Faculty Profiles - TAKAI, Jiro

Socio-ecological foundations of altruism toward strangers: An examination focusing on regional differences between north and south India Open Access

Terashima Yuto, Takai Jiro

The Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the Japanese Psychological Association Vol. 84 ( 0 ) page： PC-039 - PC-039 2020.9

Culture moderates the association between social expectations regarding helping and positive affect Reviewed International coauthorship Open Access

Claudia Gherghel, Takeshi Hashimoto, Jiro Takai

Vol. 60 ( 1 ) page： 56 - 60 2020.4

Culture, morality, and the effect of prosocial behavior motivation on positive affect

Claudia Gherghel, Dorin Nastas, Takeshi Hashimoto, Jiro Takai, Aaron Castelán Cargile

Ethics and Behavior Vol. 30 ( 2 ) page： 126 - 149 2020.2

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

© 2019, Copyright © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. We investigated the effect of culture, moral discourse, and motivation to engage in prosocial behavior on benefactors’ positive affect. Participants from three cultures (Japan, Romania, and the United States) responded to scenarios in which they could perform small acts of kindness for different targets. A stronger relationship between agentic and obligated motivation to perform acts of kindness, as well as between obligated motivation and positive affect, was observed for participants from Japan, and for individuals with higher endorsement of the Community Ethic. Agentic motivation to engage in prosocial behavior was related to benefactors’ positive affect, regardless of relationship type.

DOI： 10.1080/10508422.2019.1651651

CiNii Research

Can imagined contact change intergroup attitude in the long run? Reviewed International journal Open Access

Hu, A., & Takai, J.

Intercultural Communication Studies Vol. 29 ( 2 ) page： 1 - 17 2020

Authorship：Last author Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：International Association for Intercultural Communication Studies

The imagined contact method of cognitively manipulating intergroup relations has been reported to be widely successful in improving attitude toward the outgroup. However, little has been reported on its durability. Study 1 was conducted to test the stimulus scenario, involving 282 students who were given either an imagined contact scenario or a control, featuring Chinese as the outgroup. Pre-post measures of intergroup attitude were obtained. Imagined contact group showed some improvement in attitude. In study 2, the same method was applied to non-student participants (N=134), but this time, measurements were taken before, right after, one week after and one month after administering the imagined contact approach. Results indicated that the effect of imagined contact did not dissipate after one week, and even one month, particularly for the perception of social distance, but not for other measures. We discussed the potential of imagined contact in its application as a viable means of improving intergroup attitude toward Chinese in Japan.

Why do people experience loneliness while using social media? Reviewed International journal Open Access

Xu, W., ＆ Takai, J.

Intercultural Communication Studies Vol. 29 ( 2 ) page： 99 - 115 2020

Authorship：Last author Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：International Association for Intercultural Communication Studies

The Cognitive Discrepancy Model of Loneliness (CDML) postulates that people experience loneliness when they perceive a difference between their desired (or expected) and actual levels of social relationships. Although the model has been widely cited, only a few empirical studies support this statement in Face-to-Face context. In the present study, we re-evaluate and expand the CDML in the digital context in two representative East Asian countries, Japan and China. The results partially support the idea of CDML that besides quantity and quality of SNS social activities, the self-defined and socially defined cognitive discrepancies are also potential predictors of feelings of satisfaction and loneliness, but the patterns may differ depending on communication purposes and cultural orientations.

Interpersonal Duty as a Tool for Managing Uncertainty: Uncertainty Threat Changes Negative Affect Reaction Toward Duty Adherence/Violation

Better than average effect regarding altruism for stranger, friend and family member Open Access

Terashima Yuto, Takai Jiro

The Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the Japanese Psychological Association Vol. 83 ( 0 ) page： 3C-012 - 3C-012 2019.9

Yuto Terashima, Jiro Takai

Current Psychology Vol. 38 ( 3 ) page： 836 - 845 2019.6

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：SPRINGER

© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. We investigated changes in negative affect reactions toward interpersonal duty violation/adherence under uncertainty which we refer to as uncertainty threat. One’s feelings of duty and obligation toward the partner may induce him/her to act in accordance to the partner’s expectations, and this functions to free the relationship of uncertainty. However, if the partner fails to conform to his/her duty, we may become uncertain about the future of the relationship, and consequently, experience negative affect, including anger, contempt, and disappointment. We hypothesized that uncertainty threat leads to such negative affective arousal. Uncertainty threat motivates individuals to reduce uncertainty, and hence make them more sensitive toward the source of uncertainty, above and beyond the specific context in which it poses a threat. A series of three experiments were conducted, in which we manipulated uncertainty threat through priming and a distractor task. Participants then read a short scenario in which duty violation or adherence were described, and rated negative affect toward it. Results generally indicated significant interaction effects across the experiments. The effects of scenario manipulation on negative affect reaction were more acute under uncertainty threat than when no threat was present. The present study indicated that duty was not only beneficial for social coordination, but also vital to mask uncertainty and insecurity regarding relationships.

