One way to support young children in singing in early childhood education is to use gestures that are consistent with the contour, or the rise and fall of pitch in the melody. However, no studies have examined for which kind of children the gestures consistent with the contours are effective. The present study focused on spatial cognitive ability, a cognitive ability related to singing, in 5- to 6-year-old children, and examined the effects of gestures and spatial cognitive ability on singing in young children. Gestures in the experimental condition were consistent with the contours, while those in the control condition were unrelated to the contours. The results of ANOVA showed an interaction between spatial cognitive ability and gestures. Children with low spatial cognitive ability sang more accurately with contours when their gestures were consistent with the contours.

Factors influencing convenience store robbers' choice of crime scene includes store knowledge, travel costs, and the risk of being eye-witnessed. The same factors are thought to exist in stores that purchase items that cause embarrassment. This study prepared several simulated stores, controlling for store knowledge, travel costs, and the risk of being eye-witnessed. Further, it experimented to determine which store would be chosen by the experimental group to purchase condoms and the control group to purchase breath-freshening tablets. A web-based survey of 535 participants revealed that the experimental group was likelier than the control group to choose a store that avoided the risk posed by eye-witnesses. In the experimental group, the tendency to make risk-taking choices was stronger among those who had purchased condoms in the past than among those who did not. Participants with higher situational or confident risk-taking scores on the Risk Propensity Questionnaire (RPQ) tended to make risk-averse choices when they had similar prior experiences. These results may also apply to future criminal investigations.

This study investigates the psychological characteristics of individuals who do not seek romantic relationships. A sample of 569 university students without romantic partners was surveyed regarding their desire for a relationship. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the effects of adult attachment styles and time perspectives on their willingness to pursue romantic relationships. The results revealed that higher attachment avoidance significantly reduced the willingness, while higher attachment anxiety increased it. Moreover, a present-focused time perspective, characterized by a sense of fulfillment, was associated with a lack of interest in romantic involvement. Conversely, individuals who embraced their past and maintained optimism about the future were more inclined to seek romantic relationships. The study also explored the underlying reasons for a lack of romantic interest, finding that higher attachment avoidance was linked to perceiving romantic relationships as burdensome, whereas higher attachment anxiety was associated with diminished self-confidence and a sense of fulfillment. These findings are discussed within the theoretical frameworks of attachment theory and time perspective, offering insights into the motivations for abstaining from romantic partnerships.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of "values" in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on reducing job hunting stress among university students as a part of psychological support. The study also examined whether "values" reduced stress in a state of psychological inflexibility, which indicates poor mental health in ACT. The subjects were 100 university students who had undergone job-hunting. The results of a hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that clearly maintaining one's "values" was effective in reducing job-hunting stress, except for stress caused by comparison with others. In addition, the results also indicated that the effect of "values" decreased in a state of psychological inflexibility, as such individuals were more susceptible to stress.

This study conducted a questionnaire on 203 collegiate athletes for the purpose of examining effects of their perceptions of coaches' coaching skills on their life skill acquisition and satisfaction of competitive life and schoolwork. Through multi-group analysis on the results of survey, it was suggested that the perception of "coaching skills for promoting achieving goals" might promote athletes' acquisition of life skills and contribute to their satisfaction of competitive life and schoolwork. In particular, improving satisfaction with competitive life of athletes with high competitive results and satisfaction with schoolwork of athletes with low competitive results is important through practice of coaching that increases the perception of "coaching skills for promoting achieving goals". In the future, it is necessary to examine effects of coaches' coaching skills on acquisition of life skills while focusing on practice of coaching considering athletes' changes over time, such as improvement of their athletic performance.

This study was conducted to show how six types of the career formation process ("achievement", "stage-up", "exploration", "vague/spontaneous", "lack of means", and "no-goal anxiety") would differ in the various aspects that indicated to contribute to clear conceptual distinctions (goal clarity by graduation, possibility of actualizing the goal by graduation, degree of congruence between employment and aspiration, first job consciousness, goal clarity 3-5 years after graduation), which aims to demonstrate the types' validity further. A 6-month longitudinal survey was conducted online and data were collected in two periods: during the job-hunting period and after its completion. One hundred eighty-one university students from China's western region were used, all of whom had secured a job offer before the second survey. The results showed that the unique features of "vague/spontaneous" were only partly confirmed, while "achievement" and "stage-up" were clearly distinguished from the other four types. Besides, many unique features of "lack of means", "exploration", and "no-goal anxiety" types were also confirmed. Overall, the validity of 6 types of the career formation process was confirmed to some extent.

The aim of this study was to longitudinally assess the actual mental health of nursing students in clinical practicum. An online survey was conducted on 32 nursing students who went on a one-week field practicum. Among the mental health of the nursing students, there were no significant differences in the mean CES-D values for depression before practicum, on the first day of practicum and during the first week of practicum, but it was higher than the CES-D cut-off value of 16 points at all time points. The results suggest a high level of depression throughout the practicum period. With regard to life disruption, the mean value for quality of life disruption on the first day of practicum was significantly higher than that of the pre-practicum period, and that of the first week of practicum was significantly higher than that of the pre-practicum period and the first day of practicum. This suggests that interference with life is increasing as the clinical practicum progresses. These realities are problems that should not be overlooked.

This study evaluated the convergent validity of the Wheelchair User Prejudice Scale (WUPS; Tanaka & Kobayashi, 2024). A survey was conducted using a Japanese online survey platform. We sent the six-item WUPS, the Japanese version of the Symbolic Ableism Scale (SAS-J) with two subscales, and the Japanese version of the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale to 1000 residents in Japan. Participants (N＝857) completed and returned the survey. The results revealed that the WUPS positively correlated with the "lack of recognition of current conditions" subscale and negatively correlated with the "individualism" subscale of the SAS-J. These results demonstrated the adequate convergent validity of the WUPS.

This study aimed to develop the aromatherapy orientation scale. A total of 312 female university students responded to the questionnaire survey. The aromatherapy orientation scale was developed consisting of four factors: "expectation for effects," "understanding/incorporation," "doubts/misunderstandings," and "true self." Aromatherapy orientation was related positively with a sense of authenticity (r＝.15).

The purpose of this study is to investigate research trends related to "cancer" and "suicide" from the titles of academic publications on both topics published in PubMed. The analysis methods are publication trends, word frequency analysis, and contrast by word frequency analysis. In the contrast by word frequency analysis, articles were categorized into those published before 2000 and those published after 2001, and a chi-square test was conducted. The results showed that there were more studies on suicide in cancer cells, such as apoptosis, before 2000, and more studies on suicide in cancer patients after 2001. Research on both "cancer" and "suicide" used to be dominated by biological aspects such as gene analysis. However, it was thought that the research area has since shrunk, and there has been a transition to a research area centered on psychiatry and psychology.

This study developed two scales to assess emotional and impression-based attitudes toward physical illnesses with visible disabilities. A web survey of 351 Japanese adults compared perceptions of stroke, femoral neck fracture, and spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injury evoked stronger negative emotions, greater avoidance, and lower perceived strength. Findings suggest that stigma is shaped not only by visibility or severity, but also by illness-specific meanings and cultural associations.