幼児の怖いもの見たさ行動を規定する要因の検討

Previous studies (Tomita and Noyama, 2014) have shown that although the desire to see frightening things increases until the end of early childhood, this indicates that 5–6-year-old children do not choose to see a lot of scary things (when there are 5–6 out of 10 opportunities to choose). In this study, we examined the factors that regulate the desire to see frightening things in the case of young children. In Study 1, we targeted 40 children (4–6 years old) and examined whether the difference in the availability of scary images influences their desire to see them. More specifically, we presented images of things that are not scary in advance—as the preset condition—and then used tasks where the image was projected onto a card and a box; we then compared the differences in the number of choices to view scary things. In Study 2, we targeted 82 children (4–6 years old), and examined whether differences in the degree of willingness to take on challenges based on a sense of security influenced their desire to see frightening things. In this context, we first had them tackle the task alone—as the preset condition—and then tackle it with others; next, we compared the differences in the number of choices to view scary things. The results of the two studies show that although the availability of images and the willingness to take on challenges based on a sense of security both influence the desire to see frightening things, the manner in which they exert an influence differs for males and females.