Studies focused on motivation to learn languages other than English or more than 1 language simultaneously have been gaining attention in recent years. However, there are far fewer than those related ...to second language (L2) English learning. To fill this gap, this article explores the evolving motivation of 2 Japanese students who spent 1 academic year learning both English and Chinese on a study‐abroad program in Taiwan. The data consist of semistructured interviews conducted before and during the program along with motivation graphs drawn by the students. The interviews were transcribed, coded, and categorized. The L2 motivational self system and the concept of the ideal multilingual self are used as frameworks to capture the complex experience of learning multiple languages simultaneously. To capture the dynamic and complex nature of motivation, this article also applies three different timescales (microgenetic, mesogenetic, and ontogenetic) to analyze learners’ experiences. The results show how ideal and ought‐to second‐ and third‐language selves emerged along with an ideal multilingual self in 1 of the students while abroad. The interviews also revealed multiple learning experiences and struggles in maintaining balance, with both languages competing for limited cognitive resources and study time.
The QMI (Questionnaire upon Mental Imagery; Betts, 1909; Sheehan, 1967) has been widely used as a multisensory imagery scale to measure the vividness of mental imagery in multiple sensory modalities. ...However, many problems have been identified in the QMI. To overcome such problems, the Psi-Q (the Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire; Andrade et al., 2014) has been recently developed. In this study, we developed the Japanese version of the Psi-Q and examined its factorial validity, construct validity, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability. The results of the analysis indicated that the Japanese version of the Psi-Q has a seven-factor structure (vision, sound, smell, taste, touch, body, and emotion) like the original scale. In addition, sufficient construct validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were confirmed. The Japanese version of the Psi-Q is considered to be a multisensory imagery scale that can replace the conventionally used QMI.
The relationship between trait rumination and working memory has not been well established. Previous studies have shown that high ruminators have poor working memory in general, while others have ...shown that they have superior working memory ability. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that high ruminators have an imbalanced working memory ability, with inferior updating and superior attentional control abilities. A total of 178 graduate and undergraduate students completed three updating tasks: spatial 2-back, running memory, and memory updating; three attentional control tasks: Stroop, Eriksen flanker, and antisaccade; and two short-term memory tasks: dot matrix and digit span. Results of the latent variable analysis did not show any significant relationships between working memory factors, maladaptive brooding, and adaptive reflection. However, we observed imbalanced working memory at the individual task level, and increased reflection associated with superior antisaccade task performance and poor Stroop task performance. These findings suggest that high ruminators have an imbalanced working memory ability across task-specific components inherent in each task, such as oculomotor inhibition. Researchers should investigate the relationships between trait rumination and working memory, especially the aspects of superior ability, in more detail in further studies.
Few studies have investigated the imagery experiences that occur during scale responses on the mental imagery vividness scale. The current study examined and categorizes such imagery experiences. A ...total of 68 adults were presented with visual items of the Japanese version of the Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire (Psi-Q) online. They were then asked to write freely about the imagery experiences. The results of the KJ method revealed three major categories of such experiences: cases in which i) only visual imagery, ii) unspecified sensory modality imagery, and iii) an emotional experience occurred. Next, the visual imagery was classified along six axes (movement, source, realism, presence, perspective, and range of imagined objects). According to these results, various imagery experiences occurred during the scale responses. Future studies should examine the influence of such experiences on vividness measures.
The purpose of this study was to understand the psychological support problems brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and differences in responses to these problems. The results of a web-based survey ...of 318 clinical psychologists showed that 90 % of participants believed that problems occurred due to infection prevention measures, while about half of the participants believed that problems occurred due to changes in the framework of support, such as the introduction of remote psychological support and the reduction of face-to-face support. The four problems that arose in psychological support were “poverty of conversation,” “difficulty in communication,” “difficulty in stable support,” and “disagreement among staff.” Psychologists responded to the problems in three ways: “devising communication,” “verbalization,” and “strengthening multidisciplinary cooperation.” From the results, it was clear that problems such as poor conversation, communication difficulties, and difficulties in stable support occurred in both face-to-face support under infection prevention measures and in the introduction of remote psychological support.
The purpose of this study was to understand the psychological support problems brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and differences in responses to these problems. The results of a web-based survey ...of 318 clinical psychologists showed that 90 % of participants believed that problems occurred due to infection prevention measures, while about half of the participants believed that problems occurred due to changes in the framework of support, such as the introduction of remote psychological support and the reduction of face-to-face support. The four problems that arose in psychological support were “poverty of conversation,” “difficulty in communication,” “difficulty in stable support,” and “disagreement among staff.” Psychologists responded to the problems in three ways: “devising communication,” “verbalization,” and “strengthening multidisciplinary cooperation.” From the results, it was clear that problems such as poor conversation, communication difficulties, and difficulties in stable support occurred in both face-to-face support under infection prevention measures and in the introduction of remote psychological support.
