When a Psychologist Encountered with SIMSOC: Game-simulation as Research and Education Method of Social Psychology

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to review the short history of how game-simulations had been utilized as the research and education method of social psychology, and to discuss the future task of the game-simulation in social psychology. We explored the new research method to substitute laboratory experiment and survey research, and encountered with a sociological education game of SIMSOC. Then we modified the original rules, and developed SIMINSOC as the research method of social psychology. With SIMINSOC we could analyzed dynamic processes of leadership emergence, minority’s collective actions, and cooperation to solve social dilemma. Many game-simulations had been developed for the tool of environmental and disaster-prevention education, and then many social psychologists evaluated game-simulation as one of the main research and education methods. Our future subject is to develop a new game-simulation of citizen participatory conference for the NIMBY-type risk governance such as deep HLW repository, where social agreements among citizens are hard to reach from differences in their sense of values about the environment or economics.