Abstract
This study examines the compliance motivation of students and Freeters when facing a marginalization risk situation evoked by priming. Freeter (part-time employers), NEET (not in education, employment, or training), and Hikikomori (social withdrawal) represent the socio-economically marginalized population in Japan. People at higher risk of becoming NEET and Hikikomori have shown a motivation pattern deviant from mainstream Japanese culture, including lower willingness to conform to in-group members, thus showing less cultural fit (Norasakkunkit and Uchida, 2014). In this study we explore the effect of the macro socio-economic situation (job-hunting prospects being good or bad) on individual's compliance motivation in both students and Freeters. Sixty-five Kyoto University students and 74 Freeters were randomly assigned to one of the two priming conditions (marginalization risk or non-marginalization) before completing the NEET-Hikikomori Risk (NHR) scale and measurements of compliance motivation to conform to in-group members or to be self-consistent (Cialdini et al., 1999). Twenty-three control group students and 22 control group Freeters were also recruited online for comparison. Results showed that marginalization risk priming led to lower tendency to be self-consistent among students, but did not lead to lower tendency to conform to in-group members. For Freeters, marginalization risk priming led to higher compliance motivation to conform to in-group members. The results confirmed the framework proposed by Toivonen et al. (2011) that both Freeters and students in Japan have ritualist reactions, continuing to maintain the cultural norms despite the difficulty of attaining the cultural goals.
Highlights
In all societies, there are those who fit in the mainstream and those marginalized in the periphery
We subtracted negative affect from positive affect and expected that those in the marginalization risk priming condition would score lower on affect than those in the non-marginalization condition, and that this effect would be stronger among students who still face the challenge of job-hunting than among Freeters
The first part of our study tried to follow through past research’s claims that NEET-Hikikomori Risk Spectrum (NHR) is a measurement of marginalization risk, and that those at the further end of marginalization have less motivation to conform to traditional cultural norms (Norasakkunkit and Uchida, 2011, 2014; Ishii and Uchida, 2016)
Summary
There are those who fit in the mainstream and those marginalized in the periphery. Those with a marginalized orientation in the periphery are those who reject the mainstream Japanese cultural values but do not possess a different cultural identity, such as Freeter, NEET, and Hikikomori (Norasakkunkit and Uchida, 2011). The word “Freeter” in Japanese describes those who engage in part-time jobs only and do. Socio-Economic Marginalization and Compliance Motivation not seek a full-time, lifelong employment. The occurrence of Freeter, NEET, and Hikikomori has been increasing, and one explanation proposed was the economic recession and globalization in Japan, paired with the institutional reluctance to reform at the cost of decreasing young adults’ motivation to participate in mainstream society (Toivonen et al, 2011). This paper aims to elucidate the motivational responses of students and Freeters under different job-hunting prospects evoked by priming
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
