Creating a Multilayered Kokoro World Map

2018 Research Projects

Research Topic

Lead Researcher

Yoshiyuki Ueda, Senior Lecturer, Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University

Collaborating Researchers

Jun Saiki, Professor, Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University

Hidefumi Hitokoto, Lecturer, Humanities, Fukuoka University

Center Co-Researchers

Yukiko Uchida, Associate Professor, Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University

Nobuhito Abe, Program-Specific Associate Professor, Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University

This project aims to investigate kokoro’s formation process, using a multilayered world map in which various tasks measuring the basic senses and high level thinking are conducted and participants’ performance are mapped according to countries, races, communities and local languages. This research proposes a new psychological behavioral experiment paradigm that will be based on shared network connections and wil make data public. The significance of this research lies in creating a paradigm shift where an experiment is conducted as a collective effort (instead of by and individual researcher or research group, which has many limitations).
The large dataset and comparison of results in various areas by a number of researchers will promote an understanding of kokoro’s formation process, and also help create a experiential basis to predict the state of kokoro during population shifts and technological development.
Repeating the same psychological experiments within a project is important to help resolve the current problem of reproducibility in psychology. Investigating the effects that different task instructions and experimental strategies (as well as participants’ aspects, such as race) have on results is an important step and contributes to the development of psychology as basic science research.

2018/11/06