How Do Japanese Perceive Individualism? Examination of the Meaning of Individualism in Japan

Ogihara, Yuji; Uchida, Yukiko; Kusumi, Takashi

doi:10.2117/psysoc.2014.213

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Therefore, our research contributes to revealing the dynamic aspects of culture. Moreover, cultural change toward greater individualism in historically individualistic cultures and collectivistic cultures may have different implications ( Ogihara and Uchida, 2014 ; Ogihara et al, 2014 ). Hence, it is important to present empirical data showing the rise of individualism not only in European American cultures, but also in East Asian cultures that have been historically collectivistic ( Hofstede, 1980 ; Triandis, 1995 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, overly unique names such as kirakira names may have negative connotations that parents who give kirakira names are not well-educated, because of an assumption that names should be readable while kirakira names are difficult or impossible to read. Standing out in a not-yet-fully individualistic culture might be related to some negative impacts ( Ogihara and Uchida, 2014 ; Ogihara et al, 2014 ). To reveal how cultures change and how people adapt to such changes, it is also important to investigate the adaptiveness of unique names.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are common names becoming less common? The rise in uniqueness and individualism in Japan

et al. 2015

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We examined whether Japanese culture has become more individualistic by investigating how the practice of naming babies has changed over time. Cultural psychology has revealed substantial cultural variation in human psychology and behavior, emphasizing the mutual construction of socio-cultural environment and mind. However, much of the past research did not account for the fact that culture is changing. Indeed, archival data on behavior (e.g., divorce rates) suggest a rise in individualism in the U.S. and Japan. In addition to archival data, cultural products (which express an individual’s psyche and behavior outside the head; e.g., advertising) can also reveal cultural change. However, little research has investigated the changes in individualism in East Asia using cultural products. To reveal the dynamic aspects of culture, it is important to present temporal data across cultures. In this study, we examined baby names as a cultural product. If Japanese culture has become more individualistic, parents would be expected to give their children unique names. Using two databases, we calculated the rate of popular baby names between 2004 and 2013. Both databases released the rankings of popular names and their rates within the sample. As Japanese names are generally comprised of both written Chinese characters and their pronunciations, we analyzed these two separately. We found that the rate of popular Chinese characters increased, whereas the rate of popular pronunciations decreased. However, only the rate of popular pronunciations was associated with a previously validated collectivism index. Moreover, we examined the pronunciation variation of common combinations of Chinese characters and the written form variation of common pronunciations. We found that the variation of written forms decreased, whereas the variation of pronunciations increased over time. Taken together, these results showed that parents are giving their children unique names by pairing common Chinese characters with uncommon pronunciations, which indicates an increase in individualism in Japan.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are common names becoming less common? The rise in uniqueness and individualism in Japan

et al. 2015

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“…Why this has not occurred in Japan may be because, historically, Japan has not been an individualistic culture. As a result, rapid changes toward individualism may have caused people to experience conflicts and difficulties in adapting to it Ogihara, Uchida, & Kusumi, 2014).…”

Section: Temporal Changes In Self-esteem In Japanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Losing Confidence Over Time

2016

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We examined temporal changes in self-esteem among elementary and middle school students in Japan. Previous research has shown that self-esteem decreased among various sectors of the population, from middle school students to adults between 1984 and 2010 in Japan. However, it was unclear whether such temporal changes are also present at earlier stages of development (e.g., in elementary school) and in individual subgroups (e.g., each gender and developmental stage). Identifying such boundary conditions of temporal change will contribute to a better understanding of how cultures change over time. We analyzed representative and large-sample time-series data collected by the Japanese government in 1999 and 2006. Results showed that self-esteem decreased among elementary and middle school students regardless of gender and developmental stage. We suggest that from an early stage of development and among a broad range of the population in Japan, people’s general self-evaluations became more negative between 1999 and 2006.

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“…We analyzed six independent web surveys administered to a large and diverse sample in Japan. (20)]. We recruited participants from every prefecture in Japan on the internet via research firms.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Developmental Trajectory of Self-Esteem Across the Life Span in Japan: Age Differences in Scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale From Adolescence to Old Age

Ogihara

Kusumi

2020

Front. Public Health

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We examined age differences in global self-esteem in Japan from adolescents aged 16 to the elderly aged 88. Previous research has shown that levels of self-liking (one component of self-esteem) are high for elementary school students, low among middle and high school students, but then continues to become higher among adults by the 60s. However, it did not measure both aspects of self-esteem (self-competence and self-liking) or examine the elderly over the age of 70. To fully understand the developmental trajectory of self-esteem in Japan, we analyzed six independent cross-sectional surveys. These surveys administered the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, which measured both self-competence and self-liking, on a large and diverse sample (N = 6,113) that included the elderly in the 70s and 80s. Results indicated that, consistent with previous research, for both self-competence and self-liking, the average level of self-esteem was low in adolescence, but continued to become higher from adulthood to old age. However, a drop of self-esteem was not found over the age of 50, which was inconsistent with prior research in European American cultures. Our research demonstrated that the developmental trajectory of self-esteem may differ across cultures.

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How Do Japanese Perceive Individualism? Examination of the Meaning of Individualism in Japan

Cited by 17 publications

References 16 publications

Are common names becoming less common? The rise in uniqueness and individualism in Japan

Are common names becoming less common? The rise in uniqueness and individualism in Japan

Losing Confidence Over Time

The Developmental Trajectory of Self-Esteem Across the Life Span in Japan: Age Differences in Scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale From Adolescence to Old Age

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