This study purposed to examine prosocial behavior adjustment methods employed by preschoolers to modify their responses to the reactions of recipients. Previous studies have focused solely on whether children can perform prosocial behaviors as required. However, children must modify their prosocial behaviors to suit their purposes if their conduct does not benefit the receiver or is unaccepted. This naturalistic observation study monitored the prosocial behaviors of three- and five-year-old children and obtained three substantial findings. First, three-year-old children exhibited more negative reactions as receivers than five-year-old preschoolers, whose reactions were more amenable. Second, the four-criteria standpoint applied to detect the appropriateness of prosocial behavior revealed that children aged five evinced more apposite prosocial behaviors than three-year-old toddlers. Finally, preschoolers aged five shifted to more apt prosocial behaviors than three-year-old children if they received a negative reaction. Furthermore, these pioneering findings demonstrate that preschool children experience developmental changes in adjusting their prosocial behaviors.

This mixed-methods study examined how the attitudes of nondisabled college students toward people with physical disabilities affect their friendships with disabled peers. In Phase 1, the explicit and implicit attitudes of nondisabled students were measured quantitatively, and the contact hypothesis was tested. Less prejudice, both implicit and explicit, was shown toward a group including a physically disabled friend (n＝18) than one without (n＝63), thereby supporting the hypothesis. The qualitative phase, Phase 2, involved group interviews with nondisabled students (n＝15) and their disabled peers (n＝3) to explore their interactions. The participants reported that despite disabled and nondisabled students providing mutual social support, anxiety and conflict did arise in such relationships. In Phase 3, the data were integrated to show that that nondisabled students who strongly prescribe to the stereotype “disabled people have low abilities” provided excessive support to their disabled peers, often leading to conflict and dissatisfaction on both sides. The study further considered how reciprocal support maintains friendships between disabled and nondisabled students in inclusive education.

This study developed the Japanese version of the Mentalization Scale (MentS-J) and tested its reliability and validity. We translated the original MentS-J into Japanese with the permission of its author and surveyed 352 university students. Confirmatory factor analysis of indices supported the hypothesized three-factor structure of the scale: mentalization of self, mentalization of others, and motivation to mentalize. Reliability testing confirmed the instrument's internal and retest consistency. A correlation analysis performed with a scale measuring similar constructs confirmed criterion-related validity. Partial correlation analysis to test construct validity revealed significant negative correlations between the MentS-J and the Borderline Personality Traits Scale as well as the Japanese version of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient-10 (AQ-J-10). The results established the acceptable reliability and validity of the MentS-J and indicated its potential usefulness as an instrument for the assessment of mentalization.

This study explored the effects of cognitive functions in preschoolers on suggestibility and confabulation in memory (distortion and fabrication). Sixty-five preschool girls (aged 5–6 years) completed the Bonn Test of Statement Suggestibility and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-fourth edition (WISC-IV). The analyses revealed the following results. Misleading forced-choice questions were negatively related to the Verbal Comprehension Index. Misleading yes/no questions (YNQ) and repeated questions (RQ) were not significantly related to any WISC-IV indices but were both significantly associated with age in months. Suggested answers decreased for YNQ and increased for RQ as children became older. Distortion was not significantly related to any WISC-IV indices but fabrication was negatively related to the Working Memory Index. Finally, the paper discusses the implications of these findings on interviewing preschoolers in forensic contexts.