This study examined the changes of attitudes on beliefs about effective teaching, comparing scores of a questionnaire before and after taking a course on teaching and learning. One hundred and thirty-three students taking a teaching profession course at a university which has a department for teacher education participated in this study. Seventy-two participants were students of an elementary school teacher education course, and sixty-one participants were students of a junior-high or high school teacher education course. The results were as follows: scores on “knowledge acquisition during teaching” decreased after taking the course, and “active participation of students during teaching” also showed a decreasing tendency after taking the course. Possible reasons for these results and future tasks are pointed out at the end of this article.

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Elderly people are unique among various discriminated social groups (e.g., black, LGBT) because we all, sooner or later, come to be seen with the negative stereotype. People internalize the negative age stereotype (e.g., incompetent, out-of-date) through life, which has undesirable effects on themselves when they get older. We give an overview of the Stereotype Embodiment Theory (SET; Levy, 2009), consisting of four processes: internalization, unconscious operation, salience gain from self-relevance, and utilization of multiple pathways. The SET discusses the process of generating age stereotype through life, internalizing the stereotype, and the impact toward self. The theory helps to explain the process of elderly adults’ self-stereotyping but the SET cannot fully explain an empirically known tendency—a mixed finding that elderly people try to separate themselves from other elderly adults while they are also heavily influenced by negative age stereotypes (e.g., showing a decline in the score of memory tasks). To complement the SET, we introduce the Social Identity Theory (SIT; Tajfel, 1981), which is often used to show the process of generating stereotype among various social groups. By attributing the elderly’s identity to the younger age group, elderly people aim to detach themselves from other people of about the same age. Meanwhile, they face lots of social requests from other generations (e.g., “Elderly adults should not accumulate wealth, but pass it on to the next generation.”) and many opportunities to recognize that they are “the elderly,” which force them to attribute their identity to “the elderly group” appropriate for age. This process makes elderly adults to acquire the self-relevance to the negative age stereotype. The SET itself and the complementation of the theory help to discuss how to decrease undesirable effects of self-stereotyping on elderly people. Although there are some unresolved problems, this study provides a guideline for the literature.

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The relationship between the occurrence of item nonresponse and individual characteristics in questionnaire surveys can cause bias in parameter estimation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether individual differences truly exist in the occurrence of item nonresponse and, if so, the extent to which individual differences can predict the occurrence of item nonresponse. Based on the assumption that the number of item nonresponses for each respondent obeys a Poisson distribution, two models were examined for the number of item nonresponses for each respondent in the data for 300 items measuring personality (N = 307,313). The negative binomial distribution, which is derived by assuming that the expected value of the number of item nonresponses follows a gamma distribution, fits the distribution of the number of item nonresponses better than the model that assumes no difference in the expected value of the number of item nonresponses (Poisson distribution). Simulations based on the estimated negative binomial distribution showed that the occurrence of item nonresponse can be predicted by the individual difference variable with an accuracy of up to approximately 76 %. Finally, a logistic regression model was used to search for individual difference variables that predicted the occurrence of item nonresponse.

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The purpose of this study was to elucidate the relationship between hoarding and animism, focusing on the types of stored objects. Previous studies have determined that one of the reasons why people hoard their belongings is their belief in animism, but the differences depending on the types of items being stored remain unknown. In this study, we asked 85 people to answer the Animism Scale for Adults to determine the relationship the extent of their belief in animism and how much they hoard about 17 types of items. The results revealed that objects given by others (e.g., letters), objects that reflect the existence and memories of oneself and others (e.g., photos), and objects in the shape of people or animals (e.g., dolls) are positively correlated with animism. We discuss the need to understand hoarding, which is regarded as a negative act, from the perspective of interpersonal relationships.

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The effects of sex hormones on attention function from middle and upper-middle aged people were examined based on the 10 years longitudinal research data in the Yakumo Study. A digit cancellation test was used for the attention test, and the work performance of the young group who received the first test in their 40s and 50s and old group who received the first test in 60s, and the rate of decline in performance during 10 years was compared. As a result, women were superior to men in work performances regardless of age. On the other hand, the rate of decline during 10 years tended to be greater in women than in men. It was discussed that this gender tendency suggests an effect of sex hormones on attentional function associated with menopause.

