Ecological Effects in Cross‐Cultural Differences Between U.S. and Japanese Color Preferences

We investigated cultural differences between U.S. and Japanese color preferences and the ecological factors that might influence them. Japanese and U.S. color preferences have both similarities (e.g., peaks around blue, troughs around dark‐yellow, and preferences for saturated colors) and differences (Japanese participants like darker colors less than U.S. participants do). Complex gender differences were also evident that did not conform to previously reported effects. Palmer and Schloss's (2010) weighted affective valence estimate (WAVE) procedure was used to test the Ecological Valence Theory's (EVT's) prediction that within‐culture WAVE‐preference correlations should be higher than between‐culture WAVE‐preference correlations. The results supported several, but not all, predictions. In the second experiment, we tested color preferences of Japanese–U.S. multicultural participants who could read and speak both Japanese and English. Multicultural color preferences were intermediate between U.S. and Japanese preferences, consistent with the hypothesis that culturally specific personal experiences during one's lifetime influence color preferences.     

The Effect of Cane Use on Attentional Demands During Walking

We investigated the effects of cane use, lateral walking stability, and cane use practice on attentional demands during walking. Attentional demands were assessed using dual-task methodology with a reaction time (RT) task. Sixteen healthy young subjects performed the RT task during walking, before and after cane use practice under four conditions: with/without cane use while wearing normal/unstable shoes. Among normal shoe conditions, cane use resulted in longer RTs. In contrast, RTs were similar regardless of cane use in the unstable shoe conditions. Among conditions without cane use, unstable shoes resulted in longer RTs. In contrast, RTs were similar regardless of shoe type in the cane use conditions. This study suggests that using a cane during walking requires additional attention; however, the resulting attentional demands depend on walking stability.     

The Factor Structure of the Forms of Self-Criticising/Attacking & Self-Reassuring Scale in Thirteen Distinct Populations

There is considerable evidence that self-criticism plays a major role in the vulnerability to and recovery from psychopathology. Methods to measure this process, and its change over time, are therefore important for research in psychopathology and well-being. This study examined the factor structure of a widely used measure, the Forms of Self-Criticising/Attacking & Self-Reassuring Scale in thirteen nonclinical samples (N?=?7510) from twelve different countries: Australia (N?= 319), Canada (N?= 383), Switzerland (N?= 230), Israel (N?=?476), Italy (N?=?389), Japan (N?=?264), the Netherlands (N?=?360), Portugal (N?=?764), Slovakia (N?=?1326), Taiwan (N?=?417), the United Kingdom 1 (N?=?1570), the United Kingdom 2 (N?=?883), and USA (N?=?331). This study used more advanced analyses than prior reports: a bifactor item-response theory model, a two-tier item-response theory model, and a non-parametric item-response theory (Mokken) scale analysis. Although the original three-factor solution for the FSCRS (distinguishing between Inadequate-Self, Hated-Self, and Reassured-Self) had an acceptable fit, two-tier models, with two general factors (Self-criticism and Self-reassurance) demonstrated the best fit across all samples. This study provides preliminary evidence suggesting that this two-factor structure can be used in a range of nonclinical contexts across countries and cultures. Inadequate-Self and Hated-Self might not by distinct factors in nonclinical samples. Future work may benefit from distinguishing between self-correction versus shame-based self-criticism.     

Maximizing present value: A model to explain why moderate response rates obtain on variable-interval schedules

In Phases 1 and 3, two Japanese monkeys responded on a multiple variable-ratio 80 variable-interval X schedule, where the value of X was adjusted to ensure equal between-schedule reinforcement rates. Components strictly alternated following the delivery of a food pellet, and each session ended following 50 components. Phase 2 differed from the others only in that the 50 pellets previously earned during the session were delivered together at session's end. Variable-ratio response rates did not decrease across phases, but variable-interval response rates decreased substantially during the Phase 2 procedure. This rate decrease was attributed to the food-at-session's-end manipulation removing the greater immediacy of reinforcement provided by short interresponse times relative to long interresponse times. Without this time preference for short interresponse times, the variable-interval interresponse-time reinforcement feedback function largely controlled response emission, dictating a response-rate reduction. This result was explained in terms of the economic notion of “maximizing present value.”     

In-group Bias and Culture of Collectivism

In this paper I present an argument that culture of collectivism which characterizes Japanese society is to be conceived in terms of an equilibrium between socio-relational and cognitive traits in which people have acquired expectations for generalized reciprocity within, not across, group boundaries. Maintenance of harmony among group members and voluntary cooperation toward group goals – the characteristics of collectivist culture – are often considered to be fundamentally psychological in nature. It is usually considered that members of a collectivist culture like to maintain harmony and cooperate toward group goals, or that "culture" sneaks into the minds of people and drives them to behave in such a manner. According to this view, culture is a fundamentally psychological or subjective matter. This is the view that I want to challenge in this paper.