Rolefulness is a psychological concept that refers to a person's continuous sense of role satisfaction in their daily lives. This study introduces the rolefulness development theory--that social rolefulness emerges from social experiences first and then facilitates internal rolefulness. Hence, using a sample of high school students, this study…

Background: Although sense of coherence (SOC) moderates parental stress, the relationship between SOC, parental mental health and physical punishment of children with intellectual disabilities remains uncertain. The present authors describe parental physical punishment towards children with intellectual disabilities and investigate its related…

Memory construction and national identity are key issues in our societies, as well as it is patriotism. How can we nowadays believe and give sense to traditional narrations that explain the origins of nations and communities? How do these narrations function in a process of globalization? How should we remember the recent past? In the construction…

The authors provide a sociohistorical overview of the development of the counseling profession in Japan. They describe Japan's major social, cultural, and political changes; growing psychological problems in Japanese society; and an increased need for counseling services. Historical overviews and the current state of counseling are presented with…

We conducted this cross-sectional study among 392 Japanese and 294 Vietnamese mothers who attended routine child health visits in a Japanese city and at a tertiary hospital in Vietnam, in order to investigate the prevalence and associated sociodemographic, parenting, and psychological characteristics of low maternal confidence in child rearing…

Our main objective in this paper is to evaluate the possible association between interpersonal mistrust and unhappiness among Japanese people. Based on cross-sectional data for the Japanese general population from the Asia Barometer Survey (2003-2006), we analyzed the relationship between interpersonal mistrust and unhappiness using a logistic…

This book attempts to shed light on the seemingly contradictory aspects of Japanese behavior. Separate chapters, grounded in interaction-oriented social scientific theory, focus on the themes of social relativism, belongingness, empathy, dependency, occupying the proper place, reciprocity, situational interaction, early socialization, selfhood,…

This paper discusses the image of the "Ibasyo" or psychologically comfortable space of children not attending school. It suggests that psychological healthiness is dependent upon whether or not an individual has his or her individual space. The images of psychologically comfortable space through the "circle, triangle, and…

This article presents a case study of a Japanese adolescent with autism who strongly perceived inanimate things (Kanji characters) as real persons. Physiognomic perception is investigated as a characteristic mode of autism, and its effects are discussed. It is concluded that the poor cognitive-language ability of some autistic people may shape…

Older Japanese adults had a positive family image and more positive perceptions of their present selves. Younger adults were more positive towards friends and future self-image. Women had consistantly better self-concepts. Both groups were negative toward aging but positive toward the aged. (Author/JAC)

An attempt to impose Western values on Japan through the education system after World War II had no lasting success after the withdrawal of western occupation troops. (JD)

A research review of ability and effort studies in the United States and Japan finds: (1) effort considered the primary determinant of achievement in Japan; (2) different concepts; and (3) the Japanese fostering task involvement through cooperation. Social structure may account for the attributional patterns of Japanese children. (SLD)

Individualistic and competitive striving and group dynamics were compared for 42 fifth grade and 42 eighth grade Japanese boys in central Tokyo using a card-stacking procedure. Results are discussed in terms of social loafing versus social striving and behavior patterns of Japanese adults. (SLD)

A recently begun longitudinal study of a trend toward credentialism or qualifications-orientation among adult students in six countries (India, Japan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and England) is described. The development of measures of student learning orientations for different cultures is discussed. (MSE)

This paper presents the 1992 findings of a three-nation longitudinal study of the psychological effects of computer use during primary school. Results are based on an analysis of Likert-type ratings by 3,036 students in grades 1 through 3 at 21 elementary schools in Japan (1,236 students), the United States (1,072 students plus 247 Hispanic…