Development of co-feeding behavior in young wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)

This study describes the developmental course of the social context of feeding behavior in infants and yearlings of Japanese macaques in a provisioned free-ranging troop. Results of this longitudinal study revealed that infants and yearlings exhibited synchronous feeding behavior in the majority of cases in which they had feeding neighbors within 1 m. They consistently showed feeding behavior more often when their closest neighbor fed than when they did not. In feeding situations, infants tended mainly to be in close proximity with their mothers in the early stages of life and, later, also with peers. The results imply that potential opportunities for the social transmission of food selection habits are available for young Japanese macaques in the wild.     

Cross-linguistic relations between quantifiers and numerals in language acquisition: Evidence from Japanese

A study of 104 Japanese-speaking 2- to 5-year-olds tested the relation between numeral and quantifier acquisition. A first study assessed Japanese children’s comprehension of quantifiers, numerals, and classifiers. Relative to English-speaking counterparts, Japanese children were delayed in numeral comprehension at 2 years of age but showed no difference at 3 and 4 years of age. Also, Japanese 2-year-olds had better comprehension of quantifiers, indicating that their delay was specific to numerals. A second study examined the speech of Japanese and English caregivers to explore the syntactic cues that might affect integer acquisition. Quantifiers and numerals occurred in similar syntactic positions and overlapped to a greater degree in English than in Japanese. Also, Japanese nouns were often dropped, and both quantifiers and numerals exhibited variable positions relative to the nouns they modified. We conclude that syntactic cues in English facilitate bootstrapping numeral meanings from quantifier meanings and that such cues are weaker in classifier languages such as Japanese.     

Auditory stream segregation in Japanese monkeys.

Japanese monkeys were examined to determine whether they perceptually segregate tone sequences. Monkeys were required to discriminate two sequences of tones (target sequences) differing in frequency contours. Distractor sequences were presented simultaneously with the target sequences. Monkeys could discriminate the sequences when the frequency ranges of the target and distractor sequences did not overlap, but they could not when the ranges overlapped. Subsequent probe tests confirmed that the discrimination depended on cues other than the local pitch of the component tones regardless of the presence of the distractor sequence. The results suggest that monkeys segregate tone sequences based on frequency proximity, and they perceive global characters of the segregated streams.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Japanese Version of the Elder Life Adjustment Interview Schedule for Depression

The Elder Life Adjustment Interview Schedule (ELAIS) was developed as an age- and culture-sensitive assessment device for depression and 9 environmental, behavioral, and health correlates (Schlatter et al., 1993, J. MARC Res. 1: 27–42). The psychometric adequacy of the ELAIS has been demonstrated with samples of elder Americans of Asian, Caucasian, and Native Hawaiian ancestry (Dubanoski et al., 1996, J. Clin. Gerospsychol. 2: 247–262). This study reports on the reliability and construct validity of a translated Japanese version. Participants were 55 community-dwelling elders living in the areas surrounding Maebashi, Japan. The ELAIS contains 14 scales of which 9 represent theoretical predictors of depression. The 2 Environmental Condition scales measure life events and social support. The 4 Behavioral Competency scales measure recreational activity, assertiveness, self-reinforcement, and perceived control. The 3 Health Factor scales measure perceived health, functional ability, and objective health. The 5 Other scales measure demographics, depression, life satisfaction, cognitive functioning, and response style. Results yielded acceptable internal consistency and stability reliability coefficients for all but 1 of the subscales on the ELAIS (informational social support). Construct validity support was found for the Depression scale and 6 theoretical predictors, including life events, recreational activity, assertiveness, self-reinforcement, functional ability, and objective health. Treatment and prevention implications for the cross-ethnic multivariate assessment of depression among elders are discussed.     

Historical note on cumulative recorders manufactured in Japan

The history of cumulative recorders manufactured in Japan between the early 1970s and the present is described. The first such instrument was the Tosoku-Kogyo Company's Model T-45A, followed thereafter by its Model T-45B, built on the same chassis as the T-45A, but with different electrical and mechanical components. When Tosoku-Kogyo closed its recorder operations, the recorder continued to be manufactured and sold by Okubo-Sokkouki as its Model OS 180. The appearance of such commercially manufactured cumulative recorders in countries other than the United States further attests to the internationalization of behavior analysis during the mid- to late-20th century.     

That <Emphasis Type="Italic">F</Emphasis>

Jeffrey King’s principal objection to the direct-reference theory of demonstratives is analyzed and criticized. King has responded with a modified version of his original argument aimed at establishing the weaker conclusion that the direct-reference theory of demonstratives is either incomplete or incorrect. It is argued that this fallback argument also fails.

口吃者加工汉语歧义短语的神经过程

韵律边界是口语韵律特征的有机组成部分, 在语言理解中发挥着重要作用。口吃作为一种言语节律性障碍, 主要表现为音节经常性的重复、拖长或停顿等。本研究采用ERP, 考察口吃者完成词汇判断和结构判断两种任务时, 加工歧义短语(动宾/偏正歧义结构)内部韵律边界的认知过程。结果发现口吃者和言语流畅者在加工汉语歧义短语过程中, 所诱发的反映韵律切分的脑电成分CPS (closure positive shift)不存在显著差异。在0~300 ms, 不论中线还是两侧, 口吃者和言语流畅者加工两类短语时, 动宾短语韵律边界诱发正效应的头皮分布范围小于偏正短语。在300~600 ms, 中线上, 口吃和言语流畅者在完成两种任务时, 两类短语的韵律边界均稳定诱发了正效应; 在两侧, 结构判断任务中两类短语的韵律边界都诱发了正效应, 但词汇判断任务中只有偏正短语稳定诱发该效应。综上, 口吃者和言语流畅者一样对口语韵律边界敏感, 并且他们加工歧义短语内部韵律边界时, 诱发的脑电效应受到实验任务和短语结构类型的影响。     

Action naming in anomic aphasic speakers: effects of instrumentality and name relation

Many studies reveal effects of verb type on verb retrieval, mainly in agrammatic aphasic speakers. In the current study, two factors that might play a role in action naming in anomic aphasic speakers were considered: the conceptual factor instrumentality and the lexical factor name relation to a noun. Instrumental verbs were shown to be better preserved than non-instrumental verbs in a group of anomic aphasic speakers but not in a group of Broca's aphasic speakers. Name relation to a noun improved the performance of the anomic aphasic speakers as well. Again, no effect was found in the group of Broca's aphasic speakers. Verbs with a name relation to a noun were better retrieved in action naming than verbs without a name relation. These findings are discussed in terms of the spreading activation theory of Dell. (Dell, G. S. (1986). A spreading activation theory of retrieval in sentence production. Psychological Review 93, 283-321.).     

Agency and Communion Related to Mental Health in Japanese Young Adults

Based on Bakan’s (1966) theory, Helgeson (1994) presented a conceptual model of the relationships of biological sex, agency, and communion with psychological and physical well-being. This study was designed to examine the relationships of mitigated and unmitigated agency (M, M-) /communion (F, F-) with mental health in Japanese young adults. Participants were 602 (247 men, 355 women) undergraduate students and vocational school students in Japan. The average age of the participants was 20.0 years (SD=4.1). The results showed that communion (F) was positively associated with social support, unmitigated communion (F-) was strongly and positively associated with dysphoria for both men and women, unmitigated agency (M-) was also positively associated with dysphoria for women, and agency (M) was negatively associated with dysphoria for women. Both M and F were positively associated and F- was negatively associated with self-esteem for both men and women. M may moderate F-, and social support may moderate M-, for women. Thus our findings partially supported Helgeson’s model.