A Study on the Forming Process of Chinese Youths’ Images of Japan Based on the Nine-in-One Drawing Method - Taking Middle School, High School, and University Students in Harbin as Examples

Abstract

Utilizing the KJ method, the cognitive elements of images of Japan in the survey results were classified into 24 categories, which were rich and diverse in content. A meticulous analysis, grounded in frequent pattern mining, has unveiled a notable trend: as the academic levels of the students increase, there isa corresponding rise in the support for elements that reflect the current social landscape of modern Japan. Conversely, the support of images associated with “Japan in the past” is observed to be on the wane. Furthermore, middle school students predominantly receive information in a passive manner, whereas high school students, with the burgeoning of their “formal operational thinking”, start to actively seek out information. This proactive approach stands in contrast to the more measured and rational information selection and comprehension exhibited by university students, who demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the information they encounter.