Developmental Changes in the Image of an Ordinary Person

A Comparison among Elementary, Junior High, and University Students

Abstract

　The present study examined the cultural value attached to ordinariness in Japan. In previous researches, the Japanese attitude toward ordinariness was examined only among young adults. The present study aimed to ascertain the developmental changes in this attitude toward ordinariness. Elementary, junior high, and university students in the Tokyo area were asked about the connotations of the word “ordinary” in the phrase “an ordinary person.” In addition, they were asked to rate their image of an ordinary person using adjective pairs. It was found that while ordinariness did not receive a very favorable evaluation in general, the evaluation of junior-high students was greater than that of university students.