[Purpose]

Class-wide intervention based on behavior analysis is known as the use group-oriented contingencies, which may be dependent, interdependent or independent in nature. However, there are some problems to using group-oriented contingencies in a classroom. The present study reviews and organizes group-oriented contingencies, an approach that claims to influence more children in class, and suggests possible research directions.

[Methods]

The study was based on a review of group-oriented contingencies conducted between 1995 and 2014. The studies were retrieved from CiNii Articles and PsycINFO and categories were created accordingly.

[Results]

Seventeen English and six Japanese studies were reviewed. Two large categories, consisting of basic information about the studies, and the use of group-oriented contingencies, were created. Four medium-sized categories were created using basic information about the studies. The use of group-oriented contingences was used to develop five medium-level categories. Each medium-level category was then divided into two or three smaller categories.

[Discussion]

The present study reviews research on the applications of effective group-oriented contingencies in a classroom. Since the interdependent group-oriented type was the main group-oriented contingency used in classwide interventions, it seems to be the acceptable manner of intervention in schools. Consequently, this study examines the focus on interdependent group-oriented contingencies as a means of intervention.

In this study, it is proposed that over-adaptation is related to restraint of the expression of anger. Indeed, people who must constantly restrain their anger may eventually become more impulsive than others, because this unexpressed anger can build up internally. Therefore, this study examines how over-adaptation relates to anger and “kire” (i.e., impulsiveness).

The results of a questionnaire administered to 358 university students revealed that over-adaptation factors such as “self-sacrifice” and “control of emotion” positively correlate with “control of anger.” On the other hand, the over-adaptation factors of “desire to be perceived as a good person” and “inferiority awareness,” has a significantly positive correlation with “internal anger.” In addition, “inferiority awareness” bears a direct, positive correlation with “kire.” Furthermore, kire, which is related to these factors, has a significantly positive correlation with “expressions of anger.”

These results suggest that over-adaptation led to building up of emotion which was difficult to inhibit or force in and thus manifested itself impulsively or aggressively.

[Purpose]

This study aimed to develop a psychoeducational program to deepen emotional self-understanding as a part of social skills training for junior high school students experiencing difficulties with interpersonal relationships.

[Methods]

We established eight sub-goals and conducted the program five times to achieve the same. The program participants were ten junior high school students (five male, five female) who were signed up for the social skills program due to low levels of awareness in their interpersonal relationships. The group of ten students included those who had been diagnosed by specialized institutions with high-functioning autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), among others. The program was conducted separately for boys and girls. To examine the results of the program, we collected participants’ descriptive writing samples which included reflections on and measurements of emotional intelligence and psychological responses to stress.

[Results]

For emotional intelligence, a paired t-test showed that scores for the two items “When something happens, I usually understand why I felt the way I did” and “I am good at controlling my own emotions” were significantly greater after the program implementation compared with the pre-test scores, and the effect size was medium. For psychological stress responses, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with correspondence showed a significant effect of time (time 1–time 4) on the emotional responses of “anger” and “anxiety,” as well as the secondary response of “dependence.” The effect size for “anxiety” was large and those for “anger” and “dependence” were medium to large. The results of multiple comparisons suggested that for “anger” and “anxiety,” stress was found to have reduced after the fourth time in the program, when compared with the first time.

[Discussion/Conclusion]

We investigated the following four points: (1) the effect of deepened emotional self-understanding following the program; (2) the impact on the emotional understanding of others; (3) the impact on exercising emotional control; and (4) the impact on reducing stress responses as a derivative effect of the program. For (1), (3), and (4), the achieved results partially supported the effectiveness of the program. For (2), there was no effect on the emotional understanding of others with the emotional self-understanding program alone. Rather, it was shown that in order to apply emotional self-understanding skills to understand others in interpersonal situations, it was necessary to implement a social skills program in combination with a program for emotional understanding of others based on the program for personal emotional understanding. Since there were few participants in this study, the results must be carefully interpreted. While aiming to improve the program, the challenge of replicating the program’s implementation and testing the effects of the program in the future remains.

[Purpose]

The purpose of this study was to validate the efficacy of the use of controlled breathing, cognitive bias modification, and interpersonal trust in educational programs in order to mitigate the psychological impact of disasters on fifth and sixth grade elementary school students.

[Methods]

The program participants were 225 students from the 5th and 6th grades of an elementary school in Japan. Pre- and post-tests were performed to evaluate their perceptions regarding the efficacy of controlled breathing, their cognitive bias modification, and interpersonal trust.

[Results]

In the post-test, controlled breathing was found to influence cognitive bias modification. Additionally, cognitive bias modification was found to affect interpersonal trust. Moreover, interpersonal relationships of trust were also found to affect cognitive bias modification and the efficacy of controlled breathing.

[Discussion]

The results suggest that the technique of breathing with self-control promotes cognitive bias modification by facilitating the self-control of cognitive aspects. Further, cognitive modification also contributed to interpersonal trust. Moreover, enhancing interpersonal trust influences cognitive bias modification and controlled breathing. Thus, the present study provides support for the validity of the program.

[Purpose]

The present study examined the relationship between social interest and life satisfaction in elementaryschool children.

[Methods]

The participants were 322 elementary school children (166 boys and 156 girls, who ranged from third to sixth grade). They completed two questionnaires about social interest and life satisfaction.

[Results]

Mediational analyses indicated that social interest of other-schemas significantly mediated the relationships between social interest of self-schemas and life satisfaction (bootstrap’z=6.26, p<.001, 95%CI [0.30, 0.57]).

[Conclusion]

This result suggests that social interest of other-schemas mediate the relationship between social interest of self-schemas and life satisfaction.