Vol.27,No.2 January,2012
- Title
- Multiple levels of perceived fairness and social protests: Effects of the immutability belief, social efficacy, and estimated costs
- Author
- Nobuyoshi KAWASHIMA（ Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University/Japan Society for the Promotion
of Science）
Ken-ichi OHBUCHI（ Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University）
Tomohiro KUMAGAI（ Faculty of Language and Literature, Otsuma Womenʼs University）
Nobuko ASAI（ Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University） - Summary
- Although public concern about social inequality has increased, Japanese people generally do not appear to be actively engaged in activities for social reform. We hypothesized multiple levels in the perception of unfairness— micro-unfairness based on personal experiences and macro-unfairness based on evaluation toward the whole of society—and predicted that micro-unfairness would lead to more protests compared to macrounfairness（ H1）. We also hypothesized that three psychological variables—immutability belief, low social efficacy, and estimated costs of social changes—would regulate the positive relationship between multiple levels of perceptions of unfairness and protests（ H2）. The results of the social survey held in Japan in 2009 （n＝1398） not only supported H1 but found that the effects of micro-unfairness on protests varied depending on the strength of macro-unfairness. In addition, the results of immutability belief and the estimated costs of social changes basically supported H2, but the results of low social efficacy did not.
- Key words
- social inequality, a sense of fairness, protest, immutability belief, efficacy
- Title
- A thought experiment through evolutionary simulation on ingroup cooperation and conformity in situations of intergroup conflict
- Author
- Kunihiro YOKOTA and Daisuke NAKANISHI（ Faculty of Humanities and Human Sciences, Hiroshima Shudo University）
- Summary
- Previous research has shown that ingroup cooperation tends to flourish in intergroup conflict situations. However, the free-rider problem remains unsolved, even in intergroup con ict situations. In this study, based on multi-group selection theory and cultural-group selection theory, we hypothesized that conformity （frequency-dependent behavior） may contribute to enhancing ingroup cooperation. e results of an evolutionary simulation revealed that ingroup cooperation and conformity can evolve in situations of intergroup con ict. When such con ict is mild, agents who cooperate with ingroup members and adjust their behavior to ingroup cooperation rates facilitate cooperation in their own group. However, no e ect of conformity on ingroup cooperation was observed during intense intergroup con ict, even though conformity continued to evolve. We discuss the implications of these results and suggest avenues for future research.
- Key words
- intergroup conflict, ingroup cooperation, frequency-dependent tendency, multi-group selection,cultural-group selection
- Title
- The effects of self-threat on ingroup projection
- Author
- Takumi WATANABE and Kaori KARASAWA （University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology）
- Summary
- This research deals with determinants of perception of social consensus between the self and ingroup in the minimal group paradigm. Specifically, we predicted that ingroup projection would shield the individual from threats because connection with ingroup members could provide comfort and validate self-concepts. The results confirmed our hypothesis that the manipulation of self-threat invokes enhanced ingroup projection, whereas outgroup projection was not affected by threats to the self. These results are consistent with the previous literature that ingroup members are judged to be similar to the self. Adding to these findings, our data imply that when people are under threat, they tend to project their own traits onto ingroup members for the purpose of self-protection. The findings are discussed within the context of the potential use of self–ingroup relationships as self-defense mechanisms.
- Key words
- social projection, self-threat, self-protection, minimal group, ingroup favoritism
- Title
- Verbal aggression control by perspective-taking activation
- Author
- Michiko TSUNEOKA and Yohtaro TAKANO （The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology）
- Summary
- The purpose of this experiment was to examine a causal relation between perspective-taking and verbal aggression. A participant conducted verbal communication through a computer with another supposed participant （actually, a computer program）. Half of the participants first performed a task that was designed to activate perspective-taking, whereas the other half first performed a different task that was designed not to activate perspective-taking. In verbal communication, it was found that those who had not activated perspective-taking increased the number of instances of verbal aggression as the alleged counterpart became more aggressive, whereas those who had activated perspective-taking did not. This finding suggests that activation of perspective-taking has the effect of suppressing an increase in verbal aggression toward a person who increases verbal aggression.
- Key words
- aggression, perspective-taking, empathy
- Title
- A Study of implicit attitudes toward high-fat foods among female undergraduate students
- Author
- Sachiko YAMANAKA （Doshisya University Graduate School of Letters）
Hiroshi YAMA （Department of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences, Kobe College）
Masao YOGO （Department of Psychology, Doshisya University） - Summary
- This study investigated implicit attitudes toward high-fat foods among female undergraduate students. The existence of conflict between implicit negative attitudes and approach attitudes toward high-fat foods was predicted. Implicit attitudes were measured using the Implicit Association Test （IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998）. This test has two attribute categories: positive–negative and approach–avoidance.In Experiment 1, food stimuli were presented using words. The results showed an implicit negative attitude toward high-fat foods, but no approach attitude. In Experiment 2, pictures were used as food stimuli. Here, the results showed both an implicit negative attitude and an implicit approach attitude toward high-fat food. However, no difference was seen in implicit attitude toward high-fat foods between the group with high intention of intake restraint and the group with low intention. These results partly supported the prediction for this study. The relationships of implicit negative attitudes and implicit approach attitudes toward high-fat foods, and eating behavior, were discussed.
- Key words
- implicit attitude, Implicit Association Test （IAT）, high-fat foods, restrained eating
- Title
- An examination of negative attributional labels for victims of crime: Is “responsibility” attributed to the victims?
- Author
- Yuko SHIRAIWA （Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo）
Sousuke MIYAMOTO （Faculty of Phychology, Meiji Gakuin University）
Kaori KARASAWA （Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo） - Summary
- Previous studies on attribution judgments concerning crime victims have commonly used the term “responsibility” to measure the negative implications regarding victims. However, responsibility is a concept that should be placed upon offenders, not victims. Victims have frequently been judged negatively, but the use of “responsibility” potentially inhibits the accurate understanding of such negative implications. Additionally, in judicial practice, “responsibility” is basically a term attributed to offenders. We therefore observed a certain shortcoming in the current research framework attributing responsibility to victims. Through judicial decisions and interviews with victims, we derived other labels supposedly containing negative victim judgments （“carelessness” and “fault”）, and, together with the label “responsibility,” considered whether people evaluate the victims using such labels. Moreover, to confirm whether these labels point to qualitatively distinct concepts, we examined their relationships with causal attribution. The results revealed that respondents rated the victim significantly lower on responsibility than the other negative labels, and we also found different prognostic factors for the labels. The implications of the study were discussed.
- Key words
- victims of crime, negative judgment, responsibility
