This study aims to elucidate the ontogenetic origin and transmission process of culture-specific person cognition. Specifically, we examined how culture influences the development of moral inference and social evaluation in early childhood by an experimental approach.
Three studies of children aged 6 months to 4 years and their parents suggested that culture-specific person cognition appeared around 3 years of age. Also, it is suggested that the parent's child-directed speech in preverbal infancy may serve as a scaffolding for the child to interpret the other's behavior and that culture-specific attentional processes. In addition, it is considered that we established the research base of developmental research by cultural psychology approaches, which is one of the few in the world.

This study investigated cultural variations in spontaneous (unintended and unconscious) trait inference (STI) by comparing Japanese participants with North American participants. Results indicate that 1) STIs occurred among both American and Japanese participants, 2) STIs were more frequent and more automatic among American than among Japanese participants, and 3) North Americans showed more STIs than spontaneous situation inferences (SSIs), whereas Japanese showed both STIs and SSIs equally.
These results were analyzed based on cultural psychological theories such as thinking style and attribution style, and integrated in a theoretical model that depicts the universal and culture-specific natures of STIs. The results were published in some international journals.

The present study investigated the developmental process of spontaneous trait inferences (STIs) by comparing children and adults. STI is an effortless and implicit process and occurs even when people are not instructed to make such inferences and when people do not have an explicit goal of trait inference. Previous studies had investigated the occurrences of STIs only among adults, so the developmental process of STIs has not been clear.
In this study 276 fifth-graders, 205 seventh-graders, and 390 adults participated in five experiments using a false recognition paradigm and a relearning paradigm. The results suggested that STIs occurred from 9 years of age at the latest. In addition, it was indicated that STIs from behaviors that imply negative traits occur more frequently compared to STIs from behaviors that imply positive traits, and that this negativity effect was shown among children as well as adults.

Previous studies have reported that people tend to spontaneously make trait inferences from exposure to others' behaviors without the intention to do so. In the present study, three experiments investigated the occurrence of spontaneous trait inferences (STIs) among Japanese 5th-graders, 7th-graders, and undergraduates using the relearning paradigm. Results suggested that 5th- and 7th-graders as well as undergraduates showed STIs from behavior descriptions that implied negative traits, although they showed few STIs from descriptions that implied positive traits.

本研究では,「その人らしさ」の推論、すなわち「性格特性(personality trait)」の推論の発達過程を明らかにすることを目的とし、幼児期(5・6歳)から大学生までを対象とした実験および観察による検討を行った。
(1)他者の性格特性の理解の発達は、心の理論とどのように関連するのか?
昨年度の予備実験に基づき材料を作成して、幼児から小学2年生計105名を対象とした実験を行った。具体的には、信念・欲求の理解と、性格特性の推論能力を調べる課題を、同一の被験者に行い、課題間の関連を調べた。その結果、性格特性の因果的な推論能力には,信念・欲求がどのように他の心的概念と関連しているかに関する理解が必要とされることが明らかになった。したがって、性格特性の推論は心の理論の発展として位置づけられることが示唆された。ただし,単に他者の行動から性格特性を推論するといった、性格特性の表面的理解には、信念・欲求の理解が必要とされなかったことから、幼児期には性格特性の推論能力と心の理論の発達はある程度独立に進み、児童期に入ってそれらの心的概念間の関連性の理解も含めたより因果的な心の理論へと発展していくと考えられる。
(2)性格特性の理解は、日常的なコミュニケーションの中でどのように現れるか?
学童クラブ(小学1〜3年生)の自由遊びにおける対人葛藤場面の中で、どのように他者の性格特性を判断し、それに応じた他者の行動を予測するのかについて、事例分析を行った。また児童と大学生を対象とした個別面接により、仮設の対人葛藤場面を紙芝居形式で子どもに呈示して、性格特性が異なる他者がどのような対処方法をとるのかについて予測させた。その結果、児童は1年生においても成人同様、他者の性格特性に応じた対人葛藤方略を予測し、それにより自らの対処方法を調整することが示唆された。

