Color of computer display frame in work performance, mood, and physiological response

The effects of the color of a personal computer screen on work performance, psychological mood, and autonomic response were investigated. 24 subjects were asked to perform visual tasks presented on the computer display. Three types of computer monitor, which were colored red, blue, or beige, were employed to present visual cognitive tasks. The mood measure, the Japanese Stress Arousal Check List, and heart rate measurement were administered before and after work on each color of computer monitor. Analysis of a low-demand task (Exp. 1) showed that the red computer monitor reduced visual task performance compared to that with the blue, while the blue monitor decreased visual task performance on a high-demand task (Exp. 2). The color of the monitor did not affect mood or heart rate. Based on these findings, the effect of the color of environmental cues on work was discussed.     

Effects of the degree of fluctuation on subjective preference for a 1 Hz flickering light

Humans are believed to have a preferred amount of stimulus variation in their perceptual environment. Here, paired comparison tests were conducted to examine whether the fluctuation of a flickering light improves subjective preference. Sine-wave and bandpass noise acted as the light source. We have previously shown that the preferred temporal frequency of a flickering light without any fluctuation is approximately 1 Hz (Soeta et al 2002 Journal of the Optical Society of America A 19 289 - 294). This was used as the center frequency of the light source. The bandwidth was set at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 Hz, to control the amplitude of the first peak of the autocorrelation function, phi1. Results show that the preferred phi1 of a flickering light is 0.46.     

Maternal and paternal parenting styles associated with relational aggression in children and adolescents: A conceptual analysis and meta-analytic review

How does parenting affect relational aggression in children? The goal of the present series of meta-analyses based on 48 studies (28,097 children) was to analyze and integrate the findings on the associations between various types of parenting behaviors and relational aggression, and to identify potential substantive and methodological factors that may moderate these associations. To distinguish between different parenting strategies, experts sorted the parenting measures used in the studies into 10 groups. Results of a multiple correspondence analysis revealed four separate clusters: Positive parenting, psychologically controlling parenting, negative/harsh parenting, and uninvolved parenting. The meta-analyses demonstrated that more positive parenting was associated with less relational aggression (combined effect sizes r = −.06, p < .05, for mothers, r = −.08, p < .01, for fathers). More harsh parenting (combined effect sizes r = .11, p < .01, for mothers, r = .12, p < .01, for fathers) and more uninvolved parenting (combined effect sizes r = .07, p < .01, for mothers, absent for fathers) were associated with increased relational aggression. Paternal psychologically controlling parenting was positively related to relational aggression (r = .05, p < .01), whereas maternal psychologically controlling parenting was not (combined effect sizes r = .04, p = .09). The effect of several moderators is discussed. The findings of this study suggest that dimensions of positive and negative parenting behaviors of mothers and fathers are associated with children’s relational aggression and that these associations are – in case of fathers – contingent upon a number of sampling and procedural characteristics.     

Forms of Aggression,Social-Psychological Adjustment,and Peer Victimization in a Japanese Sample: The Moderating Role of Positive and Negative Friendship Quality

The purpose of these studies was to examine the frequency and stability of relational and physical aggression and their associations with social-psychological adjustment or peer victimization, and how friendships are involved in the relations between forms of aggression and peer victimization in Japanese children. The sample consisted of 452 (Study 1) and 138 (Study 2) children who were in the fourth and fifth grades. Results of Study 1 demonstrated that relational aggression was uniquely and more strongly associated with internalizing adjustment problems than physical aggression. Moreover, Study 2 revealed that relational aggression and physical aggression were stable over a 6-month period and the stability of relational aggression was reinforced by negative friendships (i.e., high levels of exclusivity and friend victimization). Further, the association between relational aggression and relative increases in relational victimization was attenuated by positive friendships (i.e., high levels of intimacy, companionship, and friendship satisfaction). Interestingly, friendships were unrelated to physical aggression and its relation to physical victimization. The age and gender of the children in the two studies were also examined. Cultural and developmental processes involving forms of aggression, friendships, social-psychological adjustment, and peer victimization were discussed.     

The association of relational and physical victimization with hostile attribution bias,emotional distress,and depressive symptoms: A cross‐cultural study

The purpose of the present study was to examine the association between relational victimization and socio‐cognitive patterns (i.e. hostile attribution biases and emotional distress) or social–psychological adjustment problems (i.e. depressive symptoms) in Japanese and European American children (N = 272; ages 9–10). Results showed that relational victimization, which was conceptually different from physical victimization, was associated with a greater level of emotional distress for an overall sample; however, the links between relational victimization and hostile attribution biases and depressive symptoms were evidenced only for Japanese children. A follow‐up analysis revealed that hostile attribution biases had a direct effect on depressive symptoms for European American children; however, these biases mediated the link between relational victimization and depressive symptoms for Japanese children. These findings are discussed from normative and cross‐cultural perspectives.     

Behavioural development in a matching-to-sample task and token use by an infant chimpanzee reared by his mother

We investigated the behavioural and cognitive development of a captive male infant chimpanzee, Ayumu, raised by his mother, Ai. Here we report Ayumu's achievements up to the age of 2 years and 3 months, in the context of complex computer-controlled tasks. From soon after birth, Ayumu had been present during an experiment performed by his mother. The task consisted of two phases, a matching-to-sample task in which she received token rewards, and the insertion of these tokens into a vending machine to obtain food rewards. Ayumu himself received no reward or encouragement from humans for any of the actions he exhibited during the experiment. At the age of 9 months and 3 weeks, Ayumu performed his first matching-to-sample trial. At around 1 year and 3 months, he began to perform them consistently. Also during this period, he frequently stole food rewards from his mother. At 2 years and 3 months, Ayumu succeeded for the first time in inserting a token into the vending machine. Once he had succeeded in using a token, he performed both phases of the task in sequence 20 times consecutively. The infant's behaviour was not shaped by food rewards but by a strong motivation to copy his mother's behaviour. Our observations of Ayumu thus mirror the learning processes shown by wild chimpanzees.