ABSTRACT
THE JAPANESE JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY (2020, vol.31)

Vol.31 No.1

◆Watanabe, Kenji (Faculty of Education, Kogakkan University) , Hiraishi, Kenji (Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Nagoya University) & Tani, Iori (Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Aichi Shukutoku University): Examining Relationships between Parenting Skills, Sense of Mutual Trust, and Childrenfs Psychological Adjustment from Mother-Child Data.The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.1, 1-11.

This study investigated the relationships between parenting skills, mother-child recognition for the sense of mutual trust, and children’s psychological adjustment. Further, mother-child data were gathered for mothers and children, who ranged from fifth grade elementary school to third grade junior high school. Thus, two factors were identified, namely, “understanding respect skills” and “morality skills.” Mothers assigned higher scores to elementary school students compared to junior high school students for understanding respect skills and sense of mutual trust; the elementary school students had higher scores than junior high school students on every scale. Girls particularly had higher scores than the boys in understanding respect skills, morality skills, and sense of mutual trust. Conversely, boys had higher scores than girls in self-esteem. Understanding respect skills recognized prediction of mothers’ and children’s sense of mutual trust and children’s psychological adjustment. Thus, it was concluded that sense of mutual trust influenced children’s psychological adjustment.

yKeywordsz Parenting skills, Sense of mutual trust, Child’s psychological adjustment, Mother-child data


◆Jikihara, Yasumitsu (Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba) & Ando, Satoko (Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba): The Relation between Parental Conflict and Cooperation Postseparation or Postdivorce and Adolescent’s Psychological Distress and Adjustment. The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.1, 12-25.

This study investigated the ways in which postdivorce or postseparation parental conflict and cooperation affect adolescents’ and adults’ psychological adjustment as mediated by psychological distress associated with their parents’ separation or divorce. Adolescent men and women aged 18-29 years (N = 275) whose parents separated when they were 6-15 years of age and who started living with their mothers were analyzed. We developed the following hypothesis: parental conflict and cooperation, as well as parenting time, affect adolescent’s psychological distress associated with separation or divorce and their current psychological adjustment. Hence, we conducted a gender-based multigroup analysis. The results revealed correlations between parental conflict and adolescent’s self-esteem, depression, and anxiety, facilitated by their perception of conflict, “self-blame,” and “abandonment of childlike characteristics,” expressing psychological distress associated with parents’ separation or divorce. Moreover, parental cooperation was found to be correlated with adolescent’s self-esteem, depression, and anxiety; reduced “self-blame” and “abandonment of childlike characteristics” were mediated by the “feeling of parenting time” and “mothers’ emotional support.” Finally, this research discussed paths indicating significant sex differences.
yKeywordsz Divorce, Children, Parental Conflict, Parental Cooperation, Psychological Adjustment


◆Hatano, Kai (Development Center for Higher Education, Osaka Prefecture University), Sugimura, Kazumi (Department of Psychology, Hiroshima University), Nakama, Reiko (Graduate School of Education, Hyogo University of Teacher Education), Mizokami, Shinichi (Toin University of Yokohama) & Tsuzuki, Manabu (Faculty of Letters, Chuo University) : Developmental Tendency of Identity in Adolescence and Young Adulthood and Relationships between Identity and Life Satisfaction. The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.1, 26-36.

This study aimed to examine relationships between identity and life satisfaction in adolescence and young adulthood based on an extensive cross-sectional survey. Participants in this survey included a total of 14,428 adolescents and young adults (55.2% female) (Mean age=20.55, SD=4.13) . First, multivariate analysis of variance indicated that early and middle adolescents scored high on synthesis when compared to late adolescents and young adults; whereas, late adolescents and young adults scored high on confusion when compared to early and middle adolescents. Second, cluster analysis identified four identity profiles: high synthesis, high confusion, both high, and both low. Third, chi-square tests revealed that early and middle adolescents tended to be classified into high synthesis, while late adolescents and young adults were classified into high confusion. Fourth, correlation analysis showed that synthesis was positively related to life satisfaction, and confusion was negatively related. Last, analysis of variance indicated that the high synthesis profile scored higher on life satisfaction when compared with the high confusion profile. Implications and future directions are discussed.
yKeywordsz Identity, Adolescence, Young adulthood, Satisfaction with life


◆Takahashi, Noboru (Faculty of Education, Osaka Kyoiku University) & Nakamura, Tomoyasu (Fuculty of Human-Environment Studies, Kyushu University) : Phonological Awareness of Japanese is More Than a Precondition of Reading Hiragana.The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.1, 37-49.

