「ポケットモンスター」が小学生に好まれる理由の心理学的考察 : 好きなキャラクターに関する質問紙調査から

Abstract

This study examines the reasons why many elementary school children love"Pocket Monster" (Pokemon). Pokemon is a sum of monster characters and is the most popular character among children these days. Children can get these monsters and put them into small balls in the Pokemon game. They can acquire, collect, and grow them in the game. In the study, elementary school children completed a questionnaire asking them to identify their favorite characters and to write the reasons they liked them. The data were analyzed by focusing on those who liked Pokemon, and the differences depending on sex and age were analyzed. As a result, many children selected their favorite characters from a large number of Pokemon characters according to their traits and special abilities or the children's impressions about Pokemon, such as "cool", "strong" and "cute." Especially, many boys in lower and middle grades liked Pokemon because the characters have strong power. Moreover, Pokemon was liked by children because the characters are not only strong, but also cute. These results show that Pokemon can support children's dependence and independence by relating to their aggressiveness and tendency to be dependent.