The purpose of this study is to investigate the actual situation of Early Childhood Care and Education in Asian developing countries and make a good relationship with ECCE specialists in each country for the future development of international cooperation. In December 2006, we invited the three professors of the department of ECCE in Hanoi Teacher's University to Ochanomizu University. During this two week's interchange, we shared the rare opportunity to compare the theory and practice of ECCE in both countries. First, we guided them to the kindergartens and the nurseries which realized the ideal of Child-Centered Education. We discussed the advantages/disadvantages when they apply that Japanese method to their practices. It helped them to make clear the things how to prevent the children's right and improve the quality of ECCE. Second, we introduced the latest academic issues related to ECCE-developmental psychology, brain science, international nutrition, family sociology, children's culture, etc. Through these lectures, they can abundant their knowledge and experience in Child Study and can widen their viewpoint of teacher training curriculum. Third, we planed the symposium which Dr.Thai, the director of Hanoi Teacher's University, presented their results of uniformities of kindergarten and nurseries in Vietnam. It contributed Japanese scholars and government staff to reexamine the best way of holistic approach to ECCE.

本研究は、子どもが幼稚園から小学校へと移行するに連れて、どのようにコミュニケーションに必要な能力(特に他者の認知能力)を発達させていくのか、そして、どのようにコミュニケーション様式が変化していくのかについて、環境の変化による影響を絡めながら検討していく。そして、実験的手法と観察・調査を組み合わせて、認知発達と子どもを取り巻く状況の変化を多角的に捉えることにより、幼稚園から小学校への移行をスムーズにするための教育的働きかけに対する示唆を提供することを目的とした。
前年度から継続して、幼稚園卒業前2ヶ月から小学校入学後の観察を行った結果、次のようなことが明らかになった。
・幼稚園の観察
教師が小学校入学を控える子どもにどのようなことばかけを行ったのか、子ども同士のやりとりはどのようなものであるか検討したところ、教師はなるべく子ども1人1人と関わろうとし、子どもがなるべく自身で考えられるような質問形式の発話を行うことが示された。また、子どもは、仲間同士でいざこざを起こしつつも、なるべく子ども同士で解決していこうという姿勢も見られた。
・小学校の観察
小学校入学の翌日から、教師が子どもの適応を促すためにどのような働きかけを行っているかについて、3つのクラスを比較しながら観察を行った結果、クラスの雰囲気が入学後約1週間で異なることが示された。
以上の分析から、小学校に入学する時点では、まだ対人関係の基礎となる能力が発達していないことが示され、教師によるサポートが必要とされることが示唆された。

We sometimes tell prosocial lies in order to stop someone from being upset by the truth. For example, when you receive a disappointing gift from your friend, you may tell him/her, "Thank you, I like this". White lies are observed even among young children. However, it is still unclear how they are motivated to tell white lies. Furthermore, little is known whether educational interventions promote young children to tell white lies in interpersonal settings. This study investigated what factors affect 4- to 6-year-old children's prosocial lie-telling and whether educational interventions are effective to promote children's white lie. Results suggest that around 70% of young children told white lies and evaluated telling white lies positively. The relationship between the development of theory of mind and that of white lie-telling was not significant. When asked the reason to tell a white lie, young children answered other-oriented motivations rather than self-oriented motivations. In addition, children were promoted to tell a white lie after instructed to think about others' reactions and feelings when they told a truth (i.e. "I do not like this"). These results indicate that young children's ability to tell white lies is higher than estimated in previous studies, and educational interventions are effective to promote their prosocial lie-telling. Findings contribute to understanding the trajectory of young children's prosocial development and have educational implications.

This study investigated 2-year-old children's "nurturing behaviors" toward infants using the questionnaire developed by the authors for the purpose of this study. Children's "nurturing behaviors" consisted of "caring," "assistance through adults or objects," and "touching or approaching." They engaged more often in "touching or approaching" than "caring" and "assistance through adults or objects." The nurturing behavior score was higher among children with younger siblings than children without younger siblings, among girls than boys, and among older children than younger children. In addition, younger girls engaged in "nurturing behaviors" as much as boys, but older girls engaged more in "nurturing behaviors" than boys. It was suggested that these differences of "nurturing behaviors" by sex or sibling may be affected by children's development of sex role.

他者の行動観察時に，その人の道徳的特性をどのように認知するのかについて，実験的アプローチにより視線を指標とした検討を行った。その結果，道徳的認知には行動場面のどの要素に視線を向けるかといった注意過程が大きく影響していることが明らかになった。またこのような注意過程には，文化差があることが示された。具体的には，アメリカ人と日本人のいずれも人物により目を向けるが，日本人は状況にも目を向けやすいことが明らかになった。成果を国際誌(Journal of Experimental Social Psychology)に投稿し採択された。