Perceiving a story outside of conscious awareness: When we infer narrative attributes from subliminal sequential stimuli.

Perceiving a story behind successive movements plays an important role in our lives. From a general perspective, such higher mental activity would seem to depend on conscious processes. Using a subliminal priming paradigm, we demonstrated that such story perception occurs without conscious awareness. In the experiments, participants were subliminally presented with sequential pictures that represented a story in which one geometrical figure was chased by the other figure, and in which one fictitious character defeated the other character in a tug-of-war. Although the participants could not report having seen the pictures, their automatic mental associations (i.e., associations that are activated unintentionally, difficult to control, and not necessarily endorsed at a conscious level) were shifted to line up with the story. The results suggest that story perception operates outside of conscious awareness. Implications for research on the unconscious were also briefly discussed.

Disaster myths after the Great East Japan Disaster and the effects of information sources on belief in such myths.

This study examines how well disaster myths were rooted in Japanese people after the Great East Japan Disaster, as well as the effects of information sources on these misconceptions. Five common disaster myths are covered (panic, psychological shock, looting, increases in the crime rate, and material convergence), and information sources were divided into two types: public and private. Three hundred participants were asked how much credit they would give the five myths and which information sources they would rely on in post-disaster situations. The results found that, as in Western societies, these disaster myths do exist among Japanese people. Also, only public sources of disaster information, such as television and Internet news websites, had some effect on the degree of belief in disaster myths, while private sources, such as one's family, friends, and social networking sites, did not. Factors affecting the degree to which people believe in disaster myths are also discussed.

[Determinants of information-seeking about crime and crime prevention: information-seeking on the Internet].

This study explores determinants of information-seeking about crime and crime prevention on the Internet, including how it was influenced by personal conversations with others. An analysis of a web survey of mothers (N = 1,040) of 3-12 years old children in Japan indicated that many mothers briefly saw basic information about crime on the Internet, while only a few mothers sought further details. Structural equation modeling indicated the following results. Overall, an increased frequency of conversations about children's safety with family and friends made mothers realize their own responsibility for crime prevention. It also encouraged mothers to seek more information about crime prevention by increasing their willingness to cooperate with neighbors. However, when individuals' realization of responsibility for crime prevention strengthened their attitudes toward the responsibility of the police and government for crime problems, then these attitudes decreased mothers' information-seeking. Finally, while a heightened frequency of conversations about news contents directly increased information-seeking about crime, such conversations could indirectly weaken mothers' information-seeking when mothers emphasized the responsibility of the police and government.

Rule-breaking in an anonymous situation: when people decide to deviate from existing rules.

The present study examined how soon people would make a decision to break existing rules in an anonymous situation, with particular attention paid to the degree of anonymity. A total of 100 participants were randomly assigned to either a self-reward condition or an other-reward condition, in both of which they were asked to flip a coin twice in each of the four coin-flip trials to win the assigned reward. As predicted, the results showed that only participants in the self-reward condition broke the assignment rules for obtaining the reward, and they only did so in the very last coin-flip trial. In sum, the present findings suggest that people do not break existing rules for material gain as soon as they become anonymized, but some may do so at the very last moment.

[Accumulative effects and long-term persistence of subliminal mere exposure].

We examined the accumulative effects and long-term persistence of subliminal mere exposure. An accumulative exposure condition (100 exposures distributed over five days) and a massed exposure condition (100 exposures in one day) were used in a Go/No-go Association Task (GNAT), with assessments of likability from Time 1 (just after) to Time 6 (after three months). First, a single stimulus was shown subliminally for a total of 100 times. The results indicated that mere exposure effects occurred equally often at Time 1. However, after Time 2, likability gradually decreased under the massed exposure condition, while it did not decrease under the accumulative exposure condition until Time 6. Second, in order to investigate the effect of multiple exposure, five stimuli belonging to a common category were shown 20 times each, for a total of 100 times. An ANOVA suggested that massed exposure had an instantaneous effect on likability, whereas accumulative exposure had a long-term persistence effect. Also, multiple exposures strengthened the mere exposure effect.

[Multiple mere exposure effect: category evaluation measured in the Go/No-go association task (GNAT)].

