This study examined whether disaster education that evokes positive awe can strengthen intentions to engage in disaster-preventive behaviors. Awe was induced using educational materials designed to evoke both the vastness of nature and the need for accommodation to existing mental schemas. Three studies were conducted. Study 1 (N＝24) did not show a significant effect. Study 2 (N＝53), which addressed several limitations of Study 1 (e.g., refinement of teaching materials, improved measurement methods, and larger sample size), demonstrated a significant effect. Study 3 (N＝64) successfully replicated the results of Study 2. Furthermore, a synchronous effect model using data from Studies 2 and 3 suggested a causal pathway from awe to behavioral intentions. These findings provide evidence for the effectiveness of incorporating positive awe into disaster education. The discussion considers the theoretical contributions, practical applications, and remaining limitations of this study, as well as directions for future studies.

Default options are known to strongly shape behavior, with individuals more likely to select the preset alternative. However, less is understood about how defaults affect people’s subjective sense of making a voluntary decision. This article examined the default effect in the context of recruiting participants for psychology experiments. In Study 1 (N＝135), participants were randomly assigned to an opt-out condition (participation as the default) or an opt-in condition (non-participation as the default) and asked to select preferred time slots for an upcoming study. In Study 2 (N＝108; undergraduate psychology students in Japan), a similar procedure was followed, with the addition of self-report measures assessing participants’ perceived voluntariness of their decision. In both studies, participants in the opt-out condition signed up for more slots compared to those in the opt-in condition. Furthermore, in Study 2, participants reported a stronger sense of voluntary decision-making when their choices aligned with the default, that is, signing up for more slots in the opt-out condition and fewer slots in the opt-in condition. Together, these findings suggest that default settings influence not only behavioral outcomes but also the subjective perception of voluntary decision-making.

This study examined whether focusing on one’s appearance increases benevolent sexism in both men and women and whether it influences gender self-stereotyping. Participants (N=181) were randomly assigned to imagine themselves in one of two scenarios: being at a swimming pool with friends and selecting flattering swimsuits for themselves or being at a shopping mall with friends and selecting sneakers for themselves. Afterward, they completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory and measures of gender self-stereotyping. The results indicated that focusing on one’s appearance significantly increased benevolent sexist beliefs toward women in both female and male participants. However, focusing on one’s appearance did not significantly influence gender self-stereotyping. These findings suggest that appearance-focused contexts may encourage benevolent sexism, thereby reinforcing traditional gender roles and contributing to support for the gender status quo.

Local governments increasingly promote measures to enhance the walkability of residential neighborhoods. To support the development of effective interventions, it is important to clarify how perceived walkability relates to people’s happiness and health. This study examined whether higher perceived walkability was associated with: (1) increased transportation physical activity, and (2) stronger place attachment, and whether these, in turn, influenced subjective happiness and health. A survey was conducted with 998 Japanese participants. The results indicated that individuals who rated certain aspects of perceived walkability as highly were more likely to engage in transportation physical activity. Greater levels of transportation physical activity were, in turn, linked to better subjective health. In addition, higher perceived walkability was associated with stronger place attachment, which was related to higher levels of subjective happiness and health. Although causal relationships were not verified, these findings suggest that urban planning strategies aimed at improving walkability may increase residents’ physical activity and strengthen place attachment, ultimately contributing to greater happiness and health.

Articulating reasons after making a decision is known to promote reevaluation of the initial choice, which in turn can influence subsequent preferences and satisfaction. This study investigates how the ease of conscious processing moderates the effects of postdecision reason articulation. A total of 252 undergraduate participants were asked to evaluate either a figurative painting, which is typically processed with greater ease, or an abstract painting, which generally requires more effortful conscious processing. Following the evaluation, participants were instructed to articulate reasons for either liking or disliking the painting. The Findings revealed that for figurative paintings, where conscious processing is relatively effortless, reason articulation significantly influenced purchase intention. In contrast, this effect was not observed for abstract painting, where processing is more cognitively demanding. These results suggest that postdecision reason articulation elicits reevaluation only when the target of evaluation is easily processed. The implications of conscious processing demands in postdecision reasoning are discussed.

Ageism, defined as a negative attitude toward older adults, has been shown to significantly diminish their quality of life. To reduce such prejudice, previous studies have investigated whether the quality of interpersonal contact with older adults influences ageist attitudes. However, these studies have largely relied on self-report psychological scales, which are vulnerable to social desirability bias. To address this limitation, this study employed the item count technique (also known as the list experiment), which mitigates social desirability effects by concealing individual attitudes from the researcher. We use a statistical model that explicitly reflects the measurement process of the item count technique to examine the relationship between contact quality and ageism. Model comparisons via Bayes factors provided support for models that incorporated contact quality, aligning with findings from earlier research. However, the strength of the evidence varied depending on the prior distribution specified, suggesting that the effect of contact quality could not be confirmed with conclusive certainty.

Although grateful individuals are generally predisposed to act morally, they may also be motivated to protect their benefactors, even at the cost of honesty. This study experimentally examined whether grateful people are inclined to conceal their benefactor’s dishonest behavior and how such concealment is evaluated. Participants were first induced to feel grateful toward a benefactor through receiving money with a benevolent message, who then submitted a false report of their performance on the task to gain higher rewards; thus, participants faced the decision of whether to accurately report this to the experimenter. This situation was tested in a behavioral experiment (Study 1) and a vignette experiment (Study 2). The findings showed that participants in the gratitude conditions did not differ significantly from those in the indebtedness or neutral conditions in their likelihood of concealing the benefactor’s fabrication. Study 2 further revealed that observers’ evaluations of concealment behavior remained largely unchanged, regardless of whether the behavior occurred in a gratitude context. Overall, these results suggest that grateful individuals do not necessarily hide their benefactor’s dishonest behavior, nor do observers provide positive feedback (e.g., forgiveness) for such concealment.

Helping strangers plays a crucial role in maintaining social cohesion. However, research suggests that Japanese people are generally less willing to assist strangers compared to individuals in Western societies. Previous studies have demonstrated that social factors, such as the presence of bystanders as well as prevailing social norms, can influence an individual’s willingness to help. However, relatively few investigations have examined how these dynamics operate in non-Western contexts. This study tested whether bystander behavior influences people’s likelihood of helping strangers in Japan. A total of 289 passersby were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) a cooperative condition, in which a confederate passerby agreed to participate in the survey; (2) a non-cooperative condition, in which the confederate refused participation and walked away; and (3) a control condition, in which the confederate was not present. Consent rates across the conditions by Bayes factor hypothesis testing. As expected, participants in the cooperative conditions were more likely to consent than non-cooperative conditions. However, contrary to our expectations, no significant differences were observed between the cooperative and control conditions. We suggest that the relatively low base rate of helping in Japan may account for this pattern of results.