Empirical studies have shown that beliefs in conspiracy theories are associated with low self-reported attitudinal trust in other people in general. However, self-reports do not always reflect actual behaviors. The present study investigates whether beliefs in conspiracy theories are negatively associated with actual trust behavior. We conducted a secondary analysis to examine correlations between conspiracy beliefs and trust behavior measured in a monetarily incentivized economic game (trust game) as well as self-reported attitudinal general trust. The results demonstrated that the more people believed in conspiracy theories, the less they entrusted their money to strangers when there was a risk of being betrayed and losing money. The present research confirms that conspiracy beliefs are associated with low trust regardless of whether trust is self-reported attitude or actual behavior which entails the risk of betrayal.

Tangney et al.’s (2004) Brief Self-Control Scale has been widely used in many languages, including Japanese. We developed and validated the Brief Self-Control Scale for Children (BSCS-C). Data came from 1,289 Japanese students in public elementary and junior high schools (691 boys and 598 girls; 633 students in grades 3–6 and 656 students in grades 7–8). Using a cross-validation procedure, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the one-factor structure of the BSCS-C. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses indicated configural, metric, and scalar invariance of the BSCS-C across gender and grade groups. Latent mean differences of the BSCS-C across the groups were small. The BSCS-C demonstrated the internal consistency, seven-month test-retest reliability, and correlations with conscientiousness, extraversion, and the number of behavioral problems.

Three studies examined the relationship between threats to the Japanese healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic and perceived system justification in Japan. Study 1 confirmed the validity of the Japanese version of the General System Justification Scale (Kay & Jost, 2003). Study 2 examined the relationship between the perceived threat to the healthcare system, the dependency on that system, and system justification. The results showed that the perceived system threat was not associated with system justification while dependency on the healthcare system was found to be associated with perceived legitimacy toward the healthcare system as well as with dependency on the government. Finally, Study 3 manipulated the system threat through criticism of Japan’s healthcare system during the pandemic by a foreign journalist and examined its effect on system justification. The results showed no effect of system threat on system justification. The applicability of system justification theory to Japanese society was discussed.

This study aimed to examine how workplace teleworking affects teamwork. Teamwork in remote situations has been studied from the perspective of virtual teams and team virtuality. Team virtuality can be classified into two aspects: (1) geographic dispersion and (2) technology use. Telework increases both geographic dispersion and technology use. On the other hand, past studies have not sufficiently examined how these two aspects affect teamwork. In this study, we examined the relationship between the two aspects of team virtuality and teamwork by analyzing two datasets, one at the individual level (Study 1, individual N＝567) and the other at the team level (Study 2, team N＝53). The results of Study 1 revealed that geographic dispersion was negatively associated with teamwork, while technology use was positively associated with teamwork. Study 2 showed a similar overall trend of association, although some aspects did not achieve statistical significance. Telework was positively associated with both geographic dispersion and technology use. In other words, the two aspects of team virtuality were shown to have potentially conflicting effects. Furthermore, Study 1 showed an interaction effect between these two aspects, suggesting that technology may moderate the negative effects of geographic dispersion on teamwork.

This research investigated why people without disabilities are reluctant to help those with physical disabilities. Focusing on Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), we conducted a questionnaire and vignette study with Japanese participants (mostly university students) without disabilities. Overall, we found that SDO hinders offering help to people with physical disabilities. In Study 1 (N＝67), we demonstrated that individuals with higher SDO were less likely to offer help when they perceive people with physical disabilities as cold. In Study 2 (N＝140), we examined whether a perceived threat to an existing hierarchical structure, induced by a manipulation, would reduce the willingness to support those with disabilities among individuals with higher SDO. The results showed that although SDO and perceived threat decreased an individual’s willingness to support those with disabilities, SDO did not moderate the relationship between perceived threat and the reduced willingness to support those with disabilities. These findings suggest that people are motivated to justify and maintain their superiority over those with disabilities, suggesting that further discussions on the associations between improving the status of people with disabilities and threats to the existing social hierarchy are needed.

The “Help Mark,” a unique symbol that people with hidden disabilities wear to receive help from others, has been promoted nationwide in recent years as part of efforts to achieve a symbiotic society in Japan. However, awareness of the Help Mark has been insufficient, and some people with hidden disabilities have been reluctant to wear it. In this study, a web-based experiment was conducted to examine the factors that promote or hinder the intention to help those who wear the Help Mark, according to social and cultural psychology theories. To analyze the effects of wearing the Help Mark, the cost of helping, and the explicit solicitation of help, the experiment used scenarios that manipulated these factors. We also analyzed the effect of interdependent self-construal on participants’ intentions to help. Results showed that when the cost of helping is relatively low, intentions to help can be increased by the person with hidden disabilities wearing the mark, and intentions can be increased when solicitation is explicit. We also found that when it comes to helping those who wear the Help Mark, the rejection-avoidance tendency and being young may serve as inhibiting factors.

This paper discusses “indirect resistance” to authorities who commit inhumane acts. There are two ways to resist authority, namely, direct resistance and indirect resistance. Direct resistance is an act of confronting those in power who commit inhumane acts at the risk of incurring penalties. Indirect resistance, on the other hand, is action to undermine the inhumane acts of those in power without taking the risk of incurring penalties. To date, few studies in social psychology have focused on the topic of indirect resistance. This paper comprises case studies of acts of indirect resistance that arose in extreme situations such as war, massacre, and tyranny. Based on the findings, we examine the effectivity and limitations of indirect resistance and the complementary relationship between indirect resistance and direct resistance.