This study investigated the directional influence of prosocial motivation for mask-wearing, which is an infection-prevention behavior, on individuals' subjective well-being and loneliness. I also examined the psychological mechanisms mediating these effects. Two short-term longitudinal studies were conducted using a four-wave weekly panel design. Study 1 (January and February 2024) included 1,301 Japanese adults. Study 2 (January and February 2025) included 1,231 unmarried Japanese employees. Analyses using random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM) did not detect significant cross-lagged effects of prosocial motivation for mask-wearing. However, cross-lagged panel model analyses (CLPM) showed higher prosocial motivation in the preceding week predicted greater satisfaction of relatedness needs in the subsequent week. This satisfaction was associated with higher positive affect (Studies 1 and 2) and reduced loneliness (Study 2). Therefore, prosocial motivation demonstrated significant, although weak, indirect effects through relatedness satisfaction. In the discussion, I consider the influence of prosocial motivation for mask-wearing on emotional well-being and interpersonal experiences through a comparison of the RI-CLPM and CLPM results.

Individually-tailored psychological assistance considers client preferences and has been linked to various positive effects of psychotherapy. However, a method for evaluating client preferences has not yet been developed in Japan. This study aimed to create a Japanese version of the Cooper-Norcross Inventory of Preferences (C-NIP) to effectively assess clients' preferences for psychotherapy. We also explored the method's factor structure, reliability, and validity. In total, 240 undergraduate and graduate students (Study 1) and 663 adults (Study 2) participated in two online questionnaire surveys. Confirmatory factor analysis and correlation analysis confirmed the Japanese version of the C-NIP displayed a four-factor structure, acceptable internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and some convergent validity. We discuss the scale's psychometric properties and offer insights for further research in clinical practice.

Bedtime procrastination refers to the act of delaying going to bed despite recognizing the potential negative consequences. Although existing measures assess delays in bedtime, they fail to capture the underlying intentions and motivations. This study aimed to develop a scale that reflects the diverse behavioral patterns and motivations underlying bedtime procrastination to allow examination of how individuals with different patterns of procrastination behave and subsequently experience sleep-related issues. In Study 1 (N = 408) and Study 2 (N = 453), we developed the “Bedtime Procrastination Scale,” which measures three patterns of procrastination: deliberate procrastination, mindless procrastination, and strategic procrastination. The scale demonstrated validity in terms of its generalizability, structural aspects, and external evidence. Furthermore, Study 3 (N = 406) revealed that these three patterns were associated with sleep hygiene behaviors and sleep-related problems through different mechanisms. Finally, the implications for further research using this scale are discussed.

A subgoal refers to an intermediate goal that represents a subdivision of the actions required to achieve a final goal. This study focused on the role of subgoals as reference points to address the issue of low motivation during the high-progress phase of goal pursuit when subgoals are set. The process of assessing one's current status using reference points in goal pursuit is termed progress monitoring. Progress monitoring can be categorized into two frameworks: a to-date frame, which uses the starting state as the reference point, and a to-go frame, which uses the final goal as the reference point. Motivation tends to increase as the distance from the reference point decreases. We manipulated subgoals (absence vs. presence) and progress monitoring (to-date vs. to-go) in a laboratory experiment. The results showed that motivation in the high-progress phase was significantly higher in the to-go condition than in the to-date condition when subgoals were present. These findings suggest that the use of a to-go frame can mitigate the motivational decline during the high-progress phase when subgoals are present.

Dancing is known to reduce anxiety and depression, and appears to be more effective than other forms of exercise (e.g., bicycling), listening to music, or a combination of such activities. However, the factors responsible for these effects remain unclear. Therefore, this study focused on the creative process as a factor to test the hypothesis that the creative process in dance reduced anxiety and depression. In total, 109 university students individually performed an improvisation or imitation dance online for approximately 20 minutes. Participants completed psychological measures of anxiety and depression before and after dancing. The results showed that both types of dances significantly reduced anxiety and depression. However, inconsistent with our hypothesis, there were no significant differences between improvisation dance and imitation dance in the improvement of anxiety and depression. Although the results suggest the creative processes may not contribute to reducing anxiety and depression, we considered participants' limited creative experience and the possibility of alternative mechanisms.

This study investigated how trait benign envy enhanced academic performance within the framework of achievement goal theory. Two longitudinal surveys were conducted. Survey 1 followed 297 female undergraduates, and Survey 2 followed 232 female high-school students. First, we tested the applicability of the Japanese version of the Benign and Malicious Envy Scale, which is a measure of trait benign and malicious envy, in another undergraduate sample. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the original factor structure. The same structure was subsequently confirmed and further validated in a high-school sample, which supported the scale's applicability to a younger age group. Next, structural equation modeling was used to examine the link between envy and test scores, with achievement goals as mediators. In both surveys, trait benign envy positively predicted test scores through the mediating effect of performance-approach goals, whereas trait malicious envy showed no association with achievement goals. These findings suggest individuals prone to benign envy may attain higher academic performance, potentially because of their dispositional tendency to strive to outperform others.