Phonological awareness is a premise of reading, and weakness in phonological awareness leads to its failure. Thus, the appropriate assessment of phonological awareness is essential for the extension of appropriate support for reading acquisition by children. This study aimed to develop a Japanese phonological awareness test based on the item response theory ( IRT) (Study 1) . Two parameters, difficulty and discrimination, were calculated for each item on the basis of results obtained from a total of 875 children aged 3-6 years. Next, the relationships among phonological awareness, hiragana reading, vocabulary, and grammatical skills were analyzed in Study 2, a cross-sectional examination of 163 four- to sixyear- olds, and in Study 3, a longitudinal assessment of 25 children. Similar to previous investigations, it was confirmed that phonological awareness is a factor that informs the reading of hiragana. The study demonstrates that phonological awareness is related to other language skills such as vocabulary and grammar. The results of the longitudinal study suggest that phonological awareness promotes the later development of vocabulary and grammar.
yKeywordsz Phonological awareness, ATLAN, Reading hiragana, Vocabulary, Grammar


Vol.31 No.2

◆Hayashi, Akie (Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Nagoya University) & Nakaya, Motoyuki (Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Nagoya University). The Relation between Situational Help-seeking Styles and School Adjustment. The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.2, 55–66.

This study contributes to the literature on the relation between situational help-seeking styles and school adjustment. The aim of this study was to develop measures of how high school students seek help from peers or teachers and to investigate how these autonomous and dependent differences influence school adjustments. A questionnaire on help-seeking styles and school adjustment was completed by 453 high school students (227 males, 221 females, and 5 who did not reveal their gender) aged 15 to 18 years. Factor analysis showed that each help-seeking scale had two factors. The reliability was established by a Cronbach's alpha (α＝.65～.91), and the construct validity and content validity were established at a given level. An analysis of variance indicated that an autonomous help-seeking style was positively associated with various situations such as academics, career, etc., while a dependent help-seeking style in social relationship situations was positively associated with school adjustment. These results indicate that a dependent help-seeking style has a negative effect in academic domains but may have a positive effect in social relationship domains.

yKeywordsz Help-seeking styles, Situational help-seeking styles, High school students, School adjustment


◆Minakuchi, Keigo (Faculty of Education, Ehime University) & Yuzawa, Masamichi (Graduate School of Education, Hiroshima University). Effects of Instructional Design on Behavior of Students with Poor Working Memory. The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.2, 67–79.

This study contributes to the literature on the relation between situational help-seeking styles and school adjustment. The aim of this study was to develop measures of how high school students seek help from peers or teachers and to investigate how these autonomous and dependent differences influence school adjustments. A questionnaire on help-seeking styles and school adjustment was completed by 453 high school students (227 males, 221 females, and 5 who did not reveal their gender) aged 15 to 18 years. Factor analysis showed that each help-seeking scale had two factors. The reliability was established by a Cronbach's alpha (α＝.65～.91), and the construct validity and content validity were established at a given level. An analysis of variance indicated that an autonomous help-seeking style was positively associated with various situations such as academics, career, etc., while a dependent help-seeking style in social relationship situations was positively associated with school adjustment. These results indicate that a dependent help-seeking style has a negative effect in academic domains but may have a positive effect in social relationship domains.

yKeywordsz Help-seeking styles, Situational help-seeking styles, High school students, School adjustment


◆Itoh, Keiko (Faculty of Education and Humanities, Jumonji University), Yasuda, Tetsuya (Department of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Denki University), Kobayashi, Harumi (Department of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Denki University) & Takada, Eiko (Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University). Pragmatic Ability of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Guessing Intentions of Utterances. The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.2, 80–90.

This study examined whether children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) could determine the intentions of others' utterances. In the experiment, 17 ASD children and 13 typically developing (TD) children were asked to interpret a speaker's intentions in a video stimulus depicting a mother–son interaction. Although both ASD and TD children had difficulties in interpreting jokes and irony, both groups identified differences between the literal and intended meanings of the speakers' utterances. Evaluation of the participants' eye gaze data revealed that ASD children focused on context-related objects for a longer time than TD children, but TD children looked longer at other objects. Gaze frequencies for both types of objects were higher in TD children than in ASD children. ASD and TD children focused on the speaker's eyes for equally long time. This study suggested that if the related information is saliently presented, ASD children can understand a speaker's intentions. Moreover, helping ASD children to pay attention to potentially important but implicit contextual information may be important for improving their overall comprehension of verbal cues.

yKeywordsz Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Guessing the Speaker's Intentions, Eye Gaze, Pragmatics


◆Migiwa, Ifu (Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University) & Oshio, Atsushi (Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University). Age Differences in Curiosity Traits among Japanese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study. The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.2, 91–97.

