Socio-Economic Marginalization and Compliance Motivation Among Students and Freeters in Japan

Frontiers in Psychology

article

I-Ting Huai-Ching Liu¹  Yukiko Uchida²  Vinai Norasakkunkit³ 

[1] Graduate School of Human and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto University;Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University;Department of Psychology, Gonzaga University, United States

关键词: Hikikomori;    NEET;    freeter;    marginalization;    self-consistency;    social proof;    compliance motivation;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00312

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

This study examines the compliance motivation of students and Freeters when facing a marginalization risk situation evoked by priming. Freeter (part-time employers), NEET (not in education, employment, or training), and Hikikomori (social withdrawal) represent the socio-economically marginalized population in Japan. People at higher risk of becoming NEET and Hikikomori have shown a motivation pattern deviant from mainstream Japanese culture, including lower willingness to conform to in-group members, thus showing less cultural fit (Norasakkunkit and Uchida, 2014 ). In this study we explore the effect of the macro socio-economic situation (job-hunting prospects being good or bad) on individual's compliance motivation in both students and Freeters. Sixty-five Kyoto University students and 74 Freeters were randomly assigned to one of the two priming conditions (marginalization risk or non-marginalization) before completing the NEET-Hikikomori Risk (NHR) scale and measurements of compliance motivation to conform to in-group members or to be self-consistent (Cialdini et al., 1999 ). Twenty-three control group students and 22 control group Freeters were also recruited online for comparison. Results showed that marginalization risk priming led to lower tendency to be self-consistent among students, but did not lead to lower tendency to conform to in-group members. For Freeters, marginalization risk priming led to higher compliance motivation to conform to in-group members. The results confirmed the framework proposed by Toivonen et al. ( 2011 ) that both Freeters and students in Japan have ritualist reactions, continuing to maintain the cultural norms despite the difficulty of attaining the cultural goals.

【 授权许可】

CC BY