This study examines the influence of Chinese semantics and phonology on the auditory lexical processing of Japanese Kanji words by Chinese Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) intermediate learners in lexical decision task and translation task. The results of two experiments show that during the auditory lexical processing of Japanese Kanji words, (1) Chinese semantics is activated rapidly and inhibits the lexical activation of Chinese-Japanese homographs, with a stronger inhibitive effect on homographs with a high phonological similarity; (2) Chinese phonology is activated rapidly and inhibits the semantic processing of both cognates and homographs, and the inhibitory effect of Chinese phonology on homographs is stronger than on cognates; (3) The semantic and phonological information therefore shows dual inhibitive effects on homographs with a high phonological similarity in Japanese word processing. These results suggest that there will be strong negative impacts on Chinese learners who mainly rely on Chinese orthography, phonology and semantics in the process of Japanese word learning.

Attitude persistence involves the maintenance or reinforcement of an initial attitude, despite the counter-opinions of others. Previous studies suggest that the importance of a topic has a significant impact on attitude persistence. However, it is not clear whether the effect is invariant in different communication environments. This study investigated two presentation modalities (audio and video) and visual access to the speaker’s eyes (looking at the eyes or mouth) to determine whether topic importance invariantly induces irritation about the counter-opinion that leads to attitude persistence. Our results revealed that: 1) irritation upon hearing a counter-opinion led to attitude persistence regardless of the modalities and 2) topic importance affected irritation with the audio presentation; its effect was slightly weaker with the video presentation. Our results also indicate that when the effect of topic importance is directly compared across modalities, it is generally related to irritation in both modalities.

Many studies confirmed that psychological flexibility (PF) can improve job performance. However, few studies examined the mechanisms between them. The present study constructed a structural equation model to test the relationship between PF, workplace ostracism, perceived stress, and job performance. A sample of 234 Information Technology (IT) staff completed the Workplace Ostracism Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II and Job Performance Scale. Chained mediation model revealed that work ostracism and stress mediated the association between PF and job performance, and the effect of PF on job performance could be mediated through work ostracism and then through perceived stress. Results of this study could help clarify the possible mechanistic pathways of PF on job performance. It is suggested that future work attempting to increase job performance among IT staff should consider the potentially important role of psychological flexibility model. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Fifteen Chinese college students with internet addiction from one urban site in Guangdong Province participated in individual face-to-face interviews. Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted using an inductive approach to identify and examine the patterns emerging from the data. The results showed that self-identity of Chinese college students with internet addiction included four themes: complex and discordant self-other relationships, low recognition of their role as students, multiple negative personality traits, and unclear self-concept. All respondents identified self-other relationships as an important component of self-concept, with parent-child relationships being the most critical sub-theme. The self-identity of internet-addicted college students was generally characterized by a negative emotional tone, and the themes covered were similar to those of the general population except for “unclear self-concept.” In a particular cultural context, one’s name may be an appropriate answer to the question “Who am I?” in reflecting self-identity.

This exploratory study investigated Japanese citizens’ past, present, and future perceptions of aspects of Japanese society by age. A 22-item questionnaire was inductively developed and later administered to 571 Japanese adults to assess their perceptions of Japanese society across past, present, and future time perspectives. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded three distinct factors that describe perceptions of traits of individual citizens within society, traits of collective society, and traits of human relations within society. These factors were later studied within and across time perspectives by two distinct participant age groupings (younger and older). Statistically significant differences by time perspectives and age were interpreted through Carstensen’s socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) and the social context of past and present Japanese society. The study provides a picture of contrasting and distinct perceptual differences of society, that exist between younger and older Japanese across time perspectives, and yields insights into the chasm of differing views of society manifested in the generation gap.