Previous research shows that intelligent curiosity motivates intellectual activity. Such curiosity is associated with the health of mind and body throughout life. The present study examines age and gender differences in epistemic curiosity among Japanese adults. Participants were 4,376 Japanese adults (2,896 men) who participated in an online survey. Their mean age was 51.8 years. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that epistemic curiosity differs with age and gender. Diverse curiosity shows a curvilinearly increase with age while specific curiosity increases linearly with age. Men show higher diverse curiosity than women, whereas no gender difference is observed for specific curiosity. These results are discussed with reference to previous studies showing relationships between epistemic curiosity and openness to new experience.

yKeywordsz Epistemic curiosity, Diverse curiosity, Specific curiosity, Age differences


Vol.31 No.3

◆Yoshii, Sadahito (Graduate Faculty of Interdisciplinary Research Faculty of Education, University of Yamanashi), Wakai, Kotaro (School for the Mentally Challenged at Otsuka, University of Tsukuba), Nakamura, Susumu (Faculty of Education, Teikyo University), Morizawa, Ryosuke (School for the Mentally Challenged at Otsuka, University of Tsukuba) & Nagasaki, Tsutomu (Departement of Human Sciences and Arts, Jissen Women's University).Acquisition Process of the Shared Cooperative Activities in a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Study Using Joint Action Routine Procedure in the Lessons of Special Needs Education School.The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.3, 105–117.

This study examines the possibility of acquisition of the shared cooperative activities in a child with autism spectrum disorder through intervention. The child was taught by employing joint action routine procedure for the purpose of acquiring cooperative activities that include problem-solving and social games. Consequently, he enhanced his cooperative behaviors in two types of activities and developed re-engaging behaviors when his social partner ceased to participate at certain time intervals. He then generalized two types of cooperative activities at multiple scenes. Finally, he initiated joint attention at home and school simultaneously, as he was able to perform a limited problem-solving activity. Moreover, these results were discussed on the basis of the perspectives such as requirements of cooperative activities with shared intentionality, relationship between performing cooperative activities and initiating joint attention, and intervention method to facilitate the acquisition of cooperative activities.

yKeywordszChild with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Shared Cooperative Activities, Intervention Using Joint Action Routine


◆Sasaki, Shingo (Faculty of Literature, Nagoya Women's University) & Naka, Makiko (College of Comprehensive Psychology, Ritsumeikan University). Effects of Instructions on Recalling Event Memory: Tell me “Roughly” or “Exactly”.The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.3, 118–129.

In this study, the effects of two instructions, which suggested different levels of precision, namely, tell me roughly or exactly on recalling events were examined. The sample comprised 62 and 58 first-grade and fourth-grade children, respectively and 60 undergraduates. They were asked to recall a text describing a school sports day with one of the instructions that were given separately as a between-subject factor in study 1 and consecutively as a within-subject factor, which would enable the participants to compare the two instructions, in study 2. The results of study 1 revealed that the participants reported more coarse information for important units when employing exactly whereas they were more inclined to withhold unimportant information when employing roughly. In study 2, they provided verbatim information for important units when exactly was used and withheld relatively important information when roughly was used; however, children found this difficult. These results suggest that individuals regulate the level of precision depending on the context. The implications for forensic interviews are discussed.

yKeywordszMemory recall, Events, Precision of information, School children, Forensic interview


◆Taniguchi, Aya (Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University/JSPS research ferrow DC1) & Yamane, Takahiro (Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University). The Effect of Presenting Diagnostic Labels on Stigma of Autism Spectrum Disorders.The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.3, 130–140.

