IMPLICIT SELF-ESTEEM IN JAPAN - NAME LETTERS AND BIRTHDAY NUMBERS

Japanese studies have repeatedly failed to obtain any explicit tendenc y to enhance self-esteem. In two studies, the authors attempted and im plicit assessment of positive feelings attached to Japanese selves and found evidence for such feelings. Study 1 examined preference for Jap anese alphabetical letters and found that letters included in one's ow n name were significantly better liked than the remaining ones. Furthe r, an especially strong preference was expressed by male respondents f or the first letters Of their family names, and by female respondents for the first letters of their first names. Study 2 assessed preferenc e for numerics and showed that the numbers corresponding to both the m onth and the day of one's birthday were significantly better liked tha n the remaining numbers. Implications are discussed for theories of Ja panese selves.