DOI： 10.1007/s12144-017-9660-2

With or Without Empathy: Primary Psychopathy and Difficulty in Identifying Feelings Predict Utilitarian Judgment in Sacrificial Dilemmas Reviewed

Prosocial behavior and well-being in different cultures Open Access

Gherghel, C., & Takai, J.

Bulletin of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Nagoya University (Psychology and Human Development Sciences) Vol. 66 page： 17 - 30 2019.3

Reina Takamatsu, Jiro Takai

Ethics and Behavior Vol. 29 ( 1 ) page： 71 - 85 2019.1

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

© 2018, Copyright © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Drawing from research on moral judgment and affective dysfunction, we examined how trait psychopathy and alexithymia, which are characterized as empathic deficits, relate to utilitarian moral judgments in sacrificial dilemmas. As predicted, primary and secondary psychopathy traits and alexithymia were associated with reduced empathic concern. However, primary psychopathy and difficulty identifying feelings (one of three alexithymia traits), but not secondary psychopathy and other two alexithymia traits, were associated with utilitarian judgments. Moreover, hierarchical regression analysis showed that primary psychopathy, difficulty identifying feelings, and empathic concern made unique contributions to the prediction of direct harm on the victim, whereas alexithymia traits made weaker contributions. Although the lack of affective empathy is found in psychopathy and alexithymia, the process through which the two traits lead to utilitarian judgment in sacrificial dilemmas may be distinct. The present findings add to the growing literature, contributing to a fuller picture of the relationship between empathy, trait psychopathy, and alexithymia.

DOI： 10.1080/10508422.2017.1367684

Emotional competence, conflict management styles, and relational factors: Cross-cultural comparison between Japan and Myanmar. Reviewed Open Access

Min, M. C., & Takai, J.

Intercultural Communication Studies Vol. 28 page： 109 - 131 2019

Effects of relational uncertainty in heightening national identification and reactive approach motivation of Japanese. International journal

Yuto Terashima, Jiro Takai

International journal of psychology : Journal international de psychologie Vol. 53 Suppl 1 page： 37 - 45 2018.10

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

This study investigated whether relational uncertainty poses uncertainty threat, which causes compensatory behaviours among Japanese. We hypothesised that Japanese, as collectivists, would perceive relational uncertainty to pose uncertainty threat. In two experiments, we manipulated relational uncertainty, and confirmed that participants exhibited compensatory reactions to reduce aversive feelings due to it. In Study 1, we conducted direct comparison between relational uncertainty, independent self-uncertainty and control conditions. The results revealed that participants who were instructed to imagine events pertaining to relational uncertainty heightened national identification as compensation than did participants in the control condition, but independent self-uncertainty did not provoke such effects. In Study 2, we again manipulated relational uncertainty; however, we also manipulated participants' individualism-collectivism cultural orientation through priming, and the analyses yielded a significant interaction effect between these variables. Relational uncertainty evoked reactive approach motivation, a cause for compensatory behaviours, among participants primed with collectivism, but not for individualism. It was concluded that the effect of uncertainty on compensatory behaviour is influenced by cultural priming, and that relational uncertainty is important to Japanese.

DOI： 10.1002/ijop.12422

Cross-cultural comparison of university students’ emotional competence in Asia

PubMed

May Cho Min, Md Nurul Islam, Lina Wang, Jiro Takai

Current Psychology Vol. 40 ( 1 ) page： 1 - 13 2018.7

Language：Japanese Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature Emotional competence (EC) refers to individual differences in the identification, comprehension, expression, regulation, and use of one’s own emotions and others’ emotions, (Brasseur et al. in Plos One, 8(5), e62635, 2013) and is known to be culturally construed. Cross-cultural studies involving Asians typically sample one or two cultures as representatives of a collectivistic culture, but we opine to differ, in that these cultures have their distinct character, especially with regard to EC. We investigated the measurement invariance of Profile of Emotional Competence (PEC) with samples collected from four Asian countries, representing three distinct regions of the continent: Myanmar (N = 400), Japan (N = 400), China (N = 436), and Bangladesh (N = 400). We found that the PEC was a robust measure of both intrapersonal and interpersonal EC across these countries. Myanmar showed the highest global EC, followed by Bangladesh, China, and Japan, and significant effects of culture were found in all intrapersonal and interpersonal EC factors. Gender main effect was found in one intrapersonal EC (regulation of own emotions) and four interpersonal EC (identification of, listening to, regulation of, and utilization of others’ emotions), while gender-culture interaction effects were confirmed in two intrapersonal EC (comprehension and expression of own emotions). While cross-cultural studies typically bundle these cultures into one, that of Eastern, we found much variability within them, and they should be deemed independent of one another, especially in terms of EC. The findings enhance our understanding of EC across cultures, in particular with respect to the basis of which interpersonal behavior might differ across these four cultures.

