Vol.21,No.2 November, 2005

Title
Evaluation gap and conversation length between middle-aged married couples
Author
Reiko TSUCHIKURA (Hokkaido Bunkyo University)
Summary
This questionnaire study examined the correlations among perceived relationship quality, marital activities, and conversation length in 177 middle-aged married couples. The results showed that: (1) conversation length was significantly correlated with the gap between a husband's and wife's evaluation of the quality of their relationship (EQR); (2) conversation length was positively correlated with EQR, but only for the wife; and (3) the degree of a respondent's under- or over-estimation of a partner's evaluation was not correlated with conversation length on both EQR and evaluation of activities. Results suggested that conversation length only affected the overall perception of relationship quality with a partner for the wife. Further, conversation length did not affect the degree of a respondent's under- or over-estimation of his/her partner's evaluation.
Key words
evaluation gap, husband and wife, conversation length, relationship quality, middle-aged married couples
Title
Female college students' judgment criteria for determining gender equality in the workplace, domestic labor, and childrearing situations
Author
Miyoko UI (Doctoral Program in Psychology, University of Tsukuba and Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science)
Summary
This study examined the criteria employed in judging the presence or absence of gender equality for dividing roles and resources between men and women in 3 situations-the workplace, domestic labor, and childrearing. Two hundred and forty six female university students responded to the questionnaire. The results indicated individual differences regarding the importance of the principles of "traits of men and women" and "equality". On the other hand, the importance of the other criteria varied according to the situations. In a workplace situation, "equal opportunity" and the principles of "individual ability", "effort", and "need" were perceived as important. "Procedural justice based on discussion" in a domestic labor situation, and "the procedural justice based on one's decision" and the principles of "individual ability" and "effort" in a childrearing situation were considered as important.
Key words
gender-egalitarianism, sex role attitude, sexism, social justice theory, feminism
Title
Rumor transmission from the viewpoint of interpersonal communication
Author
Ippei TAKENAKA (Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba)
Summary
The purpose of this study was to investigate the 3 points which relate to rumor in everyday conversation, from the viewpoint of interpersonal communication. The first point was the rate of passing on rumors, the second was the relations between rumor and everyday conversation, and the third was factors exerted on rumor transmission. Three hundred undergraduates (Study 1) and 315 undergraduates (Study 2) completed the questionnaires regarding the frequency of their passing on rumors, their relationship with the transmission partner, various evaluations of the contents of it, and everyday topics in conversation. Study 1 was carried out in May, and Study 2 in November. As a result of analysis, it is suggested that rumor fulfills the function of making up for a shortage of topics.
Key words
interpersonal communication, topic, rumor, everyday life, conversation
Title
The social support system for elderly Japanese women in a small regional city:An examination of a hierarchical compensatory model
Author
Masao NOBE (Faculty of Education, Okayama University; Japanese Studies Centre, Monash University)
Summary
The purpose of this paper is to examine a hierarchical compensatory model in the social support networks of elderly women in a small city. To gather empirical evidence, a sample survey of 523 elderly women who were between 65 and 79 years of age was conducted from 1997 to 1998 in Takahashi City, Japan. Analysis of the data has revealed the following: (1) The perceived most dependable source of support was family members in the same household (other than their spouse) for care when hospitalized, and their spouse and other family members in the same household when borrowing money. The family members living together formed the primary group responding to the various needs of elderly women. (2) The spouses of elderly women, other family members living with them, the children and their spouses living apart from the women, other relatives, neighbors or friends, in that order, usually provided assistance that compensated the most, when instrumental social support from more preferred sources was unavailable. In contrast, neighbors or friends generally gave assistance that compensated the most, when emotional social support from other sources was unavailable.
