Popular psychological tests and self-fulfilling prophecy: An experiment of Japanese female undergraduate students

The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not the feedback of the results of popular psychological tests influences human behavior, and to compare the strength of any influence with that of academic psychological tests. We conducted an experiment in which 64 female Japanese subjects took a popular or academic psychological test, and then interacted with a stranger. The subjects who took each test received bogus feedback implying that they were extroverted or introverted. The results showed that subjects who received the extroversion feedback were more interactive with a stranger than those who received the introversion feedback, irrespective of whether they had taken the popular or academic test. This suggests that the feedback of popular psychological tests, like that of academic tests, can influence human behavior and create a self-fulfilling prophecy. The results also showed that those subjects who took the popular psychological tests reported higher psychological well-being than those who took the academic tests.     

Depth separation between foreground and background on visually induced perception of self-motion

A uniformly moving visual pattern can induce observer's self-motion perception in the opposite direction (vection), and an additional static stimulus can modulate (facilitate or inhibit) the strength of it. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of stimulus depth order and the depth distances of the visual stimulus on the inhibition and facilitation of vection caused by the additional static stimulus, measuring duration and estimated magnitude of vection as indices of vection strength. Analysis of this psychophysical experiment with four participants indicated that the static foreground presented in front of the moving pattern can facilitate vection, whereas the static background inhibits it (Duration: F1,3= 12.06, p<.05; Estimation: F1,3= 13.87, p<.05). Furthermore, the depth distances from the observer or the depth separation between the foreground and the background did not affect the self-motion perception (F2,6 < 1.0 for duration and estimation).     

Changes in somatosensory evoked potentials and Hoffmann reflexes during fast isometric contraction of foot plantarflexor in humans

In the present study, the extent to which the early component of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and the Hoffmann (H-) reflex induced by stimulation of the posterior tibial nerve are altered during the ascending and descending phases of fast plantarflexion was investigated. SEPSs and H-reflex of the soleus following tibial nerve stimulation were examined during fast plantarfiexion when performed by nine normal subjects. The analyses focused on differences in amplitude modulation of the P30-P40 component of SEP and the H-reflex between the ascending and descending phases of full-wave rectified and averaged soleus electromyographic (EMG) activity. The H-reflex amplitude was significantly increased and decreased during the ascending and descending phases more than under resting control conditions, respectively. The reduction of SEP amplitude was 49% for the ascending phase and 83% for the descending phases with respect to the resting situation. Modulation of SEP during the ascending and descending phases was robustly retained even during ischemic nerve blockade of large diameter afferent fibers. These findings suggest that the transmission of afferent inputs from muscle spindles to motoneurons and to the somatosensory cortex during fast isometric contraction of the plantar flexor is regulated in a time-dependent fashion by descending commands.     

Cultural differences related to positive and negative valence

Differences between North American and East Asian cultures were examined in terms of the valence of psychological constructs. Americans were more likely than Japanese to focus on positive things. In contrast, Japanese ( vs Americans) were more likely to attend to negative information of the self, but not more or less likely to focus on negative things about others. Based on within-culture analyses, the Americans' data were better described by their tendency to focus on positive things over negative things than by their tendency for self-enhancement. In contrast, the Japanese data were better described by their self-critical tendency. This result was replicated in a second study. In addition, correlations between constructs with opposite valences were negative in the USA, but positive or absent in Japan.     

Self-Reported Abuse and Mistreatment among Japanese Elders Receiving Respite Care

This study examines physical and psychological mistreatment reported by Japanese elders who received care from family members. Data is based on structured face-to-face interviews with community-dwelling elders who utilized respite care services. Among the 118 elderly respondents, 12% reported being hit or almost being hit by their caregivers. Close to 54% reported at least one type of psychological mistreatment. Men who received care from their spouses were most likely to report abuse. Elders who were victimized reported increased levels of depressive symptoms. Logistic regression analyses indicated associations between physical abuse and past conflicts with the caregiver. Psychological mistreatment was associated with receiving care from a spouse, past conflicts with the primary caregiver, and depression. The findings suggest the need for increased awareness of the needs of community-dwelling Japanese elders who are at risk for abuse, mistreatment, and depression.     

