Semi-structured interviews and surveys were conducted with 6 family caregivers for elderly people. Their cognitive developmental stages were investigated. The hypothesis was that their cognition should change in phases in the order: 1) embarrassment response, 2) negative response and 3) positive response. We then assumed 6 cognitive stages: 1. shock, 2. denial, 3. anger, 4. withdrawal, 5. acceptance and 6. integration. We examined the appearance and order of the 6 stages, the classification of these cases and context of these stages. The relationships between cognitive stages and mental health were examined, which have implications for social psychology and nursing. The possible application to health psychology was also discussed.

View full abstract

In this paper, it was examined how the problems of juvenile delinquency are socially constructed within a juvenile institutional setting. For that purpose, observational data of Social Skills Training sessions (SST), held in a juvenile group home were analyzed. This study was especially focused on the verbal interactions between the staff and delinquent youths. In addition, some narratives told by the staff in this home were analyzed. The main focus of SST was to increase knowledge. Staff's attitudes such as not listening to the delinquents' past experiences were used to attribute the delinquents' failure to their lack of abilities. Also, Staff's narratives justified the legitimacy of their intervention. Finally, it was discussed how authentic learning for the delinquent youths can be formed in the SST.

View full abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the construction of "mild" motor disabilities from the viewpoint of life-span development. The criteria for "mild" disability were that: 1) the individual acknowledged his/her disability as "mild", 2) he/she held an officially registered concession, and that 3) the individual was able to maintain an independence in his/her activities of daily living. The author conducted individual, semi-structured interviews with three subjects who had cerebral palsy or birth palsy. The collected data were analyzed qualitatively, focusing on how the subjects reconstructed their lives. The results suggested that the subjects had coped with devaluation of their experiences, and situated their disabilities at the core of the self. They also started to recognize other disabled peers. Moreover, this study indicated that these subjects were frequently unable to obtain support in social environments ruled by the ablebodied, and their disabilities could not be easily understood by others. Hence, they fell into the dilemma of careseeking, when support was needed.

View full abstract

The present study reexamined the hypothesis which had been established by Yamada (2001), and modified it by analyzing 14 texts. The hypothesis was modified as follows: Those who face the death of significant others or themselves tend to mention the beautiful and bright nature because they become sensitive to it in the point that it is contrasted with the death. Additionally, this study proposed a new framework named "hypothesis-succeeding" which can not only test previous hypotheses but also develop them, instead of using the conventional "hypothesis-testing" framework. It was suggested that the logical structure of this paper could be a model of life story research to succeed previous hypotheses.

View full abstract

The first purpose of this study was to examine why people mention the bright sky and/or fine weather at the critical boundary of life and death of themselves and significant persons. Narratives at three stages of dying: 1) confronting death, 2) the critical boundary (just before and after death), and 3) after death, were systematically analyzed to refine preceding studies (Yamada, 2001a; Saijo 2002). As a result, the narratives at the critical boundary represented a psychological spatial-temporal gap in daily life, and they were clearly different from narratives at the other two stages, which included sensitive feelings for life in nature. The second purpose was to discuss the method of selection of representative cases, and the methodology of generative succession of hypothesizing and analyzing data in qualitative research.

View full abstract

Although a great number of studies on identity have been conducted, two problems still remain: (1) The question "What is identity in itself?" has not been answered clearly yet, and (2) These studies have not described how adolescents in present society actually form their identities. This study described the "ways of being" of two adolescents in detail, using a new method─"In-Depth Talking", and analyzed the actualities in which they live to find what their different "ways of being" are dependent on. As a result, it was concluded that two basic attitudes characterized the adolescents' "ways of being", namely questioning one's "Self-World System" or basing oneself on it. In Opposition to the clear-cut view of identity as being sought after and found by adolescents, both attitudes are discussed here as resulting from the adolescents' differing desires, thus calling for a reconsideration of an important question in identity research, the question of "What is identity in itself?".

View full abstract

The methodology of model construction based on the qualitative data was considered by our research on Japanese- French image drawings of "This world and the Next world." The following three figurative models were constructed: Ⅰ Element, Ⅱ Composition, Ⅲ Framework. ModelⅠ(Element) was the fundamental pattern categorized from raw data of image drawings. Model Ⅲ (Framework) was the theoretical coordinate for mapping the elements. From the combination of these two models, ModelⅡ(Composition), the process of change of the elements from this world to the next world within the framework, was constructed. It is an integrated model depicting the abstract configuration and variety of concrete arrangements of naive images.

View full abstract

Participation in environmental movements is a social dilemma because free-riding is more beneficial for individuals. The present study explored the reason why large-scale movements exist despite the fact that not participating is a preferred strategy for an individual. The present study interviewed 20 core members of environmental volunteer groups. Many of them participated in the present activity through direct communication, for example, being asked by friends. The answers to the question "What did you get through participation?" were grouped into 4 categories: expanding network, sense of efficacy of acting as a group, individual change/development, acquiring skills relating to the movement. The interviewees perceived participation rewarding in many ways, and believed that their activity had some effects. The results suggest that participation in environmental movements can be viewed as a rational action for participants in a broad sense.

View full abstract