Vol.20,No1 July, 2004

Title

Effect of relevant affect on message elaboration: Information processing strategies of print-media advertisements

Author

Tomoe TANAKA (Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University)

Summary

The effect of affective states which stem directly from an advertisement (relevant affect) on elaboration of the same ad was investigated. It was predicted that a positive relevant affect would lead a continued processing strategy motivated by affect maintenance, whereas negative relevant affect would lead a stop-processing strategy motivated by affect improvement. Thus, positive rather than negative affect would enhance elaboration of ad messages. In Experiments 1 and 2, positive or negative affective states were induced through print-media advertisement. Following this, the extent of the message elaboration of the same ad was measured by a recall task. In Experiment 3, positive or negative affective states of participants were manipulated by an ad identical to or different from the target messages (relevant or irrelevant affect). The three experiments consistently demonstrated that positive relevant affect enhanced elaboration more in comparison to the negative relevant affect. These results were clearly different from the findings of research using irrelevant affect. The different processing strategies induced by relevant affect or irrelevant affect were discussed.

Key words

relevant affect, irrelevant affect, elaboration, information processing strategy, advertising messages

Title

An experimental study of self-effacement and self-enhancement among the Japanese

Author

Naoto SUZUKI and Toshio YAMAGISHI (Graduate School of Letters, Hokkaido University)

Summary

This study investigated the cognitive basis of self-effacing behavior among the Japanese. Based on the premises that self-effacement among the Japanese is a form of “default self-presentation," we predicted that Japanese self-effacement will dissipate when actual self-evaluation is required. The experiment (n =110) consisted of two phases. In Phase 1, participants took a “cognitive ability test" that consisted of 20 questions. In Phase 2, they were asked to judge if their performance on the test was above or below the average performance level in their school. In the bonus condition, participants were rewarded for making a correct judgment in their performance. In the fixed-reward condition, no reward was provided for making a correct judgment. The results from experiments 1 and 2, taken together, indicate that self-effacement observed in the fixed-reward condition was not confirmed in the bonus condition. These results suggest that self-effacement among the Japanese is a strategy for self-presentation, which they switch on and off depending on the situation.

Key words

self-effacement, self-enhancement, self-evaluation, self-presentation

Title

Do people pursue distributive justice over social efficiency-: The functioning of Pareto optimality in group decision making

Author

Ryo TAMURA and Tatsuya KAMEDA (Graduate School of Letters, Hokkaido University)

Summary

This paper addresses psychological dilemmas between pursuing distributive justice and sacrificing social efficiency in reward allocation. Previous research by Ohtsubo, Kameda, & Kimura (1996) showed that individuals often commit themselves to a specific distributive principle (such as equality or equity), endorsing a reward allocation scheme that is subjectively fairer but objectively inferior in terms of Pareto optimality. We have revisited this phenomenon in a reward allocation context by groups. Participants were first provided a scenario in which a group of people won a prize by collaboration, and were then asked to evaluate various reward allocation schemes as a neutral third party. Participants in the group condition discussed these schemes and made a collective recommendation in three-person groups. Participants in the individual condition made the identical decision alone. The results revealed that groups recommended a less fair, but Pareto-superior allocation scheme more often than individuals working alone. A follow-up experiment indicated that accountability of decisions to the beneficiaries underlies the enhanced role of Pareto axiom in group decision making.

Key words

distributive justice, reward allocation, Pareto axiom, group decision making, accountability

Title

Behavior toward senpai in university clubs: Focusing on group formality

Author

Yosuke ARAI (Doctoral Program in Psychology, University of Tsukuba)

Summary

This study aimed to examine the determinants of behavior toward senpai (a high-status person - in terms of age, knowledge, skill, experience, and so on in Japan.) from kouhai (the opposite of senpai) in university clubs. In study 1, six aspects of behaviors (courtesy, obedience, friendship, reference, conflict avoidance, and aggression) were identified. Study 2 explored the relationships among these six behaviors, two group factors (group formality and group cohesiveness) and social power of senpai, with 238 college students as participants. The main findings were as follows: (1) Path analyses revealed that although group factors and social power elicited courtesy, obedience, reference, and conflict avoidance, while only social power affected friendship. (2) Positive social power influenced all behavioral aspects excluding conflict avoidance, while punishment power influenced obedience and conflict avoidance.

Key words

in-group behavior, behavior toward senpai, club, group formality

Title

The causal attribution of mood and the amount of the cognitive resources as determinants of the mood-congruent effect

Author

Nobutaka GUSHIKEN (Graduate School of Human Informatics, Nagoya University)
Kaori KARASAWA (Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University)

Summary

This study examined the effect of cognitive resources on inhibition of the mood-congruent effect to reveal the automaticity of the process proposed by the mood-as-information theory. One-hundred and fifty-three participants made judgments either under positive or negative mood. The amount of cognitive resources was also manipulated by restricting time for judgment. Results showed that, only when cognitive resources were not restricted, the mood-congruent effect was inhibited through attribution toward the origin of the mood. Therefore, these results suggest that the mood states serve as information for judgments rather automatically, while cognitive effort is required to inhibit an application of mood to judgments. The discussion considered the adaptive significance of saving cognitive resources by automatically applying mood to judgment.

Key words

mood-congruent effect, mood-as-information theory, causal attribution of the mood, cognitive resource, automaticity

Title

Determinant factors of residents' acceptance of flood risk

Author

Tadahiro MOTOYOSHI and Kenji TAKAO (National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention)
Saburo IKEDA (Institute of Policy and Planning Science, University of Tsukuba)

Summary

People living in areas where the risk of flooding is potentially high need to accept such risks, and prepare accordingly for floods. The purpose of this study was to examine factors that affected the residents' levels of acceptance of flood risks. A questionnaire-based survey was administered to residents ( N =2811) living in the area affected by the Tokai flood disaster of September, 2000. Items were designed to probe for residents' attitudes toward flood risks, acceptance of flood risks, concerns about society, and rationale-based awareness of risks in society. Using structural equation modeling, we found that self-responsibility for flood preparedness and trust in public administrative authorities had a positive impact on the respondents' acceptance of flood risks. We also found that desire to attain zero risk negatively affected the residents' acceptance of flood risk. In addition, we examined how rational recognition of risks in society, and concerns about society affected attitudes towards flood risk.

Key words

flood risk, public acceptance, disaster, risk communication

Title

Direct and indirect self-enhancement after evaluative feedback

Author

Chihiro KOBAYASHI (Graduate School of Human Science, Osaka University)

Summary

Self-enhancement tendencies among the Japanese were examined with regard to both direct and indirect self-evaluation. Self-esteem and the level of motivation toward recovering one's lowered self-esteem (manipulated through success-failure feedback after a creative ability task) were examined in an experiment with 99 participants. The results revealed that direct self-enhancement (rating the self positively on trait dimensions) was positively related to self-esteem, although indirect self-enhancement was related both to the kind of feedback received and self-esteem level. More specifically, participants evaluated their future, and their in-group members positively when they received negative feedback, and derived more motivation toward recovering self-esteem. The study contributes to the understanding of the role played by direct and indirect self-enhancement in the psychology of the Japanese.

Key words

Key words:direct self-enhancement, indirect self-enhancement, evaluative feedback, self-esteem