This research examined the effectiveness of visual stimulus materials in eliciting preschool children's affective response to musical chords. Subjects were 35 preschoolers (mean age=5.0 years). In Experiment I variations in subjects' liking for eight colored square cards and colored eggs was determined. The colors used were red, blue, yellow, orange, green, purple, brown and white. In Experiment II children were asked to match each of the eight colored model eggs with acoustic stimuli, using five consonant and three dissonant piano tones. Subjects chose one colored egg to match each musical chord. In Experiment I children showed greater variability in liking for the model eggs than for the eight colored figure cards. In Experiment II, the model eggs the subjects liked were matched with consonances, while the model eggs they disliked were matched with dissonant tones. In addition, the preschoolers had some difficulty expressing their liking for the chords verbally. These results indicate that visual stimulus materials are an effective way to elicit preschoolers' likes and dislikes.

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This paper described current infant and early childhood attachment research and assessment procedures. First, the limitations of Strange Situation procedure, which has been used frequently over the past twenty years, were discussed in relation to several issues. These issues included the optimal assumption of the B-type attachment, causes of variation in attachment classification, predictive validity for later social competence, and a reconceptualization of attachment from a life-span perspective. Overall it seemed very doubtful that the Strange Situation is a valid method for assessing Japanese infant-mother attachment. As an alternative approach, Q-sorts present several advantages for assessment in accordance with current Japanese research. Thus the attachment Q-sort will be valuable in future research.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the causes of children's errors on arithmetic word problems. In the first experiment, 55 fourth graders solved two-step word problems with and without extraneous information, and with and without the needs to convert measurement units. The problem solving process was divided into five sub-processes : 1. reading, 2. understanding, 3. choice of operarions, 4. execution, and 5. checking. A personal computer was used to display the instructions, problems and item choices and to record children's responses and their response times. In the second experiment, booklets were given to 145 fourth-graders to assess in detail their sub-processes in the selection of information. The booklet contained problems with and without extraneous information. The results were analyzed mainly in two ways : the number of correct responses, and the sub-processes where the first error occurred. The main findings were as follows : Measure unit conversion tended to increase errors in the solution process, whereas in those problems without measure conversion errors broke out most frequently in the sub-process of information selection and choice of operations. Additionally, Extraneous information tended to increase errors in the sub-process of information selection. These data indicate that the process of information selection and combination play crucial roles in childlen's solutions to word problem.

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To investigate the effects of maternal responsiveness on infant play and language development, 24 mother-infant dyads were observed at home when infants were 5 and 13 months of age. At 5 months, maternal responsiveness to infant behaviors, such as looking and vocalizing, was observed. At 13 months, infant playwas observed, and data concerning infant language comprehension and production were also obtained during interviews with mothers. The relations between maternal responsiveness and infant play and language were analyzed. The results showed that nurturant maternal responsiveness to infant distress, and imitative responsiveness to infant non-distress vocalizations at 5 months, related to infant play and language comprehension and productionat 13 months. These findings suggest that nurturant responsiveness to infant distress and imitation of infant non-distress vocalizations facilitate the development of infants' play and language skills.

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In three studies, the actual use of the cutting technique in animated cartoons was investigated. In Study I, the frequency of the use of cutting techniques was investigated comparing animated cartoons with other TV program genres. Study II focused on the relation ships between cutting frequency, theme of animated cartoons, and viewer rating. In Study III, different cutting were categorized according to temporal relationships. The main results were as follows. (1) The frequency of cutting techniques varied according to TV genre. Animated cartoons averaged about 14 cutting techniques per minutes. (2) Frequency of cutting was related to the theme and viewer ratings. For animated cartoons with a hero, a science fiction theme, and high viewer rating, the cutting frequency was highest. (3) In an animated cartoons the cutting techniques by which two sequencial scenes are juxtaposed simultaneously was observed with particular frequency. (4) The frequent cutting techniques in popular animated cratoons with a hero and a scienc fiction theme had an impact on male preschoolers' TV viewing. These findings clarify the actual conditions of the cutting technique in animated cartoons. The research suggests that the cutting technique may play an imoportant role in preschoolers' viewing of TV stories.

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The conditions in child welfare facilities such as the residential nursery have been improved, in consideration of their known effects on children's development. For instance, young childrenin such institutions now tend to be placed in a family-like setting ; the quality of staff-child interactions have improved ; and staff-child rations have been lowered. This improved organization has facilitated the verbal and emotional development of children in the first two years of life. In addition, the mean DQ scores of most two and a half olds have increased to above average. As the environment of the residential nursery has improved, the problem of institutional retardation has disappeared. The evidence of the present study strongly suggests that the psychological retardation of young children who have lived in residential nurseries is not the necessary consequence of institutional placement. Rather, such harmful effects were the result of poor institutional conditions.

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This study explored how some adolescents use event memories in the course of their identity achievement, and compared their cognitive processes with those of identity non-achivers. In Study I, 118 university students answered questionnaires, which included the Identity Status Scale, and items referring to event memories about concrete episodes related to their critical life course decision. The results indicated that identity achievers described details less precisely on the autobio-graphical items, compared with non-achievers. In Study II, 45 students were interviewed to determine their identity status, and their identity-relevant memories were also elicited. The results indicated a higher degree of relation between event memories and subjects' struggle to define their idntity among achievers', compared with non-achievers. The results of both studies suggest that identity achievers' memories were reconstructed in the process of identity formation. Finally, the general functions of memory in the identity formation process were discussed.

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In contrast with past findings on adolescents, contemporary adolescents are said to have little concern self-insight into oneself and tend toward escaping from intimate friendships. This study explored how new type of anthrophobic tendency ("commu-phobic tendency") in college students is related to self-insight, peer-relationships and self-esteem among college students. Cluster analysis based on the insight and peer-relationship measures yielded three major clusters of students, (1) who withdraw from self-insight and peer relationships, (2) show both a high anthrophobic tendency and low self-esteem, and (3) maintain manic-defensive relations with peers and show littele insight. These groups of adolescents were labeled "commu-phobic" (Cluster 1), "traditionaly typrcal" (Cluster 2) and "crowd-oriented" (Cluster 3). Both clusters 1 and 3 may represent newly emerging relational characteristics among contemporary adolescents.

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In this paper we claim that procedural knowledge (e.g., scripts) become less rigid more flexible, with the development of knowledge that explains procedures, and with representational changes in procedural knowledge itself. Present study verified this claim through examination, of a "mealtime" script. In Study 1, second, fourth, and sixth graders, and college students were required to plan a "mealtime" to achieve both a physiological and social purposes. Generated plans became more purposeful and directions toward achieving the purposes increased with age. In Study 2, to explore the role of explanatory knowledge in the "flexibilization" of scripts, subjects were asked to explain the relevance of their plans to their purposes. The results showed that valid explanations increased with age. Study 3 was conducted to explore the role of representational changes of procedural knowledge. The results clarified the inconsistency between the results of Study 1 and Study 2.

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