The effect on likability of multiple subliminal exposures to the same person was investigated. Past studies on the mere exposure effect indicated a correlation between the frequency of repeated exposure to the same stimulus and likability. We proposed that exposure to various stimuli of the same person would have a stronger effect on likability. Participants were subliminally exposed to photographs of a person's face taken from seven angles (multi-angle-exposure) three times each (Experiment 1), or photographs of a person with seven facial expressions (multi-expression-exposure) three times each (Experiment 2). Then, the likability toward the exposed person was measured using the Go/No-go Association Task. The results indicated that the effect of the multiple exposures from various angles was equivalent to exposure to only one full-face photograph shown 21 times (Experiment 1). Moreover, likability was significantly higher in the case of exposure to various facial expressions than for exposure to only a single facial expression (Experiment 2). The results suggest that exposure to various stimuli in a category is more effective than repeated exposure to a single stimulus for increasing likability.

[Effects of subliminal mere exposure to group members on intergroup evaluation: category evaluation measured in the Implicit Association Test (IAT)].

This study investigated the effects of subliminal mere exposure to ingroup or outgroup members on intergroup evaluation as measured in the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Participants first memorized the members of two groups. Then, they were assigned to either group by lot, and completed the IAT for intergroup evaluation (Time 1). In the next phase, half the participants were subliminally exposed to ingroup members and half to outgroup members. Upon completion of the exposure, the same IAT was administered at Time 2. The results showed that participants who were exposed to ingroup members evaluated the ingroup more positively at Time 2 than at Time 1. Participants who were exposed to outgroup members did not show an effect toward the outgroup. The finding that the mere exposure effect occurred only for the ingroup exposure condition suggests that unconscious awareness of the ingroup enhances the mere exposure effect.

[The effects of information about crime on mother's anxiety about crime].

This study examined a causal model that the effect of information about crime on risk perception, anxiety about crime, and crime prevention is mediated by the informational content and source. We measured risk perception and anxiety about crime from a social and an individual perspective. A web-based survey was conducted with mothers (N=1040) who have children aged 3-12 years. The results of structural equation modeling indicated the following. (a) Information about crime given by the mass media, Internet, and hearsay increased the risk perception and anxiety about crime through the impact of informational content (i.e., "feeling that crime is close," "emotional fluctuations," "sympathy for the victims," and "remembering a similar crime"). (b) Hearsay information directly controlled optimistic cognitions. (c) Mass media and hearsay information directly promoted crime prevention. (d) Cognition about the deterioration of security advanced cooperative crime prevention in the neighborhood.

[The influences of interaction during online gaming on sociability and aggression in real life].

This study examined the influences of online gaming on sociability and aggression in real life. It was hypothesized that the effects of online gaming would differ depending on the interaction style of the online-gamers. Online-gamers in Japan (n = 1 477) were asked to respond to questionnaires that measured interaction style during online gaming, the effects of sociability and aggression, as well as social and individual orientation in real life. Factor analysis of the scores for interaction style extracted five factors. Covariance structure analysis indicated that sociable interactions such as "Broadening relations" and "Feeling of belonging" promoted sociability in real life. In addition, "Release from daily hassles" promoted sociability and decreased aggression. In contrast, non-sociable and aggressive interactions decreased sociability and increased aggression. The results also suggested that a social orientation in real life promoted sociable interactions during game playing, while an individual orientation promoted non-sociable and aggressive interactions. These results supported the hypotheses and suggested that online gaming resulted in positive outcomes for those who are socially, but negative outcomes for those who are not.

[Effects of mere exposure on category evaluation measured by the IAT and the GNAT].

Based on mere exposure studies, we proposed that repeated exposure to stimuli belonging to a common category leads to a positive evaluation of that category. Furthermore, to investigate the implicit effects of mere exposure, indirect measures were used. In a series of experiments, participants were repeatedly exposed to mimetic words written in Japanese hiragana or katakana, or nothing (control). Then their evaluations of the category ("hiragana" or "katakana") were measured using indirect and direct measures. In Experiment 1 (Implicit Association Test; IAT), we adopted a traditional design using an exposure paradigm, such that the rating stimuli were identical to the exposed stimuli. Significant effects were observed for both measures. In Experiment 2 (IAT) and Experiment 3 (Go/No-go Association Task; GNAT), we used non-exposed stimuli that belonged to a common category as the rating stimuli. Significant effects were observed only for indirect measures. These results indicate that repeated exposure has unconscious positive effects on category evaluation. Theoretical and methodological implications of the findings are discussed.

