Self-esteem determines the future direction of an individual’s behavioral, intellectual, and attitudinal development. Therefore, adults need to consciously foster children’s self-esteem in early childhood. In this study, we aimed to develop an informant-rated self-esteem scale for early childhood. Typically, a self-esteem scale can measure educational effects and help childcare providers or parents consider the kind of care a child needs based on real-life behaviors. Furthermore, easy to-understand questions were developed based on childcare providers’ and parents’ remarks. Factor analysis identified a 2-factor 10-item structure for the scale. Factor 1 was self-reliance and independence (childcare providers α=.87, parents α=.81) and Factor 2 was cooperativeness and sense of achievement motivation (childcare providers α=.80, parents α=.74). Next, a reproducibility survey (Factor1: childcare providers r=.72, parents r=.82, Factor 2: childcare providers r=.65,parents, r=.74), was performed to confirm scale reliability. In the childcare providers’ evaluations by homeroom and non-homeroom teachers for each factor, there was a significant difference between the high and low groups, confirming the validity of the scale.

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This study aimed to clarify the influence of instrumental relational aggressiveness on recognition of peer relationships. Questionnaires targeting 979 fourth- through sixth-grade elementary school children assessed three types of aggressiveness (reactive expressive, reactive inexpressive, and instrumental relational) and qualities of peer relationships (mutual understanding and self- disclosure to his/her best friend). The two-way ANOVA were conducted to determine the effects of aggressiveness and gender on children’s friendship. The results showed that children with high-instrumental relational aggressiveness, but low in other types of aggressiveness, considered that they received higher levels of self-disclosure from their best friends compared to nonaggressive children. In addition, they considered that higher numbers of their classmates showed self-disclosure and mutual self-disclosure toward themselves, compared to nonaggressive children. Finally, compared to nonaggressive boys, boys with high instrumental relational aggressiveness considered that they received relatively high levels of understanding and self-disclosure from their best friends. They also considered that higher numbers of their classmates showed self-disclosure and mutual self-disclosure toward themselves, compared to nonaggressive boys.

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This study aimed to examine the relationship between “ibasho” or a sense of interpersonal rootedness and self-expression accompanied with emotion among Japanese junior high school students. To this end, 232 junior high school students were recruited to answer a battery of questionnaires. Cluster analysis of the data identified three subtypes of “ibasho”, “high,” “moderate,” and “low” sense of “ibasho”. The results indicated that students with a high sense of “ibasho” were likely to self-express with positive emotions and says what neededs to be said even at the risk of falling out with friends; students with a moderate sense of “ibasho” were likely to follow others’ opinions even when self-assertion was needed; and , students with a low sense of “ibasho” had few assertive self-expressions, and were likely to self-express with blunted emotions. Whether Japanese junior high school students are acting freely and self-expressing, accompanied with emotion, according to the scene among friends, are indicated to be one of the criteria of how much the junior high school students’ have a sense of ibasho.

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In this study, we examined the learning effects that differ in relation to whom the participants explained to when they learned and created explanations. To this end, we used explanatory sentences about the types of memory, with vocational students as participants. The listeners were younger people or teachers depending on the amount of prior knowledge. However, we did not observe differences in learning effects in relation to whom the participants explained to from the cases with explanation expectancies only. Next, we examined the interrelationship between the explanation expectancies and the creation of explanatory sentences, which was observed when the same listeners were explained to. The result demonstrated that learning effects could be obtained when participants created explanatory sentences against the younger listener after explaining to them and dedicating time for learning. Thereafter, we compared the contents of the explanatory sentences that were created to reveal the cause of the obtained effects. Consequently, we found that deep comprehension could not be obtained if the specific listeners were not revealed to the participants, and they explained prior to preparing explanatory sentences, at the time of explanation expectancy.

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