Key words
social support, a hierarchical compensatory model, elderly women, a task specificity model, a small regional city
Title
When prophecy in fortune telling "comes true"
Author
Koshi MURAKAMI (Faculty of Human Sciences, Osaka University)
Summary
It has been said that the reason why fortune telling in popular magazines (for women) is seen to "come true" derives from the authoritarian personality of the reader combined with the Barnum effect given by the text. However, past research had focused mostly on fortune telling of a personal character, and very few studies have been carried out which investigate matters of luck or fortune itself.
The aim of this research is to investigate how people come to believe that a particular instance of fortune telling has actually "come true," focusing on the use of a "determination view of fate" as a descriptive style of text, and paying attention to both the presentation of material and the reader's cognition process, in four different studies.
The "determination view of fate" is described as not varying no matter how readers act; it is something that readers accept as a set of values. For the purposes of this research, using the fortune telling descriptions in women's magazines, a line was drawn between cases in which the reader actually judged the contents as "likely to come true" (predictions) and those that actually "come true" (results), and the contents were analyzed.
Consequently, among those who believed the prophecy at the stage of prediction and later judged it to have "come true," certain structures of a self-fulfilling nature were seen to be held in common. In the light of the contents of the text, both negative and other contents described as non-variable "fortune" contents were judged to have "come true."
Although it can be concluded that, based on such results, fortune telling was recognized as actually dealing in "fortune," it is conjectured that it evokes in the reader a feeling of hitting the mark through a revelation of fate. The reason why negative contents "come true" is discussed from the viewpoints of memory and content evaluation. The study indicates that those who believe in fortune telling do not do so because of authoritarianism, but rather because of flexible interpretation.
Key words
fortune telling, "come true", the determination view of fate
Title
The study on the determinants of satisfaction in marital relationship and a sense of fulfillment
Author
Junko AKAZAWA (Imabari Meitoku Junior College)
Summary
The effects of variables of the social exchange model for gender role division on satisfaction level in a marital relationship and sense of fulfillment were analyzed based on the data of 236 couples, whose children's average ages were 18 or younger. The major findings are as follows. 1) It is suggested that a husband's egalitarianism in terms of gender roles enhances his commitment to housework. 2) The higher a wife's income, the greater is her husband's commitment to housework. 3) Except for perceptions of comparison level, satisfaction in a marriage is highly dependent on a husband's perception of the other's-outcome (efforts and accomplishments), and a wife's perception of the other's-outcome, together with her own achievements in housework. 4) In addition to comparison level for alternatives in both husbands and wives, a husband's perceptions of self-input and the other's-outcome in an income-generating job, and a wife's perception of the other's-outcome and her own achievements in housework affect the sense of fulfillment. Such differences are thought to be caused by differences in the quality of labor that occur in gender role division.
Key words
satisfaction in a marital relationship, division of labor by gender, social exchange model
Title
The relationships among normative consciousness, individual traits, and frequency of whispering during college lectures:Focusing on adjustment to college life
Author
Takuhiko DEGUCHI (Faculty of Human Life Sciences, Fuji Women's University)
Toshikazu YOSHIDA (Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Nagoya University)
Summary
The purpose of the present research was to investigate the relationships among normative consciousness, individual traits, and the frequency of private conversations, in the form of whispering, amongst students during a college lecture. In the first study, the relationships among normative consciousness against whispering, perspective taking, social skills, and the frequency of whispering were examined through a questionnaire survey consisting of 251 respondents. The results showed that students who whispered frequently indicated high perspective taking or social skills. In the second study, the relationships among the goals of college life, normative consciousness, and the frequency of whispering were focused upon. The relationships between whispering and feelings of adjustment were also investigated. A questionnaire survey was conducted, and 369 responses were obtained. The results showed the following. (1) Despite having a high normative consciousness, students who valued the development of interpersonal relationships during college life were more likely to have conversations irrelevant to the lecture. (2) There were positive relationships between whispering and feelings of interpersonal adjustment.
Key words
whispering, norm consciousness, perspective taking, social skill, adjustment