The purpose of this study was to develop a Japanese version of the Pure Procrastination Scale (PPS-J), and examine its reliability and validity. The original version of the scale was developed to measure procrastination, a phenomenon that involves a voluntary delay of an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off for doing so. In this study, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on 195 university students. The scale has a 12-item, three-factor structure consisting of “implemental procrastination,” “decisional procrastination,” and “untimeliness.” It was confirmed that it had sufficient internal consistency and construct validity. It was also shown to have acceptable retest reliability in a study of 57 university students. A daily life survey of 44 university students showed the substantial construct validity of the PPS-J. Overall, the results suggest that the PPS-J is a valid scale for measuring procrastination.

This study aimed to examine the process of adaptation after the experience of regret, with a focus on regulatory focus as a factor determining regulation strategies for regret, cognitive emotion regulation as a regulation strategy for regret, and preparatory functions of regret. We evaluated a model in which regulatory focus influences cognitive emotion regulation and how it influences preparatory function through regret using a questionnaire survey administered to 430 university students. The results suggest that several processes lead to preparatory functions of regret. For example, there seems to be a process whereby “positive reappraisal,” promoted by promotion focus, reduces regret and enhances preparatory function, and another process whereby several maladaptive strategies promoted by prevention focus increase regret, which facilitates preparatory function. In addition, some maladaptive strategies are strengthened by promotion focus, and some adaptive strategies are associated with prevention focus and increased regret.

This study aimed to clarify the characteristics of student apathy through longitudinal studies, focusing on the emotion of apathy in college students. A total of 121 college students completed a questionnaire, using the Passivity Area scale, the Apathy scale, and the “Yutori of mind” (feeling of relaxation) scale, three times. A conditional latent curve model revealed that the decrease in academic motivation had a negative effect on mental satisfaction/openness and relaxation towards others in the intercept and had no effect on urgency/fatigue. In terms of slope, academic disengagement had no effect on either mental satisfaction/openness or urgency/fatigue. The results suggest that college students did not take the decreased motivation to learn seriously, but they did lose their mental comfort, which did not affect the subsequent increase or decrease in mental comfort. Future research should consider support based on this characteristic.

Based on the regulatory fit theory (Higgins, 2000), two dimensions of perfectionism were assumed to improve task-related performance when appropriate strategies were required. We verified the two hypotheses: a) perfectionistic strivings improved task speed when it was required (i.e., eager strategy) and b) perfectionistic concerns improved task accuracy when it was required (i.e., vigilant strategy). A total of 62 university students performed connecting-the-dots tasks with a time limit. Each participant was assigned to either an eager strategy or a vigilant strategy group. Regression analyses showed that perfectionistic strivings improved task speed only in the eager strategy group. However, both dimensions of perfectionism did not affect task accuracy in either group. These results partly supported the hypothesis and suggested that perfectionistic strivings improved efficiency and task performance when task speed was required.

Previous research has demonstrated that depression moderates the relationship between chronic thought suppression and brooding, which is a maladaptive rumination style. To investigate the reproducibility of this phenomenon, a conceptual replication was conducted. The results revealed that the level of depression moderates the association between suppression and brooding; the more severe the depression, the stronger the association between thought suppression and brooding. Therefore, the moderation effect of depression was successfully replicated. The results also revealed that depression moderates the relationship between suppression and reflection, which is an adaptive rumination style. The study suggests directions for future research on thought suppression.

The present study aimed to examine the effects of basic psychological need support behavior from teachers on learning behavior with an emphasis on regulatory focus. Junior High School Students (N=341) completed the questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that autonomy support behavior from teachers predicted behavior engagement and persistence in learning of the promotion focus. The results suggest that autonomy support behavior from teachers plays an important role in supporting learning behaviors for junior high school students with high promotion focus.

This study examined the patterns of positive task value and cost combinations among elementary school students by cluster analysis. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 140 students. The cluster analysis suggested three patterns: (a) the high motivation cluster reported high positive value and low cost regarding science; (b) the low motivation cluster reported low positive value and high cost regarding science; and (c) the motivational conflict cluster reported high levels of both. Further, one-way ANOVA revealed that the motivational conflict cluster had lower persistence in learning than the high motivation cluster.

This study identifies the resilience factors and their contributions to each phase of the stress-related recovery process, and examines their effects on subjective adjustment as well as physical and mental health. The data obtained from 263 Japanese undergraduates showed that (1) resilience factors contributing to the stages before exposure to the stressor and after recovering from stressful situations included interpersonal items affecting subjective adjustment; and (2) the factors related to the stressor-exposure period included cognitive coping strategies that influenced physical and mental health during such adversities. These results suggest that developing interventions in accordance with the individual’s recovery process may be effective in increasing resilience.

During the novel coronavirus pandemic, people who defied the call for isolation and the government’s requirement for self-quarantine have encountered frequent condemnation. There was a prevailing acceptance of such bashing behavior. Given this context, this study focused on justice sensitivity as a key factor in the acceptance of bashing. Participants (N=1,000) read a short scenario that involved a person who goes out despite the self-quarantine requirement. The results showed a moderated mediation in which individuals with higher justice sensitivity showed a greater degree of anger, which in turn led to higher bashing acceptance when the scenario was judged as an injustice.

This study examined the internal consistency and convergent validity of the Japanese version of an Employee Agility and Resiliency Scale (EARS-J), a job domain-specific resilience scale. The analysis was conducted using Internet survey data collected from 20–29. The results confirmed that EARS-J had a one-factor structure similar to the original scale. Furthermore, we confirmed certain convergent validity of the EARS-J by examining its relationships with employee engagement, task performance, and K6.