Vol.4,No.1 March,1989　

Title
Effects of the developmental stage of one's identity in social comparison
Author
Yukiko MURAMOTO (The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan)
Summary
The present study had a purpose to examine the relationship between the development of one's identity and social comparison. The hypothesises were as follows: (1) Before people establish their own identities, they tend to compare their self-conceptions with these of others who are similar to themselves (ex. their friends of about their age). At the same time, they want their self-conceptions to be similar to these of similar others. (2) As the identity established, above tendency decreases and shifts to an increase in comparison with dissimilar others who are superior to them. At this stage, people want their self-conceptions to be different from these of similar others. Senior high school students were chosen as subjects, who were in the thick of the developmental stage to establish their own identities. Their developmental stage were measured by 2 methods. They were also requested to respond a questionnaire composed of choices about their way of social comparison. The results supported the hypothesises and suggested that people establish their identities by extending the world around them for social comparison.
Key words
social comparison, identity, developmental stage, development of self-conception
Title
A field study on inhabitants' response to a landslide disaster
Author
Jyuji MISUMI (Nara University)
Tomohide ATSUMI (Osaka University)
Katsuya YAMORI (The Institute for Group Dynamics)
Summary
The inhabitants' response before and after a landslide disaster was examined. The disaster was characterized by the following three distinctive features. First, in one of the damaged areas, the inhabitants were given, a week in advance, an instruction to evacuate because of an eventual landslide. However, no landslide occurred then. Second, in another damaged area, where no pre-instruction were given, there were 26 victims, while no person was victimized to death in the area mentioned above. Third, some inhabitants constituted a committee to cope with the disaster. We conducted a series of research using face-to-face interview and questionnaire method. 145 of the 241 inhabitants answered the questionnaire. The results showed three major points. First, the instruction for evacuation in the case of pre-landslide, was perceived positively by the inhabitants. Second, some interpersonal networks formed by the inhabitants had much positive effects on their coping with the disaster. Third, the inhabitants tended to believe that the landslide was due more to technical and organizational reasons after and before the disaster than to natural ones.
Key words
natural disaster, field study, inhabitants' response to disaster, instruction for evacuation, interpersonal network
Title
Life-style and political attitudes-Empirical study of Japanese university students
Author
Kazuhisa KAWAKAMI (Tokai University)
Ofer FELDMAN (Ibaragi University)
Summary
The purposes of present study were as follows : (1) Among various life-styles the university students have, to extract the life-styles which effect the political attitudes that cannot be explained clearly by the demographic variables such as sex, age, SES, and so on. (2) To examine the correlation between categorized life-styles and political interests, political stance, political participation, political knowledge, media exposure, and party identification. Subjects were 1103 university students and the survey was done from September to October, 1987. The results were as follows : Life-styles were categorized into the five factors (uniqueness, success, intellect, self-achievement, non-activeness) by factor analysis. It was confirmed that those who had strong desire for uniqueness or success had strong political interest. political participation, political knowledge and media exposure. It was also confirmed that those who had strong desire for uniqueness tended to support JSP (Japan Socialist Party) or small parties, and those who were strong desire for success tended to support LDP (Liberal Democratic Party).
Key words
life-style, political interest, party identification, media exposure, value
Title
The influence of self-consciousness on motives and responses of anger
Author
Hideki OHIRA (University of Tokyo)
Summary
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of self-conciousness on motives and responses of anger, especially on discrepancy between want and action of responses following anger in an everyday situation. The author administered Averill's "experience of anger" questionnaire and self-consciousness scale to 104 university students. The main foundings were as follows : (1) There were four factors in the responses which were interpreted as direct aggression, displaced aggression, suppression of anger, and nonaggressive problem-solving. (2) The higher private self-consciousness was, the smaller want-action discrepancy in direct aggression, displaced aggression, and suppression of anger. (3) The significant positive correlation was obtained between want-action discrepancy and social anxiety in nonaggressive problem-solving. (4) The significant positive correlation was obtained between public self-consciousness and self-reported justice. And the negative correlation was obtained between want-action discrepancy and justice in direct aggression and displaced aggression.
Key words
"experience of anger" questionnaire, responses following anger, private self-consciousness, public self-consciousness, social anxiety
Title
A study of role-sharing between leaders in a simulated fire
Author
Osamu HAYASHI (Tokyo Institute of Technology)
Summary
In disaster-protection plans, the way of role-sharing is important. The leaders' attitudes about disaster vary, as well as those of the people who follow them. We need to consider the leaders' attitudes in our disaster-protection plans. And, we have to make up many roles to be shared by those who are good at them. In this study, a simulation was made in order to find out "What kind of leader is good at what kind of role?" In the simulation, one subject leads other people in a fire situation. Some of individuals obey the leader and others do not. The subject can share his or her role with another leader in the simulation. Before and after the simulation, the subjects must answer a questionnaire. With the results of the simulation and the questionnaire, it was found that those who obey the official leaders consider social rule more important than those who do not. So, the leadership that is always needed in disasters should be shared by those who are accustomed to obeying the official leaders in such a situation.
Key words
disaster, leading behavior, simulation, role-sharng, aptitude
Title
The effect of distraction and conflict of attention on social facilitation
Author
Maki WADA (Nihon University)
Summary
This study aimed to examine the distraction-conflict theory presented by Sanders, G.S. which explains social facilitation in terms of subject's cognitive processes. From his theory follow three testable hypotheses: (1) the conflict between attention to the task and the distraction during performance would facilitate simple task performance through producing drive effects: (2) task performance with the coactor performing the different task would not be facilitated because of the impossibility to obtain comparison information about one's task performance with the coactor's: (3) more attention to the distraction than that to the task would impair simple task performance. 19 male and 16 female subjects were randomly assigned to one of the following four experimental conditions, that is, performing simple task alone, simple task with the auditory distraction, different task from the coactor's, and different task from the coactor's with the auditory distraction produced by the coactor. Results supported the first hypothesis, while the second was not at all and the third was only partially confirmed. These results suggested the necessity to reexamine the distraction-conflict theory.
Key words
Distraction-conflict theory, Attention, Social facilitation, Simple and different task performance
Title
The empirical examination of a cosmopolitanism scale
Author
Osamu IWATA (Tokushima University)
Summary
A 24-item scale of cosmopolitanism was developed in which subjects were asked to indicate the degree of agreement or disagreement with each statement on its five-point scale. Scales were administered to 107 Japanese undergraduates including 60 female students and 26 female students at a school of nursing. Factor analysis of their responses produced four factors and they could explain over 80 percent of the total variance. The factors were "low ethnic superiority", "orietation to cross-cultural experiences", "awareness of global communities being bounded together by common fate" and "awareness of needlessness of the nation". Determinants of cosmopolitanism and its four factor scores were investigated including sex and various experiences of cross-cultural contact. According to the results, four variables contributed to the total cosmopolitanism score in a relatively greater degree. Those who had higher cosmopolitanism scores were female and studying a foreign language in addition to their studies in foreign language classes, wached TV programs of overseas affairs more often or had a book or two which describe cultures and life of foreign countries.
Key words
internationalization, cosmopolitanism, international relations, attitudes, cross-cultural attitudes