Effects of the conditions and colors of surfaces on pleasure-displeasure and arousal were examined. Stimuli were four plates with the combinations of two types of surfaces (smooth/slightly uneven) and two types of colors (white/black), which were presented under three conditions (visual/visual and tactile/tactile). Participants (N＝37) responded to the following six items using a seven-point scale: roughness, likes and dislikes, two items assessing pleasure-displeasure (tactile sensations, pleasantness), and two items assessing arousal (feelings of tension, clarity). The results indicated that evaluations of a surface differed based on the condition and color of the surface in roughness and pleasure-displeasure. Participants tended to judge white as smoother and more pleasant than black. Moreover, uneven surfaces tended to be affected by color. Furthermore, arousal was affected by stimulus presentation conditions and surface color. Also, smooth surfaces and black surfaces had high arousal levels. The results suggested that when roughness evoked by the color and the roughness of the surface was inconsistent (i.e., black smooth surfaces, white uneven surfaces), the arousal level might differ between under only tactile presenting condition and other two conditions.

This study investigated whether and how parental social anxiety and family function that is perceived by parents and children influenced children’s social anxiety. Children attending junior high schools (n＝697) and their fathers (n＝145) and mothers (n＝314) in Japan completed self-report measures of social anxiety and family function, and the children completed measures of public self-consciousness and interpersonal self-efficacy. Structural equation modeling indicated that family function perceived by children was negatively associated with children’s social anxiety, and interpersonal self-efficacy partially mediated this association. Also, fathers’ and mothers’ social anxiety was negatively related to family function perceived by themselves, and the latter was in turn positively associated with family function perceived by their children. Moreover, mediational analyses indicated indirect effects from parental social anxiety to family function perceived by parents, to family function perceived by children, to children’s social anxiety, although these indirect effects were weak. These findings suggest that family function might play a role in the intergenerational transmission of social anxiety.

This study aimed to explore how emotional reactions toward criminals and victims affect punitiveness, with special attention to fear, anger, and empathy. Past research on punitiveness has long emphasized the role of emotion in determining individual levels of punitiveness. However, these studies have at least two limitations: 1) varying definitions of punitiveness among studies, and 2) limited scope of research—mainly limited to Western countries. We addressed these limitations by using a validified scale measuring punitiveness in the Japanese context. Questionnaires were distributed to 330 individuals. The results showed that fear of crime, anger toward criminals, and empathy toward criminals and victims were all correlated with two sub-constructs of punitiveness (support for harsher punishment and criminalization). However, once other variables were controlled, only anger toward criminals and fear of crime showed a significant relation with punitiveness, suggesting that these two emotion-related variables play an important role in determining punitiveness. The implications of the study are discussed.

This study aimed to examine the relationship between sensory processing sensitivity and subjective well-being, in terms of life satisfaction and self-esteem, in 4,333 Japanese adults (2,625 men and 1,708 women; mean age=49.05 years, SD=10.84, age range=20–69 years). A one-way ANCOVA indicated that participants in the high sensitivity group had lower life satisfaction and self-esteem than those in the low sensitivity and medium sensitivity groups. After controlling for age, sex, educational level, household income, and marital status, the levels of low sensory threshold and ease of excitation were significantly negatively associated with life satisfaction and self-esteem. Further, there was a significant positive association between aesthetic sensitivity, life satisfaction and self-esteem. These findings suggest that highly sensitive persons in Japan tend to have low subjective well-being, which corroborates the findings of previous foreign studies, whereas the sub-dimensions of sensory processing sensitivity have a different relation to subjective well-being.