Abstract
Problem: From the viewpoint that self-consciousness is the centre of human life, the psychological investigation of if has a great significance. Now in the investigation of it, I have determined to take the tendency of vanity as one of the phenomenal forms of it. In this phenomenon we can find the complexity of positive and negative self-feeling. That is to say, vanity could be regarded as due to the motive of the subject who, compensating, by means of trifle and invaluable things, for the consciousness of his inner anxiety, emptiness and inferiority which are caused by the uncertainty of self-estimation, tries to establish his superiority to others and feels satisfied with it. It is necessary for the purpose that the judgement of self is endorsed by others. Therefore, the “wish for recognition by others” becomes an important motive: that is why vanity is numbered as one of the social feelings. I proceeded with the investigation of these points in adolescence, which is marked by remarkable development of self-consciousness.
Method. The questionaire, consisting of 17 questions, to be answered by yes or no, was used with girls. Out of 17 questions in all, fifteen deal with tendencies of vanity and can be classified in three groups.
1) The material self, questions dealing with one's own dresses personal belongings, etc.: for example, “Have you ever worried about your dresses when you came forward in the presence of others?”
2) The environmental self, questions dealing with the environment or circumstances of the self: for example, “Have youe ver spoken about others' mistakes and defects?”
3) The central self, questions dealing with that which attaches immediately to the self: for example, “Have you ever pretended to know?” “Have you ever wanted to show your works?”
Also, In order to find out if there is any consciousness of one's manner and action or not, and if there is awakening of vanity or not, I have added two more questions. In some questions I required from the testees especially detailed explanation as well as general introspection.
The questionaire was, during the period from May to July, 1947, put to 171 students and 242 pupils of a girl's high school, and for comparison, 51 male students of a normal school. The time required for each group was 15 to 30 minutes.
The percentage of the number of responses for each question to the total answers was calculated and was named “the frequency rate of the response type” in which I read the general tendency of the individul. Then I calculated, in the same way, the avarage frequency rate of the students or pupils of a whole calss and made it the standard for comparison.
Error of Judgement. I have tried to ascertain those who have erred in their self-estimation, that is, those who have no self-awakening although they show many positive responses to the fifteen questions dealing with vanity, in the follwoing method. I have regarded the number of responses to the fifteen questions as the degree of vanity, then I obtained the arithmetical mean of the degree of vanity of all the students of a class and made it the standard. Then those who show more degree of vanity above the standard will be reagdred as having so much vanity, compared with the average persons. I tried to ascertain this in these who did not have self-awakening for vanity.
Results: 1) The tendencies of vanity, in general, increase with age and reaches the highest point in the 2nd year stndents of college (about 17 years old) and then they begin to decrease. Also introspection and self-observation becomes more exact and detailed in students of college. I think this shows a degree for development of self-consciousness.
2) By the comparison of boy and girl students of the same age it is found that there are differencesin the tendency of vanity according to the sex. That is to say, in the girl students it is found that they