DOI： 10.1007/s12144-018-9918-3

The psychology of culture in Japan

Cross-cultural comparison of relational values of Asians: Analysing the World Values Survey, International Social Survey Programme, and AsiaBarometer Open Access

Min, M. C., & Takai, J.

Bulletin of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Nagoya University (Psychology and Human Development Sciences) Vol. 64 page： 87-97 2018.3

Reina Takamatsu, Jiro Takai

Asia-Pacific Perspectives on Intercultural Psychology page： 32 - 52 2018.1

Language：English Publishing type：Part of collection (book) Publisher：Taylor and Francis

Of late, the psychology of culture has been receiving much fanfare in Japan. This was evidenced by the record attendance of 1, 180 participants at the 2016 Conference of the International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology in Nagoya, Japan. That record attendance was largely due to the high number of domestic attendees. This chapter outlines how the psychology of culture has been developed in Japan, beginning with the introduction of psychology as a Western discipline in parallel with industrial, political, and cultural modernisation as the result of the Meiji reform. During the Meiji era of 1868-1912, dramatic changes pertaining to the government of the nation resulted in rapid industrialisation and economic development, opening up Japan’s doors for foreign influence. At the same time militarisation was accelerated, which gave impetus for colonisation of neighbouring lands. This reform began after the end of sakokushugi, the self-induced isolationism of the island nation, which awakened Japanese citizens to their uniqueness relative to foreign people and cultures.

DOI： 10.4324/9781315158358-8

ユーモア・センスの気質的基盤 ―「状態・特性快活さ尺度 (特性版)」邦訳項目の信頼性・妥当性の検討― Reviewed Open Access

鵜子修司、高井次郎

笑い学研究 Vol. 25 page： 120-135 2018

Language：Japanese Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

Ruch, Köhler, & Van Thriel（1996）の作成した状態・特性快活さ尺度（State-Trait-Cheerfulness-Inventory: STCI）は、ユーモア・センスに関連する気質的基盤として快活さ、真剣さ、不機嫌さの３つを、個人の状態ないし特性として測定す
る尺度である。本研究ではSTCIの特性版（STCI-T）について、各項目の日本語訳を新たに作成し、信頼性・妥当性を検証
した。大学生263名を対象にした調査の結果、オリジナルのSTCI-Tを構成する下位特性（facet）モデルは、各下位特性における信頼性の低さから維持されなかった。その代わり、本研究では下位尺度への修正済I-T相関に基づく項目選定から、暫定的なSTCI-T <49>を構成した。このときSTCI-Tにおける、３つの下位尺度の信頼性は.73から.89であり何れも高かった。ま
た各下位尺度とBig Five、及びwell-beingの指標の相関は、先行研究の結果を再現した。以上から、STCI-T<49>はオリジナル
のSTCI-Tに類似した概念を測定する尺度として、ある程度の信頼性・妥当性を有していると結論付けられた。最後に、本研究
でオリジナルのSTCI-Tにおける下位特性・因子構造が再現されなかった結果の説明として、考えられる可能性について検討し、今後の課題についてまとめた。

DOI： https://doi.org/10.18991/warai.25.0_120

Social projection to outgroups: Japanese students refer to psychologically distant others Open Access

Chieko Yoshihara, Reina Takamatsu, Jiro Takai

Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology Vol. 12 2018

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

© The Author(s) 2018. This study focused on social projection (SP) to outgroups. Two studies were conducted to show that SP to outgroups was greater than to ingroups when an issue is more relevant to the outgroup than to the ingroup and vice versa. These experiments were conducted for students of different schools (N1 = 92, N2 = 203). The results confirmed that students overestimated agreement with working adults when the topic was more relevant to working people. Also, when the topic was relevant to students, they overestimated agreement of other students relative to the working adults. These results suggested the relevance of the opinion was more important than perceived social distance when Japanese students refer to others.

DOI： 10.1017/prp.2018.17