This study investigates the roles that two types of information-prototype and exemplar-play in the formation of "blood type stereotypes." The result of a questionnaire study (with 112 college students) confirmed hypotheses concerning the role played by these two types of information. A substantial discrepancy was found between the subjects' beliefs about the blood type-relevant personality traits and the commonly and publicly assumed blood type traits. There also found a substantial variation in subjects' beliefs in this respect. It was found that the exemplar information played an important role, at least among some respondents, in the formation of the "blood type stereotype," such that subjects generalized their personality traits as the traits typical to people with the blood type of their own. The other respondents, on the other hand, seemed to have formed the "blood type stereotype" by adopting the prototypical personality traits commonly believed to characterize people of their blood type.

View full abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of interpersonal distance on task performance. According to distraction-conflict theory, the distracter (observer or coactor) can elevate drive by provoking attentional conflict. In Exp. I, 57 female undergraduates were randomly assigned to three distance locations (proximal, peripheral, and distant). They performed substitution tasks (simple and complex) in observed situations. For simple tasks, subjects in the 'peripheral' and 'proximal' groups showed a slightly higher level of performance than those in the 'distant' group. For complex tasks, on the other hand, the result was the opposite. In Exp. II, a 2 × 3 factorial design (high and low social comparison pressures by three distances) was used. One-hundred-twentysix undergraduates participated in pairs as coactors. The main effect of social comparison pressure was seen for simple tasks, whereas, for complex tasks, a result resembling that found in simple tasks in Exp. I was attained. The implications of the results were discussed in terms of task difficulty and distractor impact.

View full abstract

The sentiment of existential "emptiness" is characteristic of adolescence. The purpose of this research is to investigate the structure of the experienced emptiness, and to explore its developmental change in early, middle and late adolescence. In the preliminary survey, 54 college students responded to the open-ended questions about the associational words of "empty", opposite meaning words, and their daily experiences of feelings of emptiness. On the base of these results, a "munasisa" (emptiness) scale was constructed with 74 items (finally 54 items), then 128 college students rated this scale. Next, this scale was administered to 82 junior high school and 87 high school students to measure the experienced levels of emptiness. The data of all 297 samples were analysed by using factor-analytic technique, and as its result, three factors were found. These factors were named (1) sense of purposelessness (inactivity), (2) loneliness, (3) negative views of self. ANOVA revealed that (1) and (3) were declined with age, but (2) had no significant age effect. Sex difference was seen only in the third factor items, and no significant interaction was found. The results were discussed in relation to the state of self in adolescence.

View full abstract

Most of self-esteem measures mainly focus on an individual's evaluation of his/her personal identity. But social identity is another important aspect of self-esteem. Luhtanen and Crocker (1992) developed the Collective Self-Esteem Scale to assess strength and positivity of social identity. The present study attempted to construct the Japanese version of Collective Self-Esteem Scale. The original 46 items were translated into Japanese and were administered to 347 students. The Japanese version of Collective Self-Esteem Scale consisted of 16 items which were selected from the original items. This scale was different from Luhtanen and Crocker's original scale in the sub-scales, but its high reliability and validity suggested that it can be a useful research tool.

View full abstract

The present research attempted to construct the functional flexibility index (FFI) by examining the circumplexity of the interpersonal structure. In study one, the circumplexity of Wiggin (1979) 's 16 representative interpersonal behaviour words was not replicated. In study two, the circumplexity of 85 words, which were mainly selected from Japanese researches, was confirmed and 15 representative words were selected. In study three, the FFI was constructed based on these 15 words. It was considerably reliable, however the correlations with other scales measuring the interpersonal flexibility were generally modest. In study four, a sociometric study revealed that subjects who were regarded as intimate friends or agreeable persons by more people scored higher in the FFI. These findings indicated that the FFI was reliable and valid, yet it was also suggested that the FFI might be applicable to limited samples.

View full abstract

A questionnaire proposed by Eysenck in 1987 has been shown to be effective in predicting the occurrence of Cancer and Heart Disease. In order to apply it in Japan, there remains some problems; the questionnaire consists of complicated sentences and has too many questions to use in a field survey. Furthermore, the translated version of this was translated into readily comprehensible Japanese but departed somewhat from the meaning of the original. In the present study, we made a more faithful translated version and examined the common structure of the question items of the both questionnaires using Hayashi's Quantification Method III. Based on the survey results of the students, we found out the similar clusters of the items with the Eysenck's. We decreased the items by a systematic way and made a short questionnaire. It is considered that the short questionnaire is maintaining the structure of the original and it is feasible to use it in a field survey.

View full abstract

This paper carried out quantitative content analysis of articles in "Political Psychology", which is the journal of International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP), in order to realize how different academic disciplines get together as a new field. This study assumed "two-steps development model" in interdisciplinary process; from Multidisciplinary stage (where political science and psychology are well specialized but co-exist in a same field) to Interdisciplinary one (where basic theories and methods of both disciplines are so involved that the number of cooperated studies increase). Results of first analysis told that present phase of political psychology locates between them. Later examination proved that there is the tendency to change from multidisciplinary stage into interdisciplinary one in the aspects of the extent of cooperated studies and research methods sharing, but diversity of article's subject is decreasing according to polypsy integration. Finally, the author noted some implications about professional education to promote interdisciplinary concatenation in political psychology.

View full abstract