Inhibition of return using discrimination of location

The present study investigated "inhibition of return" which refers to increased response latency when the target in a location discrimination task appears in the same location on consecutive trials. Location discrimination tasks were performed by 28 university students (19-21 years of age) in two experiments. In Exp. 1 the task was to press a left or right button in response to a stimulus displayed on a computer screen. The first condition manipulated stimulus-response compatibility which resulted in changing the inhibition of return. Inhibition of return was stronger when the condition was stimulus-response incompatibility. This result shows that inhibition of return functions strongly under incompatible conditions. A second condition required performance of dual tasks in Exp. 2. Again, changes in inhibition of return were seen. These results show that inhibition of return functions strongly under both dual task and incompatible conditions. Inhibition of return was interpreted as functioning strongly when the task was more difficult.     

Effects of decision-making on reactions to an evaluational stressor

The present study tested the hypothesis that an opportunity to make decisions enhances perceived control. This hypothesis predicts that decision-making will reduce the adverse effects of stress. Subjects worked on an intellectual task and their stress reactions were assessed using subjective and behavioral measures. Decision-making improved the highly anxious subjects' persistence with the task. This finding supports the hypothesis. However, less anxious subjects persisted less after being allowed to make decisions. Several explanations positing possible cognitive and motivational processes of the less anxious subjects are offered.     

Effect of Aging on Processes of Motor Inhibition

The processes of inhibiting uninstructed motor responses were examined to identify age differences. Younger adults (n = 40) and older adults (n = 38) participated in two experiments using the Stimulus‐Response Compatibility task. They were asked to push the switch on the side contralateral to the stimulus. The results indicated that responses induced by visual stimuli were gradually inhibited as a result of repeated trials on the contralateral (not‐induced) side, and no age differences were noted. The addition of a color‐discrimination task to the Stimulus‐Response Compatibility task inhibited impulsive response induced by visual stimuli in younger adults only. These results indicate that certain processes of inhibiting motor responses are affected by aging, whereas other processes remain unaffected.     

Age Differences in Variables Affecting Motor Inhibition

This study's purpose was to analyze the effects of aging on motor control, with a specific focus on analyzing the characteristics of motor inhibition failure. A continuous‐response task was conducted with 35 younger adults and 35 older adults, under several conditions and using two types of switches. The results indicated the following: (a) in older adults, response type and auditory stimuli strongly affected motor inhibition failure, and (b) in younger adults, motor inhibition failures rarely occurred. When they did occur, they were strongly affected by factors directing visual stimuli. These results suggest age‐related differences in variables that affect motor inhibition, and that movement and the associated nervous excitation might strongly affect motor inhibition in older adults.     

Affective auditory stimulus database: An expanded version of the International Affective Digitized Sounds (IADS-E)

Using appropriate stimuli to evoke emotions is especially important for researching emotion. Psychologists have provided several standardized affective stimulus databases—such as the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and the Nencki Affective Picture System (NAPS) as visual stimulus databases, as well as the International Affective Digitized Sounds (IADS) and the Montreal Affective Voices as auditory stimulus databases for emotional experiments. However, considering the limitations of the existing auditory stimulus database studies, research using auditory stimuli is relatively limited compared with the studies using visual stimuli. First, the number of sample sounds is limited, making it difficult to equate across emotional conditions and semantic categories. Second, some artificially created materials (music or human voice) may fail to accurately drive the intended emotional processes. Our principal aim was to expand existing auditory affective sample database to sufficiently cover natural sounds. We asked 207 participants to rate 935 sounds (including the sounds from the IADS-2) using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) and three basic-emotion rating scales. The results showed that emotions in sounds can be distinguished on the affective rating scales, and the stability of the evaluations of sounds revealed that we have successfully provided a larger corpus of natural, emotionally evocative auditory stimuli, covering a wide range of semantic categories. Our expanded, standardized sound sample database may promote a wide range of research in auditory systems and the possible interactions with other sensory modalities, encouraging direct reliable comparisons of outcomes from different researchers in the field of psychology.     

