Applied Developmental Psychology

The book sets a new standard for the description and analysis of child rearing and development in a non-Western society. It gives English-speaking readers access - at last - to the fascinating systematic research Japanese psychologists have been doing on Japanese children in a wide variety of contemporary contexts: in families with working mothers, with video games and comic books, in school, and under conditions of disability. Its chapters cover issues ranging from truancy and bullying to literacy and mathematics learning, often with longitudinal data that show developmental as well as historical trends. The results, clearly presented in impeccable and accessible English, provide a multi-faceted cultural understanding of Japanese child development, not as a single portrait of 'The Japanese Child,' but with individual differences, societal complexity and social change as central parts of the picture. - Robert LeVine, Harvard University; ""I am delighted by the landmark publication of this volume edited by Dr. Nakazawa and the Shwalbs, who have contributed so much over the years to the internationalization of Japanese developmental psychology. It presents both empirical and theoretical perspectives on Japanese phenomena that are becoming important aspects of world youth culture through globalization. The research also represents the growing originality of Japanese applied studies."" - Takeshi Asao, President, Japanese Society of Developmental Psychology; ""This finely edited volume is a gem of interdisciplinary scholarship. It follows naturally from the Shwalbs' brilliant 1996 volume (Japanese Childrearing) that focused on historical works and perspectives. Blending developmental, cultural, theoretical and applied perspectives, the Shwalbs and Nakazawa have now assembled a comprehensive view of modern research on child development in Japan. It stands alone as a research anthology for specialists in developmental or cross-cultural psychology; at another level it serves as an overview of Japanese cultural issues."" - Charles M. Super and Sara Harkness, University of Connecticut

• Foreword; Hiroshi AzumaTo the Reader; Irving Sigel.Introduction; David Shwalb, Jun Nakazawa, Barbara Shwalb.Section I. Technology and Media Influences.Chapter 1. Video Games and the Psychological Development of Japanese Children; Akira Sakamoto.Chapter 2. Development of Manga (Comic Book) Literacy in Children; Jun Nakazawa.Chapter 3. Longitudinal Research on Children's Vulnerability to Television; Takashi Muto, Shiori Sumiya, and Mami Komaya.Section II. Cognitive Development and Education.Chapter 4. Cognitive Counseling to Improve Students' Metacognition and Cognitive Skills; Shin'ichi Ichikawa.Chapter 5. Children's Misconceptions: Research on Improving Understanding of Mathematics and Science; Keiichi Magara.Chapter 6. Motivation for Abacus Studies and School Mathematics: A Longitudinal Study of Japanese 3rd–6th Graders; David Shwalb, Shuji Sugie, and Chongming Yang.Chapter 7. Developmental Processes of Literacy in Japan: Kana Reading in Early Childhood; Kiyomi Akita.Section III. Children with Disabilities.Chapter 8. Use of Electronic and Information Technologies for Japanese Children with Developmental Disabilities; Kenryu Nakamura, Mamoru Iwabuchi, and Satoshi Sakai.Chapter 9. Language Interventions Using Scripts for Children with Down Syndrome; Tsutomu Nagasaki and Miho Onozato.Chapter 10. Social Cognitive Development of Autistic Children: Attachment Relationships and Understanding the Existence of Minds of Others; Satoshi Beppu.Section IV. Research on the Family with Policy Implications.Chapter 11. Maternal Employment and Child Development in Japan: A Twelve-Year Longitudinal Study; Masumi Sugawara.Chapter 12. Job-Related Temporary Father Absence (Tanshinfunin) and Child Development; Yuko Tanaka and Jun Nakazawa.Chapter 13. Child Abuse in Japan: Developmental, Cultural, and Clinical Perspectives; Junichi Shoji.Section V. Peer Relations.Chapter 14. School Absenteeism, Bullying, and Loss of Peer Relationships in Japanese Children; Toru Hosaka.Chapter 15. Bullying and Peer Support Systems in Japan: Intervention Research; Yuichi Toda.Chapter 16. Peer Adjustment Processes of a Five-Year-Old Chinese Boy in a Japanese Day Nursery; Makoto Shibayama.