Can the Visualization of Rip Currents Prevent Drowning Accidents? Consideration of the Effect of Optimism Bias

Almost all drowning accidents in Japan are caused by rip currents. To reduce these accidents, a new technology that can detect rip currents and notify beachgoers by using the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) was proposed. However, studies on the effect of visualizing rip currents or considering the effect of optimism bias have not been conducted. This study investigates if visualization of rip currents might help in preventing drowning accidents, while considering the effect of optimism bias. The participants were 90 Japanese beachgoers. They were asked to answer questions based on their knowledge of the beach and rip currents, their optimism bias regarding rip currents, and awareness with or without visualization. The results of the analyses suggest that despite optimism bias, the visualization of rip currents increases the tendency of beachgoers to perceive and avoid rip currents. As described above, it found that by visualizing rip currents, beachgoers can avoid. Additionally, an understanding of rip currents is positively related to the intent to avoid rip currents with visualization. Therefore, it is necessary not only to enhance the avoidance tendency by visualizing rip currents, but also to further enhance knowledge of beachgoers to deepen the understanding of rip currents including the danger associated and methods to avoid them.

The Relationship between Infection-Avoidance Tendency and Exclusionary Attitudes towards Foreigners: A Case Study of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Japan

Amidst the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 in January 2020, this study focused on the preventive behaviours against COVID-19 infection and the exclusionary attitude towards foreigners in Japan. Particularly, we examined the effects of individual differences in the infection-avoidance tendency based on the behavioural immune system. A web survey of 1,248 Japanese citizens aged 18 years or above living in Japan who were registrants of a crowdsourcing service indicated that as the threat of the COVID-19 spread increased, there were tendencies for infection-preventive behaviours to increase. In addition, people with a strong infection-avoidance tendency adopted more preventive actions, regardless of whether they were under normal circumstances or the threat of infection, indicating their strong rejective attitudes towards the Chinese and other foreigners under the threat of infection. This study recorded the behavioural and psychological states of people who were in the midst of rapid and unpredictable real-world changes in the early stages of the infection. Data collected in Japan, where the infection had begun earlier, will provide valuable knowledge to countries worldwide where major social changes are expected in the future.

When Do Conflicts Feel Right for Prevention-Focused Individuals? The Debiasing Effect of Low Need for Closure

ABSTRACTBoth lay beliefs and research findings suggest that people tend to avoid conflicts if interpersonal harmony is highly valued. Counter to this widely accepted convention, we adopt the perspective of motivated social cognition to argue that conflict avoidance is subject to the joint effect of the need for epistemic security (need for closure) and the motivation to prevent losses (prevention focus). Such effect is mediated by negative anticipation towards the consequences of confronting conflicts. Results across three studies indicated that individuals with relatively high need for closure and high prevention focus show the strongest conflict avoidance tendency due to their heightened negative anticipation. However, with low need for closure, the negative anticipation and conflict avoidance tendency of high prevention-focused individuals are weakened or even disappear. This research offers a novel theory about the mechanism of conflict avoidance. The findings about the debiasing role of low need for closure also provide rich implications for conflict resolutions.