Shitsukan is a comprehensive concept for both an object’s material (e.g., metal, wood) and its properties (e.g., roughness, glossiness) based on either visual, auditory, or tactile information. Shitsukan plays an important role within human activity. Recently, shitsukan perception, or material perception, is assumed to be based on statistical inferencing from multisensory information and several studies have investigated the neural basis of such statistical inferencing. In this paper, we discuss the mechanisms of material perception in terms of multisensory integration research and propose a new perspective from which to elucidate the information processing underlying shitsukan.

Recently centenarians who lived more than a hundred years of life are growing worldwide. Studying cognitive function in centenarians contributes to estimating care costs for the near future. Moreover, scientific contribution to understanding aging phenomena is highly important. In this sequential study, the authors clarified characteristics of cognitive function in centenarians and developed questions to evaluate the cognitive level in centenarians. The developed questionnaire was applicable to estimate the age-related difference in dementia prevalence in centenarians. As a tentative result, our findings suggest that dementia might be inevitable for women while evitable for men.

In this symposium, professionals who completed their graduate studies in cognitive psychology shared their experiences and discussed the expectations and demands for cognitive psychology beyond academia. Then, the symposium discussed the best paths people who have completed graduate studies in cognitive psychology should explore and follow to connect with society. The presenters introduced their roles as science communicators for developing connections between psychology and corporations and how they utilize their experimental and survey skills for product development and planning. The symposium also provided a platform for undergraduate and graduate students to express their confusion about the need to be specialized and innovative in their job search and the difficulties they faced when choosing a career because of the low impact of cognitive psychology in society. Through a constructive discussion, the symposium identified specific issues that must be addressed to bridge the gap between cognitive psychology and society. The symposiasts concluded that the social cooperation committee should continue its efforts to solve these problems.