Keeping an “I” on PRIDE: Measuring Imitation in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

In parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT), therapists encourage parents to imitate child behaviors in order to convey approval of the child’s actions and promote the development of linguistic and social–cognitive skills. However, the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System (DPICS-IV), used to measure skills taught during PCIT, does not include guidelines for coding parent–child imitation, making it difficult to determine how PCIT affects it. The current study addresses this problem by developing guidelines for coding imitation, which were then used to code DPICS-IV segments from 58 Mexican American families that participated in a past clinical trial. Results suggest that these coding guidelines can be used to reliably measure parent and child imitation. A series of additional analyses supported the construct validity of the codes. Specifically, there was a trend for parent imitation, but not child imitation, to increase more from pre–post treatment in PCIT relative to treatment as usual. In addition, parents who imitate their children were found to have children who imitate them more in return. Finally, improvement in parent imitation, but not child imitation, was significantly related to a decrease in child behavior problems. Further study is needed to determine the optimal frequency of imitation, and findings suggest that additional attention to coaching imitation may be warranted.     

Hyperactivity/inattention problems moderate environmental but not genetic mediation between negative parenting and conduct problems

This study investigated the association between negative parenting (NP) and conduct problems (CP) in 6-year-old twins, taking into account the severity of hyperactivity/inattention problems (HIAP). Analyses of the data from 1,677 pairs of twins and their parents revealed that the shared environmental covariance between NP and CP was moderated by the level of HIAP but not by CP or NP, where the shared environmental covariance was larger in children with higher levels of HIAP than in children with lower levels of HIAP. The genetic covariance between NP and CP was not moderated by the level of HIAP, whereas it was larger in the group with lower levels of CP and NP than in the group with higher levels. These results suggest that severe HIAP strengthens shared environmental associations between NP and CP and that interventions focusing on the shared environmental component of NP would be effective for parents and children with severe HIAP.     

The Current State of Genetic Counseling Before and After Amniocentesis for Fetal Karyotyping in Japan: A Survey of Obstetric Hospital Clients of a Prenatal Testing Laboratory

Pregnant women undergoing prenatal genetic testing should receive genetic counseling so they can make informed decisions. We examined the current state of providing genetic counseling in Japan to pregnant women before they elected amniocentesis for prenatal diagnosis of chromosome abnormalities and after test results were completed, and explored the opportunity for expanding access to certified genetic counselors (CGC) at clinical practices offering amniocentesis. An anonymous survey was mailed to the 298 hospitals that referred amniotic fluid specimens to LabCorp Japan in 2009. Most genetic counseling was provided by the obstetrician alone; 73.8 % (76/103) of pre-amniocentesis, 82.5 % (85/103) if normal results, and 49.4 % (44/89) if abnormal results. Respondents spent limited time in genetic counseling; 57.3 % spent <10 min for pre-amniocentesis, 88.3 % spent <10 min for normal results, and 54.0 % spent <20 min for abnormal results. While 45.8 % indicated that CGC do not have an essential role in clinical practice, responses that supported employment of CGC were more likely to come from hospitals that submitted more than ten specimens annually (p?<?0.0001), university hospitals (p?<?0.0001), and MD geneticists (p?=?0.020). Currently, there is limited genetic counseling available in Japan. This indicates there are opportunities for the employment of CGC to improve the quality of genetic counseling.     

People With External Preoccupation Are Vulnerable to Depression: A Longitudinal Study

External preoccupation, the tendency to maintain an external focus of attention on a specific object, is believed to be a vulnerability factor for depression. The present study is an investigation of this hypothesis in a longitudinal design. At Time 1, external preoccupation as well as depressive symptoms were assessed. At Time 2, 4 months later, life events experienced between Time 1 and Time 2 and depressive symptoms at Time 2 were assessed. Data from 195 undergraduates (147 men and 48 women) were analyzed. The results supported the hypothesis. Specifically, when reporting a greater number of negative life events, those who scored high on external preoccupation became more depressed than those who scored low on that tendency. When there was a smaller number of negative events, this difference disappeared.     

Relative age effect in Japanese male athletes

The present study investigated the relative age effect, a biased distribution of elite athletes' birthdates, in Japanese male athletes. Japan applies a unique annual-age grouping for sport and education, which is from April 1 to March 31 of the following year. A total of 4,318 male athletes was evaluated from 12 sports: baseball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, handball, golf, horse racing, rugby, American football, sumo, Ekiden (track and field in long distance), and badminton. They played in the top level of Japanese leagues for each sport in 2010. The distribution of the birth dates was examined in each sport and showed significant relative age effect in baseball, soccer, volleyball, Ekiden, basketball, sumo, and horse racing, but not in all sports. The findings suggest that although the school year in Japan starts on April 1, significant relative age effects are observed in some sporting events.