Inhibitory function in the stimulus-response compatibility task

Changes of a location-based inhibitory function were investigated by performing a Stimulus-Response Compatibility task under two conditions. This task allows study of the efficiency of the inhibitory function by analyzing differences in error rates and in response time under various conditions of stimulus and response compatibility. In Exp. 1, with 28 college students, the effect of a dual task on the Stimulus-Response Compatibility effect was examined. In a dual-task, a predetermined stimulus such as a color is identified and the number of times a color is displayed is counted. In this experiment, under a dual task using visual stimuli, a decline in error responses and reduction of the Stimulus-Response Compatibility effect were observed. In Exp. 2, 29 college students participated in an identical experiment with the exception that an auditory stimulus was presented as the dual task. Similar to Exp. 1, there was a significant reduction in the number of error responses in the dual-task condition. Conversely, there was no significant change in Stimulus-Response Compatibility effect as estimated by response time. These results suggest that the two visual pathways as proposed by Goodale (1995) and the evocation of intentional attention may affect the Stimulus-Response Compatibility effect.     

The structure of and changes to the life values of Japanese consumers

As the standard of living improves and the number of choices expands, consumer behavior shifts from meeting needs to realizing the specific life values of each consumer. A structural analysis of life values was performed to increase understanding of consumer behavior as a whole, so that effective marketing strategies can be prepared. The structural analysis of life values was conducted by plotting daily activities in an evaluation space, which was defined by "necessity,""attractiveness," and "ease of achievement," and also by factor analysis of these daily activities. Using this method, we measured the structure of the daily activities of Japanese consumers, and then examined the value structure of time-consuming activities, which our research suggests will be considered highly attractive in the future. Based on the results of the surveys, we discuss the development of the market for highly attractive activities and products. However, an improvement in life infrastructure is a prerequisite to realizing a market for highly attractive activities and products.     

Effects of calcaneal eversion on three-dimensional kinematics of the hip, pelvis and thorax in unilateral weight bearing

Understanding the kinematic chain from foot to thorax will provide a better basis for assessment of malalignment of the body. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of induced calcaneal eversion on the kinematics of the hip, pelvis and thorax in three dimensions under unilateral weight-bearing. Twenty-eight healthy males were requested to stand on one leg under three conditions: normal (standing directly on the floor), and on wedges producing 5° and 10° calcaneal eversion. Recorded kinematic parameters included the angles of the hip joint, pelvis, and thorax in three dimensions. Eversion induced by wedges produced significant increases in hip flexion, hip medial rotation, pelvic anterior tilt, and thoracic lateral tilt and axial rotation to the standing side. In the frontal plane, pelvic lateral tilt to the standing side was decreased in 5° eversion condition compared with normal condition; conversely, it was increased in 10° eversion condition compared with 5° eversion condition. Arch height was negatively correlated with change in thoracic axial rotation to standing side from the normal to 10° eversion (r = −.528, p < .01). We concluded that induced calcaneal eversion affects the three-dimensional kinematics of the thorax through the hip joint and the pelvis.     

Socrates’ Humaneness: What His Last Words Meant

Confucius emphasises the importance of humaneness (ren 仁) and rites (li 禮). Socrates, on the other hand, is often interpreted as a person who places far more importance on rational thinking, even to the exclusion of natural human feelings, especially on the ground of his attitude towards the sorrow of his wife and friends on his last day as described in Plato’s Phaedo. Through clarifying two long-time riddles in this dialogue—namely, “What did Socrates mean by his last words, requesting Crito to offer a cock to Asclepius?” and “Was Plato really absent from the prison on Socrates’ last day, due to illness, as is mentioned by Phaedo?”—this paper argues that Socrates kept in mind the best interest of his wife and friends even at the moment of his death, and that his humane attitude is expressed in his last words, which were not only an expression of gratitude for Plato’s recovery from a critical illness but also an exhortation to his friends to continue their care of the soul.