The presnt study was planned to investigate the perceptual solidity in children, namely the younger children are apt to fail in finding simple figures hidden in complex figures; and the possibility of it's alternationby using emdedded fiigures. To provide the distances among figures, 3 types of embedded figures were made by adding surplus lines inside of simple figures (C1), outside of them (C2), and combining C1 and C2 (C3).
In Experiment I, children of four different ages (4, 5, 6 and 7 years old) were repuired to perform 3 different types of responces in each figure: tracing with red-pencil, with finger and putting plastic figures.
The main results were:
(1) There were significant differeces in difficulties of 3types of embedded figures in the all grbups and under all responce patterns: C1 (easy)-C2 (middle)-C3 (dificult).
(2) The right responces were increasing with ages under all responce patterns: putting plastic figures (easy)-tracing either red-pencil (middle)- tracing with finger (difficult).
The main purpose of Experiment II was to examine the effect of preceding perceptual experiences (training) on the following perceptual situation (test). To be concrete,(1) In the perceptual learning situation where the types of C1 er C2 are used as training stimuli and C3 as test stimuli, it is supposed that the different types of training figures contribute differently to the following test.(2) It is also supposed that the improvement of right responces by training appear differently concerning ages.(3) Is there any tranofer of training to the not-trained stimuli? If there is some transfer, how it appear concerning the types of training stimuli and ages?
Materials used were identical to in Experiment I. Subjects were kindergarten children (5.6 years old) and elementary scool children (7years old). Subjects of each age group were divided into 4 subgroups: 3, experimental groups (trained with C1, C2 or Simple figure respectively) and control group.
The results were:
(1) The increase of right responces from Pre-Test to Post-Test were found in all age groups and all expermental groups. The rate of this increase enlarged progressively with ages. It enlarged also differently concerning the training conditions: C2 (most effective)-Simple figures, C1 (middling)-control (less).
(2) The transfer of training was found, but it appeared differently as to the age groupe: elementary school children showed a high degree of increase in both trained figures and not-trained figures, elder kindergarten children showed high degree of increase for trained figures but less for nottrained figures and the younger kindergarten children showed less in both.

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The present study is to investigate the effects of decision on information gathering; that is, what effects decision gives to information gathering when Ss are presented some alternatives and asked to decide one which they think to be correct. The number of alternatives presented is different by the groups.
The aim of this study is to clarify how different the effects of decision are by the number of the alternatives.
The alternatives used are on the theories of evolution such as Darwinism, Lamarkism and so on.
Ss were 144 junior high school pupils, who were divided into four groups.
The experiment consisted of two sessions;
In the first session, different information concerning the number of afternatives-two-or four-alternatives- was presented. Then the Ss of two Postdecision-groups were asked to decide an alternative which they thought to be correct, while the Ss of the other two, that is, Pre-decision-groups, were told only to read and understand alternatives given but not to decide. Then information gathering was measured.
The indices are;
(1) The number and content of epistemic question; the author made the Ss ask as many question as possible about the content of the experiment.
(2) The degree of information gathering: Ss were given a booklet on the theories of evolution and asked to read it in a limited time.
Then the Ss of pre-decision-groups were asked to decide an alternative thought to be correct.
In the second session, the information to reduce the conceptual conflict was given, and then the indices as follows were measured.
The indices are;
(3) The degree of epistemici curiosity, that is, the degree to which they would like to study evolutionism, the degree to which they were interested in the information and (4) the retention of it.
The results obtained were;
(1) Pre-decision-groups made more epistemic questions than post-decision-groups.
(2) The significant interaction between decision and the number of alternatives on information gathering by a booklet reflects the fact that in postdecision groups four-alternative-group showed more information gathering behaviors, but in Pre-decision groups two-alter-native-group showed significantly more.
(3) The post-decision-groups were more interested in the information to reduce the conceptual conflict.
(4) As to retention of information post-decision- and pre-decision-group seemed to the same.

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The present paper aimed to investigate the anisotropy of personal space (PS) using interpersonal distance at which a subject begins to feel personally uncomfortable. Two kinds of distances were measured: a subject approaches the eight aspects of an object male person (approach distance); the object person approaches the subject (approached distance). Subjects were extravert and introvert males. Lightness of the room was varied at two levels. Data were analyzed with logarithmically transformed values. Results are as follows;
(1) Interpersonal distance decreases monotonically as the degrees of the angle with the median plane of the body increase from the front to the rear. So, it is reasonably concluded that PS has the anisotropic structure.
(2) Darkness has more effect on subject's personal uncomfort in approached distance than approach distance, and more at the rear than at the front.
(3) Introverts take greater distance than extraverts, and the two groups show the same difference at every aspect.
Asymmetry of PS was not verified. Some determinants of anisotropy, especially visual factors such as eye-contact and visual contact, were discussed.

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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