Self-regulation refers to the overall process of adjusting one's thoughts, feelings, and actions to achieve a goal. Self-distancing is a strategy for improving self-regulation, one that can be promoted by performing non-first-person self-talk. The present study examined whether regulatory focus could be a moderator of self-distancing's effects on improving self-regulation. After university students (N=72) were divided into groups for the experimental conditions, they were induced to have a promotion- or prevention-focused orientation and then asked to conduct a self-regulation task (squeezing a handgrip and holding it as long as possible) while conducting first-person or non-first-person self-talk. The results indicated that a difference between the effects of first-person self-talk and non-first-person self-talk was observed only in the promotion-focused condition. This result suggests that type of regulatory focus may be a moderator of effects of self-distancing.

  The present authors (Kudo & Masuda, 2013; in Japanese) suggested that readers' thoughts that were inspired by text content intruding into their reading representations, that is, "intrusion of thoughts", may be a factor that could lead to inappropriate reading representations. The phenomenon was observed in a qualitative study by the first author (Masuda, 2018; in Japanese). The present research, which was intended to examine this hypothesis further, was a quantitative analysis of the relationship between intrusion of thoughts and inappropriate reading. In Study 1, university students (N=96) were asked to read an explanatory text, describe the important and interesting parts of the text, and write a summary of its purpose. The results indicated that the students whose responses were evaluated as appropriate were likely to rely on the parts of the text that they had judged to be important, whereas students whose responses were evaluated as inappropriate were likely to rely on the parts of the text that they had reported were interesting. The data also suggested that many intrusions were related to the beginning and end of the text. Therefore, in Study 2, university students (N=94) were asked to read the same text, but in which the last paragraph had been replaced. The results showed increases in intrusions that were related to the contents of the last paragraph. The results are discussed in terms of the misapplication of top-down reading strategies.

  After children with autism spectrum disorder (N=116; mean age, 9.37 years, SD, 2.63) completed the Japanese version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV), the data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analyses to evaluate the goodness of fit and factor construction (factor loadings of subtests) based on the traditional WISC-IV 4-factor model, and the 5-factor model derived from the Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory: crystallized ability, fluid reasoning, visual spatial ability, short-term memory, and processing speed. The results indicated that although both models had high goodness of fit, the Cattell-Horn-Carroll model had better fit. With respect to factor construction, matrix reasoning loaded on visual spatial ability, rather than on fluid reasoning. This finding relating to factor construction is different from the results reported in studies done outside of Japan, but is consistent with the results of a previous study conducted on a standardized sample in Japan. Additionally, 5 clusters were extracted from the Cattell-Horn-Carroll model. The autism and Asperger profiles reported in previous studies were also identified in the present research. Furthermore, 2 clusters were identified, which were: (a) a cluster with relatively high scores on short-term memory, and (b) a cluster with relatively high scores on processing speed. Among those clusters, significant differences were found between the scores on visual spatial ability and the scores on fluid reasoning. These results suggest that this version of the Cattell-Horn-Carroll model may provide a more detailed understanding of individual differences among children with autism spectrum disorder than the WISC-IV model does.

  The present study examined effects of activation of possible selves on high school students' learning intention. It was hypothesized that the activation of possible selves may heighten learning intention when (a) students regard learning in school as a strategy for their future, (b) the possible selves are specific, and/or (c) students' had a high subjective value of realizing their possible selves. The participants were 646 high school sophomores and juniors. The results indicated that the activation of positive possible selves heightened learning intention when recognition of the relation between the students' future and learning in school was not strong, the students' possible selves were specific, and the subjective value of realizing their possible selves was not high. In other words, hypothesis (b) was supported conditionally, suggesting that specific possible selves may be effective as motivators. Hypotheses (a) and (c) were not supported, suggesting that the activation of possible selves may have an effect on academic motivation even when learning in school is not seen as a useful strategy for students' future, and when students do not have highly valued possible selves.

  Based on recent discussions of the use of reliability coefficients, many psychometricians have recommended using model-based reliabilities. Green & Yang (2009) proposed that nonlinear SEM coefficients be used as model-based reliability for scales with ordered category data. However, very few published studies have evaluated nonlinear SEM coefficients. In order to use SEM coefficients in applied research, how they perform when models are misspecified should be investigated. The present study used a Monte Carlo method to evaluate nonlinear SEM coefficients in conditions of model misspecification. The results indicated that, in most of the conditions of the simulation, nonlinear SEM coefficients performed very well when the models were correctly specified, whereas the coefficients were severely biased when the models were misspecified. Biases in the coefficients were parallel to the extent of misspecification of the models. Based on the results of this simulation, the discussion proposes future directions for the use of nonlinear SEM coefficients in applied research.

  The present study analyzed elementary school students' achievement trajectories in social studies between the fourth and fifth grades as a function of class size and teachers' presentation of achievement goals and feedback about the attainment of learning goals. The data included the scores on standardized achievement tests that were administered around the beginning of the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades to 1,672 students from 50 schools whose class size remained constant in the fourth and fifth grades, forming panel data that also included data on class size and teachers' presentation of achievement goals and feedback about the attainment of learning goals. Multilevel analysis with a model postulating 3 levels (pupils, classes, and schools) was performed to ascertain effects of class size, frequency of teachers' provision of learning goals and feedback about the attainment of learning goals, and the interaction of these measures on students' achievement scores in, separately, the fourth and fifth grades, and in the two-year period from the fourth through fifth grades, in relation to the students' prior achievement level. The results indicated that when students who scored at a lower level on the earlier achievement test were placed in smaller classes in both years and were taught by homeroom teachers who frequently provided learning goals and feedback about the attainment of learning goals, they showed greater advancement of achievement on the test taken after the two-year period than did the students in the other conditions.

  The present study examines effects of an interdependent group contingency that had the goal of encouraging "toot­ling" by students in a regular elementary school. Tootling is a classroom-based intervention used to increase peer prosocial behavior, especially offering and receiving help, while decreasing negative and disruptive peer interactions. Tootling refers to reports of positive social behavior, in contrast to reports of inappropriate behavior ("tattling"). Procedures included in typical tootling interventions, including employing an interdependent group contingency and public posting of feedback, have been reported to help build groups among classmates. The students in 2 fifth-grade classes (29 students in each class) participated. The experiment used a multiple baseline design across the 2 classes. Tootling was implemented by having the students report about other students' helping behavior by writing encouraging messages about the content of the lessons on sticky notes. Measures included a record of the helping behavior that was reported, the percentage of students who reported the behavior, and the academic achievement of those students in the classes who had low scores on written tests of kanji. The results indicated that after the intervention was introduced, the students' reports of other students' helping behavior increased in both classes. After the intervention was discontinued (probe period), a similar percentage of the students continued to submit positive reports. Also, the achievement scores of the students who had formerly had low kanji test scores improved. The discussion suggests that future research should examine effects of interdependent group contingencies to obtain further data on the extent to which other students help students with low academic achievement scores in the same group.