The purpose of this study was to examine how the presentation of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Asperger Disorder (AS) diagnostic labels affects stigma toward ASD and its relationship to knowledge of ASD among university students. Questionnaire-based surveys were conducted on 346 university students. They rated their stigma on two vignettes that described students who met ASD symptom criteria (restriction of interest, difficulty in social interaction) and were asked to label as “ASD condition,” “AS condition,” or “No diagnostic condition.” Results showed no differences in scores on stigma across the three labels. Subsequently, we explored the influence of knowledge about ASD on the degree of stigma toward people with diagnosed and undiagnosed conditions. Findings showed that a lower score on stigma toward a diagnostic condition was associated with a higher knowledge of the condition in both cases. Based on these findings, it is suggested that stigma toward ASD was not influenced by diagnostic labels alone, but is more influenced by the relationship between the presence of diagnostic labels and level of knowledge about ASD.

yKeywordszAutism Spectrum Disorder, Asperger Disorder, Stigma, Knowledge, Diagnostic labels


◆Tagawa, Kaoru (Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo). Mechanisms of the Higher Risk for Physical Abuse of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD): Associations among Parental Cognitive Risk Factors and Characteristics of Children with ASD.The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.3, 141–159.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at a greater risk for physical abuse by their parents than children without ASD. This study reviews the previous research on parental cognitive factors based on social information processing for physical abuse in children with ASD. Three child factors were associated with these parental cognitive factors: behavior type, degree of the behavior issue, and disability existence and type. The hypothesis was that potential mechanisms for this abuse are that the epidemiological characteristics of ASD, atypical behavior patterns, and severe behavior issues may affect the parental cognitive factors. Furthermore, high-functioning children with ASD may be exposed to higher risk because their disorders are not easily perceived as a “disorder” and thus adequate expectations for or appraisals of the child's behaviors are often difficult. These difficulties may result from discrepancies between and among the child's total IQ, abilities within each cognitive domain, and behavioral adjustment; in addition, these patterns may differ among individuals. Implications for future research are also discussed.

yKeywordszPhysical abuse, Social Information Processing for Physical Abuse, Parental cognitive risk factors, Children with autism spectrum disorder, High-functioning


Vol.31 No.4

◆Nagataki, Shoji (School of Global Studies, Chukyo University). Epistemology, Media, and Digital Revolution: From a Philosophical Viewpoint.The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.4, 171–182.

In epistemological terms, most of our cognition is shaped in a mediated way rather than by personal, sensory experience. Scientific technology represents one of the most significant modern media to arbitrate human cognition, as may be exemplified by Galileo's use of the telescope to expand the knowledge of astronomy. Contemporary digital devices can be positioned in the genealogy of this optical instrument.This paper, first, analyzes human cognition and behavior through the concept of media, and positions the digital revolution in an epistemological context. It then explores the implications of the digital revolution for the human apprehension of the morality that drives the actions of our vulnerable species. Finally, I suggest a desirable prospect for digital media.

yKeywordszBody, (Post)phenomenology, Vulnerability, Digital media


◆Sakata, Yoko (Aichi-Shukutoku University, Department of psychology.). Does Simulated Rearing of Pet Robots Develop Children's Biological Understanding?.The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.4, 183–189.

With advances in digitalization, it has become possible to obtain information from digital devices without actually experiencing them and use that knowledge in actual experiences. In this study, we examined whether preschoolers can learn biological concepts by interacting with pet robots. In Study 1, for two conditions—a static robot and a moving robot—it was observed that preschoolers considered the robots as inanimate when these were stationary and as animate when the robots moved. In Study 2, when preschoolers reared a robot instead of a living creature for one month, many utterances and instances of interaction similar to as with an organism were observed during the early days. However, after two weeks, the robots were perceived as boring and irrelevant. Thus, the effect of the educational instruction was ineffective after two weeks. From the two studies, it was observed that when the contact time between the robot and the child was short and the presence/absence of “movement” was switched in an instant, the preschoolers perceived the presence of movement in the robot as the movements of a living creature. However, the preschoolers did not perceive monotonous movement of the robot similar to a living creature when the robot took a long time to move. Thus, it can be concluded that “movement” does not always contribute to the acquisition of biological concepts and it is important to study the quality of robot movement.

yKeywordszPreschoolers, Digitization, Robot, Biological concept, Bored


◆Ito, Takashi (Faculty of Education, Hokkaido University), Nakajima, Toshihiro (Hokkaido University of Education Sapporo) & Kawata, Manabu (Research and Clinical Center for Child Development, Faculty of Education, Hokkaido University).What Do Sensor-Based Human Activity Recognition Technologies Bring to the Field of Developmental Psychology?.The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.4, 190–200.