[The images of Japanese onomatopoeia: a comparison of ratings using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and the semantic differential method].

Images of "seion" (unvoiced sound), "dakuon" (voiced sound), and "handakuon" (semi-voiced sound) in Japanese onomatopoeia were investigated by using two methods: the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and the semantic differential (SD). Undergraduate students (n=25) completed the six kinds of IATs and SD questionnaires related to the images. The results indicated that "dakuon" was evaluated as being more dynamic and heavier, and "seion" and "handakuon" were evaluated as being more static and lighter by both the IAT and SD methods. However, "seion" was evaluated as being more static and lighter than "handakuon" by the IAT, whereas "handakuon" was evaluated as being more static and lighter than "seion" by the SD method. The differences in evaluation by the two methods are discussed.

[Self-disclosure on the Internet: the effects of anonymity of the self and the other].

The effects of anonymity on self-disclosure were investigated in a CMC (computer-mediated communication) situation by separately manipulating the anonymity of the self and the other. It was hypothesized that anonymity of the self would enhance disclosure, whereas anonymity of the other would decrease it. Female undergraduate students (n = 60) were randomly assigned to a 2 (self: anonymous or non-anonymous) x 2 (other: anonymous or non-anonymous) experimental design. The anonymity of the self and the other was manipulated in the profile, such as the photo, name, and sex of the self or the other, on the computer screen. The results indicated that anonymity of the self decreased the feeling of anxiety, but had no effect on disclosure, whereas anonymity of the other decreased the feeling of closeness and decreased the intimacy of disclosure.

[Anger expressive behaviors and its inhibitory factors in Japanese junior high school students: from the aspect to narcissism and norms].

This study investigated inhibitory factors in anger expressive behaviors among Japanese junior high school students. It also examined the relations between anger experiences and personality traits: verbal expression and narcissism. The result indicated that the factors of "friend relationships" and "cost-reward consciousness" were selected as those which inhibited anger expressive behaviors. Results of a covariance structure analysis were as follows. First, narcissistic personality elicited feelings of anger and depression and cognitions of inflating and calming, which all facilitated aggressive behavior, social sharing, and object-displacement as anger expressive behaviors. Second, verbal expression elicited cognitions of objectifying and self-reproaching, and the former inhibited anger expressive behaviors, though the latter facilitated them. Finally, "cost-reward consciousness" inhibited anger expressive behaviors for boys, while "normative consciousness" inhibited them for girls.

[Black sheep effect and ingroup favoritism in social identity perspective].

Black sheep effect (Marques, Yzerbyt, & Leyens, 1988) and ingroup favoritism (Tajfel, Billig, Bundy, & Flament, 1971) appear to contradict each other with respect to the evaluation of inferior ingroup members. In addition to examining the relationship between the two phenomena, this study also examined the effect of ingroup identification on them. Sixty-one female student-nurses participated in the study. To measure black sheep effect, superior and inferior ingroup and outgroup members were rated on 20 adjectives. Distribution matrices (Tajfel et al., 1971) were used to measure ingroup favoritism. The participants were median split according to their level of group identification. Black sheep effect was found only among high-identification participants, who also showed ingroup favoritism. Ingroup identification had a positive correlation with both ingroup favoritism and black sheep effect. Overall, ingroup favoritism had a positive correlation with the evaluation of superior members, while it had a negative correlation with that of inferior ingroup members.

[Computer mediated discussion and attitude polarization].

This study examined the hypothesis that computer mediated discussions lead to more extreme decisions than face-to-face (FTF) meeting. Kiesler, Siegel, & McGuire (1984) claimed that computer mediated communication (CMC) tended to be relatively uninhibited, as seen in 'flaming', and that group decisions under CMC using Choice Dilemma Questionnaire tended to be more extreme and riskier than FTF meetings. However, for the same reason, CMC discussions on controversial social issues for which participants initially hold strongly opposing views, might be less likely to reach a consensus, and no polarization should occur. Fifteen 4-member groups discussed a controversial social issue under one of three conditions: FTF, CMC, and partition. After discussion, participants rated their position as a group on a 9-point bipolar scale ranging from strong disagreement to strong agreement. A stronger polarization effect was observed for FTF groups than those where members were separated with partitions. However, no extreme shift from their original, individual positions was found for CMC participants. There results were discussed in terms of 'expertise and status equalization' and 'absence of social context cues' under CMC.