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Abstract

Japanese fifth through twelfth graders (N = 927) rated and ranked 24 cooperative and competitive activities (teacher-generated) in terms of personal importance. Factor analyses revealed one consistent cooperative factor across school levels, and different competitive factor structures for elementary, middle and high school pupils. Analyses of variance on individual items and on composite measures suggested that (1) while females were significantly more cooperative and males more competitive than one another, both sexes responded much more positively towards cooperative than competitive items, and (2) cooperative and competitive orientation depends on the specific activity. Age, gender and situational factors were related to pupils' cultural socialization at school.

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Japanese Cooperative and Competitive A ltitudes: Age and Gender Effects

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