Faster forgetting contributes to impaired spatial memory in the PDAPP mouse: Deficit in memory retrieval associated with increased sensitivity to interference?

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the possibility of faster forgetting by PDAPP mice (a well-established model of Alzheimer's disease as reported by Games and colleagues in an earlier paper). Experiment 1, using mice aged 13-16 mo, confirmed the presence of a deficit in a spatial reference memory task in the water maze by hemizygous PDAPP mice relative to littermate controls. However, after overtraining to a criterion of equivalent navigational performance, a series of memory retention tests revealed faster forgetting in the PDAPP group. Very limited retraining was sufficient to reinstate good memory in both groups, indicating that their faster forgetting may be due to retrieval failure rather than trace decay. In Experiment 2, 6-mo-old PDAPP and controls were required to learn each of a series of spatial locations to criterion with their memory assessed 10 min after learning each location. No memory deficit was apparent in the PDAPP mice initially, but a deficit built up through the series of locations suggestive of increased sensitivity to interference. Faster forgetting and increased interference may each reflect a difficulty in accessing memory traces. This interpretation of one aspect of the cognitive deficit in human mutant APP mice has parallels to deficits observed in patients with Alzheimer's disease, further supporting the validity of transgenic models of the disease.     

Changes in Families’ Caregiving Experiences through Involvement as Participants then Facilitators in a Family Peer‐Education Program for Mental Disorders in Japan

A family peer‐education program for mental disorders was developed in Japan, similar to existing programs in the United States and Hong Kong. Families that serve as facilitators in such programs may enhance their caregiving processes and, thereby, their well‐being. This study's aim was to describe how families’ caregiving experiences change, beginning with the onset of a family member's mental illness, through their involvement in a family group or peer‐education program as participants then facilitators. Thus, this study was conducted in a family peer‐education program for mental disorders in Japan. Group interviews were conducted with 27 facilitators from seven program sites about their experiences before, during, and after becoming facilitators. Interview data were coded and categorized into five stages of caregiving processes: (1) withdrawing and suppressing negative experiences with difficulty and regret; (2) finding comfort through being listened to about negative experiences; (3) supporting participants’ sharing as facilitators; (4) understanding and affirming oneself through repeated sharing of experiences; and (5) finding value and social roles in one's experiences. The third, fourth, and fifth stages were experienced by the facilitators. The value that the facilitators placed on their caregiving experiences changed from negative to positive, which participants regarded as helpful and supportive. We conclude that serving as facilitators may improve families’ caregiving processes.     

Counteractive control over temptations: Promoting resistance through enhanced perception of conflict and goal value

The present research explored people’s everyday practice of counteractive control. Experience sampling was used to test our prediction that strong temptations would promote self-control. Participants were 237 Japanese citizens with ages ranging from 18 to 69. Results indicated that perceived temptation prompted stronger resistance and restraint of behaviors, compared to those cases where no conflict was perceived. In addition, multilevel path analysis revealed the underlying process such that (a) a strong desire toward temptation intensified perception of conflict; (b) perceived conflict bolstered the value of goals that were in disagreement with the temptation; and (c) highly valued goals promoted self-control (i.e., stronger resistance and hence less yielding to temptation).     

Survey Satisficing Biases the Estimation of Moderation Effects

Survey satisficing in online data collection biases the estimation of treatment effects in many ways. Extending the findings of a previous study, which demonstrated that satisficing biased the estimation of main treatment effects, this study also shows that satisficing distorts the estimation of moderation effects. Targeting Japanese adults’ attitudes toward food, this study tests how the effect of country of production (Japan vs. China) is moderated by preexisting ethnocentric attitudes. The results show that while nonsatisficers predictably adjust their attitude toward food based on their preexisting ethnocentric attitude, satisficers stick to their initial stereotypical response. That is, the theoretically predicted moderation effect was observed among nonsatisficers, but not among satisficers, which indicates that satisficing biases not only the estimation of a treatment effect but also that of a moderation effect.     

Perceptual narrowing towards adult faces is a cross‐cultural phenomenon in infancy: a behavioral and near‐infrared spectroscopy study with Japanese infants

Recent data showed that, in Caucasian infants, perceptual narrowing occurs for own‐race adult faces between 3 and 9 months of age, possibly as a consequence of the extensive amount of social and perceptual experience accumulated with caregivers and/or other adult individuals of the same race of the caregiver. The neural correlates of this developmental process remain unexplored, and it is currently unknown whether perceptual tuning towards adult faces can be extended to other cultures. To this end, in the current study we tested the ability of 3‐ and 9‐month‐old Japanese infants to discriminate among adult and infant Asian faces in a visual familiarization task (Experiment 1), and compared 9‐month‐olds’ cerebral hemodynamic responses to adult and infant faces as measured by near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) (Experiment 2). Results showed that 3‐month‐olds exhibit above‐chance discrimination of adult and infant faces, whereas 9‐month‐olds discriminate adult faces but not infant faces (Experiment 1). Moreover, adult faces, but not infant faces, induced significant increases in hemodynamic responses in the right temporal areas of 9‐month‐old infants. Overall, our data suggest that perceptual narrowing towards adult faces is a cross‐cultural phenomenon occurring between 3 and 9 months of age, and translates by 9 months of age into a right‐hemispheric specialization in the processing of adult faces.     