We examined how new computer technologies influence the methodologies of developmental psychology. Focusing on sensor-based activity-recognition technology, we divided previous studies into two categories: those that focused on “places” where sensors were placed (on the human body or in the environment) and those that focused on a “research goal.” The research goal category was further divided into two subcategories: (i) constructing a developmental theory or model for explaining the developmental process and (ii) supporting child rearing and caring. Using this categorization, we reviewed previous studies that focused on children's behavioral development processes using sensors. The problems of adopting sensing technologies included the following: (i) recognition inaccuracies, (ii) temptation to use all available sensors without deep consideration, (iii) lack of participants'privacy, and (iv) risk of sensor data affecting the direction of educational practice. The advantages of using these technologies include the following: (i) enhanced understanding of the impact of children's everyday experiences on their developmental process, (ii) new possibilities for research on children's activities that are difficult to observe, and (iii) prompt feedback to the participants.

yKeywordszDigitalization, Sensor, Human activity recognition, Longitudinal study, Feedback to child-care worker


◆Kusaka, Nahoko (Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts), Suemune, Yosimichi (Creative Orca Inc.), Shimomura, Atsuko (Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts) & Ueda, Nobuyuki (Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts). Potential of Collaborative Learning among Multiple Generations to Teach Programming for Lifelong Development. The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.4, 201–212.

Today's rapidly changing society places higher significance on collaborative learning, which integrates one's life experiences through interaction with others and fosters the meaning of life in interpersonal relationships. This research develops a collaborative system involving community senior citizens and college students who participated in programming education for elementary school students (compulsory since 2020) to explore the core concept of a community practice connecting multiple generations through learning. The “DANCE Method” programming workshop was developed using a robot dance programming system and designed based on three components: accepting diversity, utilizing technology, and creating an environment that engages many generations. Focusing on changes in multigenerational relationships through activities, we validated the community formation process and found three factors that support a multigenerational community: (1) a shared altruistic purpose that lets everyone play the role of a teacher, (2) a multilayer project structure that promotes diverse roles, and (3) equal opportunities to use technology.

yKeywordszCollaborative learning, Creative thinking, Programming learning, Multi-generation


◆Yamamoto, Makoto (Seiwa Gakuen College). The Development of Facial Expression Control in Preschool and Elementary School Children: Understanding Emotions and Facial Expression-Making Skills. The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.4, 213–225.

This study examined the two most potentially important factors involved in the control of facial expressions: emotional understanding and facial expression-making skills. 101 child participants aged 4–6 years old were given three tasks. First, two children played a card game, and the change in their facial expressions was measured. Second, the children listened to two stories and were asked about “the positive/negative effects of negative/positive expressions.” Third, the children were asked to make eight types of faces expressing four emotions: happy, sad, angry, and surprised, with two intensities: very and little. The main results were as follows: (1) The first facial expression control task score correlated with age and (2) the scores for the second emotional understanding task and the third facial expression-making task correlated with the facial expression control task scores. These results suggest that the development of facial expression control in preschool and elementary school children progresses with the development of emotional understanding and facial expression-making skills.

yKeywordszControl of facial expressions, Emotion regulation, Emotional understanding, Facial expression-making skills, Preschool and elementary school children


◆Kakihana, Shinichiro (Faculty of Psychology, Meiji Gakuin University). Factors in Kana Letters That Influence Young Children's Error Patterns in Letter Naming and Their Changes in the Learning Process. The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 2020, Vol.31, No.4, 226–235.

We examined factors that influence error patterns in kana letter naming. In study 1, using data on young children's naming errors (NINJAL, 1972), we investigated (1) effects of phonological and formal similarity on frequency of pairs of the target letter and the response (hereafter right/wrong pairs) and (2) causes of the phenomenon in which the frequency of right/wrong pairs is asymmetric (e.g., 240 for ‚Ę–‚ˁC30 for ‚Ë–‚Ę). For (1), ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed that factors of consonant, vowel, and formal similarity contributed independently to the frequency level of right/wrong pairs, but the extent of contribution of formal similarity was much greater than that of the other factors. As for (2), we found that in highly frequent pairs in asymmetric cases, the appearance frequency of wrong letters was significantly higher than that of right letters. Using recent data, Study 2 examined naming errors' developmental change. Results showed that beginners made more formal errors than advanced learners, whereas the reverse was true for formal-phonological errors.

yKeywordszNaming Errors, Reading Development, Kana Letters, Language Development