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[in Japanese]

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Moral education as a school subject has started in Japan. In such a major milestone, it is important to consider how to shape moral education. This study focused on the relationship between moral education and creativity education. Fostering creativity is also considered an important goal. However, recent empirical studies have pointed out that activating creative attitudes can induce immoral behavior. If moral education and creativity education are at odds with each other, it may be difficult to promote them in parallel. Therefore, in this study, after reviewing the empirical research findings that creativity and morality conflict, the goals and approaches in moral education were organized. Then, focusing on the goals of moral education in Japan, the relationship between creativity education and moral education was theoretically examined. In conclusion, the negative impact of creativity education on moral education is likely to be limited. In the current Japanese moral education, there is a stronger emphasis on the development of independent judgment and multifaceted thinking skills than on the acquisition of specific moral values. Creativity may be at odds with morality in the narrow sense, but it is likely to make a positive contribution to the development of moral thinking skills. Although it depends on situational factors, the direction in which creativity is utilized depends largely on the moral values and beliefs of the individual. In order for creativity to be reciprocated, morality is necessary, and in order for morality to be exercised at a high level, creativity is necessary. Morality and creativity can be seen as having such a complementary relationship. In the future, it is required to examine more realistically how to develop moral education in relation to creativity education, from the perspective of class contents and achievement goals at each school level.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify whether children’s motor competence will increase by endurance running in physical education classes using ICT. The heart rate (HR) during endurance running was measured using a wristwatch-type HR sensor (P360 manufactured by Polar) for 23 fifth grade elementary school children. The endurance running took place at 60% HRmax (114-133 bpm) and 70 % HRmax (133-152 bpm), each of them performed four times for a total of eight times. The HR value for each person (the background color of the displayed numbers change depending on the HR value) was displayed on the projector so they could be shared throughout the class. Before class, the children understood the effects and meanings of reaching the target HR. After endurance running, the children answered the rate of perceived exertion (RPE), Feeling Scale (FS), and motor competence questionnaires. The children performed a t-test to determine if there was a difference in the average values of HR, RPE, and FS, depending on the target. In addition, the mean value of motor competences was analyzed by using a repeated measures one-way ANOVA. As a result, the HR mean value when the target was 60 % HRmax (114-133 bpm) was 135.4 ± 12.86 bpm, and the HR mean value when the target was 70 % HRmax (133-152 bpm) was 145.8 ± 7.26 bpm; there was a significant difference between the two. The RPE was 1.94 ± 0.79 and 2.53 ± 1.13, also exhibiting a significant difference. No significant difference was found in the FS, and the children did not have negative feelings due to the difference in goals. As a result of analyzing the variance, there was no significant difference found between the mean values of motor competence; however, the value on the last day was the highest, and indicating a possibility that the children’s motor competence increased. In addition, the score of motor competence was higher than the score of some previous studies, so it is possible that the practice conducted in this study served as a practical class to enhance the children’s motor competence. Therefore, in the endurance running class of elementary school, it is presumed that learning activities using ICT are effective in enhancing children’s motor competence.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the interventions for mental functioning during hospitalization and the support system for psychosocial functioning after discharge, and to identify the interventions that should be provided in rehabilitation during hospitalization. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 23 post-stroke patients regarding rehabilitation intervention during hospitalization, mental functioning, social support systems, and life satisfaction after discharge. During their hospitalization, they did not receive enough interventions for mental functioning and received support from their families, not from rehabilitation professionals. Patients required intervention for mental function such as peer support among patients, counselling, interventions for their family, and interventions for physical functioning and activities of daily living as a rehabilitation on hospitalization. The group that received intervention for mental functioning was less depressed, had a better social support system, and had higher satisfaction with family support after discharge than the group that did not. It was suggested that rehabilitation for PSD requires rehabilitation professionals to develop a perspective on interventions for mental functions, support for family members in addition to counselling and interventions for physical functions, and the establishment of a continuous support system after discharge.

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This study is about the case of a man, in his late 50s, who was diagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage. His profession was accounting, and his personality had been strict. His wife has been a key person in his life. There was no motor paralysis, but his ADL could not take action without verbal instruction due to deficit of awareness, attention, memory, and aspontaneity. His goal was to be discharged from hospital and to be safe at home, so we planned to prioritize his voluntary behavior, with the cooperation of his wife, through occupational therapy. During the first month, the goal was to have him voluntarily carry his memory notebook, and during the next month, to have him use his alarm device while adjusting to the environment. Then, self-management of medicine became possible. In the last month, we linked the schedule table created by himself to his alarm application. As a result, his schedule management became a habit, and medication management became independent. At the beginning of the introduction of occupational therapy, it was difficult to use external assistive devices because it was always necessary to instruct him how to use it verbally. It can be thought that sharing information with his wife and other professional people about his disabilities and remaining abilities, and also taking unified treatments, makes it possible for him to manage his schedule independently by utilizing external aids.

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