Vol.11,No.2 December,1995　

Title

Effect of psychological reactance on acceptance of the threatened positions : What are the ordinary effects of attitude-consistent threat to freedom?

Author

Shuzo IMAJO (Hokkaido University of Education, Hakodate)

Summary

In this study it was hypothesized that reactance would increase the tendency to accept the threatened positions (positions on the opposite side and neutral position), even when reactance arousal did not reduce positive opinion change. Subjects under the high threat condition read an attitude-consistent and high-pressure message. A low threat message involved no expressions involving high-pressure. Subjects under the control condition read no message. The results revealed that there was no difference between the compliance in the low and high threat conditions, and both were greater than the opinion change in the control condition. On the other hand, subjects under the high threat condition perceived the prohibited positions as more agreeable than subjects under the low threat condition. These results support the hypothesis, and it would further suggest the effects of the reactance which is aroused by attitude-consistent threat. When the degree of prerequisites for reactance is low, high-pressure support will result in moderate compliance, accompanied by subjective responses to reactance (e.g., hostility) and an increased tendency to accept the threatened positions.

Key words

psychological reactance, resistance to persuasion, attitude change, persuasive communication, attitude-consistent threat

Title

Gender-related role evaluation of self-concept and gender schema : A causal analysis of motherhood/fatherhood

Author

Itsuko DOHI (Kwansei Gakuin University)

Summary

The purpose of this study was to consider the following hypotheses; 1) Gender schema would facilitate the following sex-typed evaluation; femininity is important for females, masculinity is important for males. On the other hand, gender schema would restrain the tendency of the following non-sex-typed evaluation; femininity is important for males, masculinity is important for females. In the case of the females, gender schema would facilitate femininity, and it would restrain masculinity. 2) Evaluating humanity as important traits for both of females and males would restrain gender schema. 3) Being gender-aschematic would facilitate orientation to both of motherhood and fatherhood. Two hundreds and twenty-one female junior college students responded to humanity, femininity, masculinity on self-concept (Itoh, 1978) and desirability for females and males, and femininity-mother, masculinity-father and adult on desirability for themselves in the future. (Yamaguchi, 1985) The results were as follows; 1) The role evaluations toward femininity/masculinity and femininity/masculinity did not consist of only one factor, i.e., gender schema. On the contrary non-sex-typed evaluation facilitated androgyny. 2) Humanity measured in the present strdy was estimated as a part of masculinity, so the effect of humanity toward gender schema was not supported. 3) Androgyny facilitated orientation to adulthood, containing motherhood and fatherhood.

Key words

gender schema, femininity/masculinity, humanity, motherhood/fatherhood, androgyny

Title

Effects of social categorisation and a personal trait on the evaluation of others

Author

Toshikatsu KAKIMOTO (Yonezawa Women's College)

Summary

The purpose of the studies was to investigate the effects of group membership on the evaluations of ingroup and outgroup others, and to explore the potentially mediating effect of a personal trait. The "contextualism" was examined as the personal trait since this was hypothesized to concern the degree to which group membership is integrated into one's self concept-the central issue of the idea of social identity. A preliminary study examined validity and reliability of a scale to tap this individual difference with the previous (n = 3883) and new data (n = 99). In the main study, 46 subjects participated in a minimal group experiment after answering the contextualism scale. The primary dependent measures were evaluative ratings of anonymous people and their writings from ingroup and outgroup. On the whole, evaluative ingroup bias was evident. While the degree of ingroup bias was positively related to the contextualism for person evaluation, no such relation was found for writings evaluation. Mechanisms to produce ingroup bias were discussed.

Key words

social categorisation, minimal group, group membership, ingroup bias, the "contextual" model

Title

Long term effects from bullying on a victim and the differences between the victim's self-perception and the victim's perception of other victim

Author

Tomohide BANZAI (Faculty of Education, Saitama University)

Summary

This study has the following two aims. First, it is aimed at investigating the effect of a victim's coping style with bullying with regard to resolving bullying problems. Second, it is aimed at exploring long term effects of bullying on a victim. The main results of the first part of this study were as follows: 1. The active reaction of victim's to the assailant increased the rate of improvement or complete resolution of the bullying problem. When a victim asked somebody (for example, his/her school mates, family, teacher, or all of the above) to help, the results indicated improvement or complete resolution. However, no resistance by a victim increased the possibility of continuing bullying. 2. Bullied experiences have long term influences on a victim in various ways such as physical, active, social, and psychological. In the second study, the victim's self-perception and his/her perception of other victims concerning the long term influence of bullying were compared. The victim's self-evaluation was significantly smaller than his/her evaluation of other victims. These results were analysed from victim's defensive attitude, and differences in perception between actor and observer.

Key words

lasting influences, university students, bullying, self-other perception, victim

Title

Intergroup discriminations and attitudinal similarity in majority and minority groups

Author

Kenichi KUBOTA (University of Tsukuba)
Fujio YOSHIDA (University of Tsukuba)

Summary

Two studies using the minimal group paradigm were conducted to investigate the intergroup discrimination in an experimentally created minority and majority groups. In both studies, subjects were divided into the minority and the majority group by drawing lots, and asked to allocate points between other ingroup members and outgroup members. In the first study, it was found that the minority group showed significant ingroup favouritism whereas the majority group did not. The minority group was more aware of their membership in the group than their counterpart. In the second study, subjects were led to believe that the minority group and the majority group had either similar or different social attitude. On the whole, both the minority and the majority group favoured a similar group and discriminated against a dissimilar group. The effects of attitudinal similarity in minimal groups were discussed.

Key words

minimal group paradigm, ingroup favouritism, minority group, majority group, attitudinal similarity

Title

The Psychology of Evil : A Situationist Perspective on Recruiting Good People to Engage in Anti-Social Acts

Author

Philip G. ZIMBARDO (Psychology Department, Stanford University)

Summary

A situationist perspective on the causes of anti-social behavior by individuals and violence sanctioned by nations is illustrated through experimental research and social-historical analyses in which "ordinary," good men and women are induced into behaving in evil ways. This social psychological view is contrasted with the more traditional dispositional focus on the internal, or personality-based, causes of anti-social behavior. The research foundation of this article demonstrates the Lewinian principle that it is possible to investigate social phenomena vital in the "real world" using experimental procedures. The presentation features my laboratory and field studies on deindividuation, aggression, vandalism, and the Stanford Prison Experiment, along with a process analysis of Milgram's obedience studies, and Bandura's analysis of Moral Disengagement. This body of research demonstrates the under-recognized power of social situations to alter the mental representations and behavior of individuals, groups and nations. The immediate context for this talk will be the current epidemic of violence in the U.S. My paper is an elaboration of the slide-based lecturegiven to the Society of Japanese Social Psychology in Osaka, 1994.

Key words

evil, violence, situational power, dispositional analyses, social psychology, ideology

Title

A critical review of studies on the self as an index of mental health

Author

Yumi ENDO (Ritsumeikan University)

Summary

Traditionally accurate perception of self has been thought as essential for mental health. Some researchers argue, in contrast, that self-serving biases (i.e., tendencies to view oneself in unrealistically optimistic and positive term) are characteristic of normal human thought. Self-enhancement is one of the most reliable findings in Western cultures. However, the tendency to assume universality in psychological processes often results in the neglect of important cultural factors. In fact, many cross-cultural studies have found little or no such self-serving bias in Japan. Existing evidence suggests that relation between mental health and self may depend upon culture, and relational self rather than isolated self may be more significant for considering mental health in Japanese culture.

Key words

mental health, self-serving bias, self-concept, accurate perception of self, culture