Thinking about “why” eliminates retrieval‐induced forgetting: Levels of construal affect retrieval dynamics

The present study examined how levels of construal affect retrieval‐induced forgetting. Higher‐level construal is associated with the focus on the similarities among stimuli, suggesting that high‐level construal promotes relational processing. Based on this fact, retrieval‐induced forgetting may be reduced or eliminated under high‐level construal condition because of the effect of relational processing. Two experiments were conducted using a retrieval‐practice paradigm with different stimuli while priming the level of construal. A meta‐analysis synthesizing the results showed that retrieval‐induced forgetting occurred under the low‐level construal condition, whereas forgetting did not occur under the high‐level construal condition. These results suggest that abstract thinking can eliminate retrieval‐induced forgetting because of relational processing, demonstrating the role of the levels of construal on memory inhibition.     

Bond to Society,Collectivism, and Conformity: A Comparative Study of Japanese and American College Students

An argument is developed that the purported collectivism in Japanese society generates stronger social bonds in Japan than in the more individualistic United States, which might then explain the lower level of deviance often found in Japan. We test this using survey data from samples of Japanese and American college students on measures of deviance and social bonds. Results indicate that Japanese students engage in significantly less deviance than Americans, and although variables from Hirschi's (1969 Hirschi , Travis. 1969 . Causes of Delinquency . Edison, NJ : Transaction Publishers . [Google Scholar]) social control theory behave similarly across cultures as predictors of deviance, the theory failed to account for the lower level of deviance among Japanese.     

Whose personality is better,mine or my partner's? Self‐enhancement bias in relationships

Previous research has documented self‐enhancement and relationship partner‐enhancement motivations, but not examined whether individuals view themselves or their partners more favorably, overall. The authors conducted three studies that revealed a general tendency to favor oneself over one's partner in direct self–partner personality comparisons. This illustrated a motivational precedence of self‐enhancement over partner‐enhancement goals. In Study 1, participants rated self‐only traits more favorably than partner‐only traits. In Studies 2 and 3, participants rated desirable traits as more characteristic of themselves than their partner, particularly when traits were more relevant to personal than relationship success. The authors also found that this self‐favoring bias was weaker (typically nonexistent) among those with higher relationship satisfaction, lower self‐esteem, or lower self‐deceptive tendencies. The authors discuss practical, theoretical, and methodological implications.     

How Single Older Men Reach Poverty and Its Relationship with Help-Seeking Preferences1

This study aimed to clarify patterns of poverty among single older men and examine this population's help-seeking preferences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 83 older single men in poverty. Three main patterns of poverty were identified: lifelong, job turnover, and retirement. A common characteristic among these patterns indicated that they did not recognize their difficulties as problems. Furthermore, we identified five groups of help-receiving preferences: independent, resignation, mutual-aid, other-oriented, and seeking. Among these, the independent and resignation groups were influenced by past experiences of failing to seek help, which was characteristic of the lifelong pattern type. Furthermore, the mutual-aid and seeking groups were oriented toward positive help-seeking, which was characteristic of the job turnover and retirement pattern types. However, neither group actively sought help for social isolation or lack of social support, suggesting that it would have been challenging to establish social relationships early on in life. Thus, it is important to establish initiatives that enable older people to understand their current state and to think about their future depending on three patterns of poverty.     

Belief in group interdependence: Facilitating evacuee–host interactions after the Fukushima nuclear accident

After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, intercultural friction and aversion arose between evacuees and host community residents in relocation areas. We examined whether a belief in group interdependence—the extent to which an individual believes that group function is realized through interdependence with related other groups—is consistent with positive interactions between evacuees and hosts. A door-to-door survey of 77 evacuees and 75 hosts revealed that residents with an integrated social identity interacted favorably with both ingroup and outgroup members, and that a belief in group interdependence was consistent with the integration of social identity between the evacuee and host communities. Those findings suggest that a belief in group interdependence can reduce intercultural conflict by allowing both immigrants and host residents to acquire an integrated social identity without the dilemma of internalizing different cultures into an individual's mind.