Overall, the results showed that the student‐centered intervention improved the emotional well‐being aspect of QoL among Japanese boys. In contrast, Japanese boys’ scores on the declarative knowledge of metacognitive regulation declined. The teachers’ attitudes towards the intervention program were analyzed by use of interviews. The effect of the student‐centered intervention program is discussed with respect to the educational cultures in Japan.     

Cross cultural differences in unconscious knowledge

Previous studies have indicated cross cultural differences in conscious processes, such that Asians have a global preference and Westerners a more analytical one. We investigated whether these biases also apply to unconscious knowledge. In Experiment 1, Japanese and UK participants memorized strings of large (global) letters made out of small (local) letters. The strings constituted one sequence of letters at a global level and a different sequence at a local level. Implicit learning occurred at the global and not the local level for the Japanese but equally at both levels for the English. In Experiment 2, the Japanese preference for global over local processing persisted even when structure existed only at the local but not global level. In Experiment 3, Japanese and UK participants were asked to attend to just one of the levels, global or local. Now the cultural groups performed similarly, indicating that the bias largely reflects preference rather than ability (although the data left room for residual ability differences). In Experiment 4, the greater global advantage of Japanese rather English was confirmed for strings made of Japanese kana rather than Roman letters. That is, the cultural difference is not due to familiarity of the sequence elements. In sum, we show for the first time that cultural biases strongly affect the type of unconscious knowledge people acquire.     

Transmitting pro‐environmental behaviours to the next generation: A comparison between Germany and Japan

The present study examined the processes by which children acquire pro‐environmental behaviours in different cultures. Our focus was on parental influence. Several studies have been conducted on adults' environmental behaviours; however, we know little about how children's environmental attitudes and behaviours are formed. We conducted a questionnaire survey with elementary school children and one of their parents in Germany and Japan. Two hundred and twenty‐one pairs participated in Germany and 365 in Japan. The results of structural equation modelling showed that parents' behaviours affected children's environmental behaviours directly and also via the subjective norm (the children's experienced expectations of their parents). A comparison of the two countries revealed that hypothesized cultural differences between the impact of personal norms and subjective norms were clearer for adults. The results also showed that the effects of subjective norms were stronger for children, indicating that children are more likely to be influenced by expectations of others. The results of the study suggest that for promoting children's environmental behaviours, showing the behaviours in daily life would be most effective.     

Achievement motives,cognitive and social competence,and achievement goals in the classroom

This study investigated the interrelations of approach and avoidance achievement motives (Motive to Achieve Success and Motive to Avoid Failure), two types of competence (Cognitive and Social competence), achievement goals (Mastery, Performance-approach, Performance-avoidance, and Work Avoidance goals), of 131 eighth and ninth grade students from a Japanese junior high school. Multiple regression analysis indicated positive relations between Mastery goals and the Motive to Achieve Success and Cognitive Competence. Performance-approach goals and both the Motive to Achieve Success and the Motive to Avoid Failure, and Performance-avoidance Goals and both the Motive to Achieve Success and the Motive to Avoid Failure. Negative relations were found between Work Avoidance goals and the Motive to Achieve Success and Cognitive Competence. Several interactions between achievement motives and competence on achievement goals were also found. The different antecedents of four achievement goals were discussed.     

Parenting Self-Efficacy and Parental Involvement: Mediators or Moderators Between Socioeconomic Status and Children’s Academic Competence in Japan and Korea?

We examined the causes of a growing achievement gap associated with socioeconomic status (SES) in Korea and Japan, testing whether parenting self-efficacy (PSE) and parental involvement (PI) mediated or moderated the association of SES to children’s school-related competence (SRC). Three hundred and seventy-two Korean and 309 Japanese mothers of first- and second-grade children completed a parenting survey. Japanese mothers’ education and PSE were directly associated with SRC. PSE moderated the association of education to SRC, with higher PSE of college-educated mothers positively associated with SRC. In the Korean sample, household income was associated with SRC directly as well as indirectly through PSE.     

Relationship between microstrain and lattice parameter change in nanocrystalline materials

A lattice distortion, represented by microstrain and lattice parameter change, is frequently observed in nanocrystalline (NC) materials. In this letter, we develop a quantitative model to account for this phenomenon. The internal stress induced by the excess volume at grain boundaries is suggested to be the main reason for the lattice distortion. NC materials, prepared by the milling and crystallization method, were used for analysis and comparison. Theoretical calculation shows a reasonable agreement with experimental observations in the grain-size range from 5 to 100 nm. Our results indicate that there is an inherent relationship between microstrain and lattice parameter change in NC materials.     

Longitudinal tests on the influence of achievement goals on effort and intrinsic interest in the workplace

This study investigates whether four types of achievement goals—mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance—influence effort and intrinsic interest at work. Cross-lagged panel analyses were applied to data from a two-wave survey conducted on 57 newly hired Japanese police officers. The results showed that performance-approach goals had significant positive influences on effort and intrinsic interest. In contrast, performance-avoidance goals had significant negative impacts on the abovementioned two outcome variables. Longitudinal effects were observed when the influence of competence expectancy was controlled. These results highlight the benefits of performance-approach goals and the costs associated with performance-avoidance goals in the workplace.     

Effects of group decision rules on decisions involving continuous alternatives: The unanimity rule and extreme decisions in mock civil juries

Two experiments examined the effects of majority and unanimity decision rules on group decisions involving continuous alternatives. Each experiment used mock civil juries to test three hypotheses related to the claim that when the distribution of group members’ initial preferences is skewed, the group’s decision will be influenced more by the presence of outlier members under unanimity rule than under majority rule. Experiment 1 tested the hypotheses using a punitive damages case and positively skewed preference distributions. Experiment 2 tested the hypotheses using a compensatory damages case and manipulating the skewness of preference distributions in a 2 (group decision rule) × 2 (valence of skewness) factorial design. In both experiments, the extreme (outlier) member’s individual preference was significantly correlated with the group decision only under unanimity rule. A simple thought experiment based on the experimental results is suggested regarding the implications of using unanimity or majority rule for making decisions in civil juries.     

Appreciating art verbally: Verbalization can make a work of art be both undeservedly loved and unjustly maligned

Two experiments examined whether appreciating art verbally would aesthetically confuse viewers. Participants were asked to verbalize why they either liked or disliked two different kinds of paintings; one piece was representational, the other piece was abstract. Those who verbalized their reasons for liking the artworks were more likely to prefer the representational painting, whereas those who verbalized their reasons for disliking the paintings were also more likely to dislike the representational painting. While it was easy to describe reasons for both liking and disliking representational art, the same proved difficult for abstract art. The findings suggest that due to its figurative qualities people will be encouraged to generate reasons to describe representational art, rather than abstract art, and that these reasons could potentially be biased and cause them to change their preferences in line with these reasons.     

Raising Children in the Context of Rapid Social Change: Parenting Self-Efficacy of South Korean Mothers

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Given recent sociocultural and economic changes that have created significant pressures on South Korean mothers, we were interested in understanding the...