Can poor treatment of workers be legitimated when they have passion for work?: Reexamining findings of Kim et al. (2020)

In Japan, overwork has often been reported and criticized by the media as well as the public. Jobs are, however, often regarded as giving workers a sense of fulfilment and enjoyment, leading to their willingness to work extra hours. Based on the findings of Kim et al. (2020), we conducted two studies to investigate whether poor treatment of a worker can be legitimated when he/she is passionate about his/her work. In line with previous research, we found that a passionate worker was perceived to be volunteering to do extra jobs without compensation if given the chance and to regard the work as a reward in and of itself. However, unlike Kim et al., we did not find any mediating effects of these two perceptions on legitimating poor treatment of passionate workers. The reason why we failed to replicate the findings of Kim et al. are discussed in terms of Japanese people’s awareness of the hardship and unfairness of overwork.本論文は，2020年度に広島大学教育学部で開講された心理学実験において，第1著者の指導により第2著者から第5著者が実施した研究をもとに執筆したものである。また，本研究はJSPS科研費JP18K03007の助成を受けた

Beliefs and motives related to eating and body size: a comparison of high-BMI and normal-weight young adult women from rural and urban areas in Mexico

Background: Effective treatment and prevention of obesity and its co-morbidities requires the recognition and understanding of cultural and social aspects of eating practices. The objective of the present study was to identify social factors and beliefs that may explain undesirable eating practices among women with high body mass index (HBMI) compared with normal-weight (NW) women from rural and urban areas classified as middle-low socioeconomic status (SES) in the State of Querétaro, Mexico. Methods: A qualitative technique with individual in-depth interviews was used. Fifty-five women with either NW or HBMI from rural and urban areas participated in the study. The responses were analyzed by coding and grouping text fragments into categories in a data matrix, in order to make comparisons between BMI groups and between rural and urban women. Results: The habit of skipping breakfast prevailed among women with HBMI who also reported childhood food deprivation. Feelings related to eating seemed to be more important than losing weight among women with HBMI from urban and rural areas. Thus, overweight might be interpreted as a social symbol of the enjoyment of a good life, primarily in rural areas. Overweight was socially accepted when it occurred in children and in married woman, mainly because it is a symbol of the good life that the head of the household provides, and also because women may feel more relaxed about their weight when they already have a partner. The study also revealed that women with HBMI were not sufficiently motivated to lose weight unless they experience a physical indication of poor health. Conclusion: The findings from this study are helpful in the understanding of the reasons why strategies for the prevention and treatment of obesity may not be as effective as expected. The belief system of particular social groups within different SESs should be considered in order to understand the etiology of obesity and develop effective strategies