Vol.7,No.2 March,1992
- Title
- Recent Trend in Sex Preferences for Children Among Japanese Couples and Their Socio-economic Differences
- Author
- Hiromichi SAKAI (Institute of Population Problems)
- Summary
- We analyzed sex preference for children among Japanese couples, based on five national sample surveys in 1971, 1976, 1982, 1985, and 1987. Our findings were as follows. (1) Wives' concern about their children's sex has increased, whereas balance sex preference has become less prevalent. (2) The three surveys show that women aged 30-34 had some stronger daughter preference than any other age group, suggesting age-specific differentials in sex preference. (3) Eastern Japan is characterized by stronger son preference than that in western counterpart. (4) Women of higher education revealed stronger son preference than that of others, and vice versa for men. (5) Contrary to expectations, farmers had weaker son preference, compared with other job categories. (6) Contradictions between wives' sex preference and couples' fertility behavior was attributed to husbands' preference.
- Key words
- sex preference, balance sex preference, son preference, daughter preference, ideal sex composition of children
- Title
- The effects of perceived competence and self-determination on intrinsic motivation
- Author
- Mafumi USUI (Dohto University)
- Summary
- The effects of perceived competence and self-determination on intrinsic motivation were investigated. Perceived competence was manipulated by positive or neative verbal feedback. Self-deterermination was manipulated by "cognitive priming questionnaires" (Porac & Meindl, 1982). The subjects were 54 university students. Each subject was randomly assigned to one condition of a two (perceived competence: positive or negative) × three (self-determination: high, control, or low) design. The results showed a significant correlation between perceived competence and intrinsic motivation, but no correlation when there was no self-determination. These results were discussed in cognitive evaluation theory and self-determination theory.
- Key words
- intrinsic motivation, self-determination, perceived competence, feedback, cognitive evaluation theory
- Title
- Difficulty in interpersonal behavior of International students in Japan : Implications of Japanese social skill learning toward cross-cultural adjustment
- Author
- Tomoko TANAKA (Institute for International Education, Hiroshima University)
Takehiro FUJIHARA (Faculty of Integrated arts and sciences, Hiroshima University) - Summary
- In order to determine some of the necessary social skills for cross-cultural adjustment of International students in Japan, their overt behavioral difficulties were analyzed. In the first survey, 24 students described (1) some of the Japanese behavior which were difficult for them to understand and follow, and (2) some of their own behavior which were misunderstood or not easily accepted by Japanese. Responses were summarized through the KJ method into the following six categories: indirect expression; social manners; suppressed expression; relationship with different genders; attitude toward foreigners; and group-oriented behavior. In the second survey, 202 students were asked to list up to three socially difficult situations and 102 valid responses were analyzed. Results showed that the following groups of subjects experienced particular difficulty in aspects that follow: 1. female: social manners, 2. Europeans and Latin Americans: suppressed expression, 3. South-east Asians: attitude toward foreigners. In comparison, the following groups were well off with respect to the following aspects: 1. South-east Asians: indirect expressions, and 2. those who have been in Japan a substantial time: group-oriented behavior. A training model for Japanese social skills was proposed.
- Key words
- Social skill, Cross-cultural adjustment, International students in Japan
- Title
- Macro-behavioral patterns (MBP) in a crowd of pedestrians on a crosswalk : Calculation of MBP by computer graphics
- Author
- Katsuya YAMORI (Kansai Women's Junior College)
Toshio SUGIMAN (Kyoto University) - Summary
- Collective behavior, characterized by specific directional and structural movements, often emerges in crowds flocking together and flowing in limited areas of space. In the present study such organized collective behaviors are called macro-behavioral patterns (MBP). One of the essential properties of MBP is that individual behavior (micro) and MBP (macro) determine each other. It is important to establish measurement methodology for MBP as a first step towards clarifying the dynamic relationship between micro and macro. Two operational concepts (or indices) were developed to measure MBP in a crowd of pedestrians walking on a crosswalk. The "band index" represented the degree to which walking paths of individual pedestrians were confined to a limited number of walking belts. The "size index" measured the number of pedestrians. We made a graphical analysis of still photographs of crowd behavior to calculate these indices. As a result, the fluctuations of the indices adequately corresponded to sequential changes in the movements of a crowd which represent the following four stages: the emergence, establishment, maintenance, and decline of MBP.
- Key words
- collective behavior, crowds, macro-behavioral patterns, micro and macro, pedestrian behavior
- Title
- Studies of Humor phenomenon and Classification of Humor
- Author
- Yukinaga UENO (Tokyo Metropolitan University)
- Summary
- Humor phenomenon can be defined in terms of expression and perception of funny stimuli, such as jokes. Various studies of humor phenomenon are reviewd, and types of humor are categorized in this paper. First, theories and hypotheses on humor are briefly reviewd; the theories discussed are superiority theory, incogruity theory, theories by Freud and Berlyne, theoretical thinking in humanistic psychology, and stress-moderating hypothesis. Each theory along with related studies is examined and characterized in terms of the humor phenomenon framework. It is suggested that the past research in the field has focused mainly on three subjects: 1) motivation behind expression of humorous stimuli, 2) cognitive processes for perceiving such stimuli, and 3) psychological consequences of humor perception. Finally, a new classification scheme for humor in terms of motivation is proposed, with categories of playful, aggressive and support-relief humor, for clear and coherent understanding.
- Key words
- humor, laughter, social motives
