People with visual impairment typically experience difficulties when cooking, which can often lead to health problems. Organizing and tracking utensils in the kitchen are identified as particular challenges; however, the details of these scenarios are unclear. In this study, we clarify the organization of action and how people with visual impairment place objects on a table and contact them when making instant coffee using two types of tabletop designs. Six people with visual impairment participated in the experiment. Actions were categorized into four types: sub-goal unit, basic unit, touching, and pause. When participants were switching the sub-goal unit, the next object was searched from the plate. When a sub-goal unit was being performed, the situation on the table was checked so that an object could be placed. The following three patterns of object placement were identified: along the table edges, near the center of the table, and over a relatively wide area of the table. Fully blind participants had a smaller object placement area and contact range than low-vision participants. Some participants moved used utensils to the back of the table to make a no-contact zone, but others maintained the objects in fixed positions. Some participants tended to flexibly change their layouts according to tabletop design, but others did not. The environment-action relationship of an individual is shaped by a combination of factors, including visual acuity, phases that involve more touching, response to the environment, and whether memory or grasping the environment is more critical.

This study examines the techniques used by insect collectors, known as mushiya in Japan, to collect insects. It also explores how actors (Latour, 2007) as starting points for searching activity are introduced to navigation in the wild. We conducted fieldwork from April 2021 to August 2022. We accompanied mushiyas on 21 insect collecting activities and interviewed two of them. Mushiyas’ navigation could be divided into three phases: deciding where to collect, traveling, and collecting. We extracted characteristic episodes from the obtained data to describe the process of how some actors are introduced and how they can be associated with ethnography. Our findings indicate that mushiyas determined their collection sites from the perspectives of ethics and accessibility and from “projective observations” gathered during their collecting activities. By associating actors discovered through such observations with the knowledge of environmental information in the field and about the insects they captured, mushiyas judged a starting point for their searching activities. We discuss the implications of projective observation for navigation in the wild using the theory of actor network theory (Latour, 2007).

In depopulated areas, an increasing number of elderly people are moving away from economic zones in search of better healthcare and caregiving services. As the elderly population relocates, their memories of these places fade, and eventually, they forget these areas. With this in mind, the authors attempted to depict the life-world of the grandfather of co-author Suzuki, who resides in Hamatonbetsu Town, Hokkaido, and communicates and interacts with Suzuki’s acquaintances within and outside of this town through round-trip letters. As a result, we are able to engage in generative communication, shaping our life-world by overlaying our “visibility” onto the life-world of others.

The basis of language seems to reside in an inferential nature. It is known that 5-year-olds erroneously accept expressions such as “Some of the horses jumped over the fence” when they see (all) three of the horses actually jumping over the fence. One proposed reason for this is that young children do not yet fully understand that the scalar terms such as “some” imply “not all.” For example, suppose a kindergarten teacher said to her class, “booshi wo kabutteinai otomodachi ga imasu (Some of the friends do not wear a hat),” this expression may not mean that all of the friends are hatless, but only some of the friends are hatless. In such case, the Japanese expression itself may not include any scalar terms, nonetheless, the meaning “some” seems to be implied. In two experiments, we asked Japanese 3-, 5-year-olds, and adults to interpret similar expressions without using explicit indication of “some.” The results revealed that many adults readily grasped the implicit “some” meaning in such utterances. On the contrary, 5-year-olds failed to perceive the implication of “some” and instead interpreted the statement as “All friends are hatless,” utilizing an ad hoc implicature. Interestingly, the performance of 3-year-olds seemed to be based on a logical interpretation, i.e., “at least one.” The study implies that while the word “some” is not explicitly stated in Japanese, adult speakers inferred a scalar meaning. However, young children on the other hand, are still in the process of developing this ability. The findings are discussed in relation to scalar alternatives and shared intentionality. The study confirmed the basis of language inherently encompasses an inferential nature.

Cumulative prospect theory predicts that probabilities presented objectively are subjectively transformed to facilitate decision-making. Two types of probability weighting functions have been proposed: those derived from axiomatic approaches and those from psychological mechanisms. However, interpreting many model parameters through psychological theories remains challenging. Thus, this study aims to introduce a new probability weighting function and value function based on the Decision by Sampling (DbS) model, which elucidates the information processing mechanism in cognitive psychology. Initially, it assumes that the value of probabilistic information can be represented by the amount of Kullback-Leibler (KL) information. A probability weighting function was consequently derived from the DbS model, yielding a cumulative distribution function characterized by a beta distribution. Similarly, the value function is expressed as a cumulative distribution function of the beta distribution, grounded in the assumptions of DbS and the mental ruler theory. Results from Bayesian statistical model comparison indicated that the probability weighting function of our proposed model exhibited relatively lower prediction accuracy compared to previously proposed models. However, the value function’s accuracy significantly improved. Moreover, comparisons with the Gaussian process model suggest that the overall proposed model possesses adequate forecasting accuracy. This study’s proposed model is significant, offering a mechanism within prospect theory that is both highly accurate in predictions and psychologically interpretable.

This study systematically reviewed analyses for interpersonal behavioral synchronization, which is widely observed in human communication. Synchronization analyses have been developed based on theoretical backgrounds such as social psychology, cognitive approach, and dynamical systems approach. The types of methods and their targets are diverse, and a systematic summary has not been sufficiently conducted. Summarizing these methods can help clarify the salient features of each method and consider the applicability to various phenomena. Based on existing literature, this study introduced six representative methods from their historical backgrounds, calculations, and targets (Cross-Correlation Analysis, Cross Wavelet Transform, Relative Phase Analysis, Cross Recurrence Quantification Analysis, Causality Analysis, and Complexity Matching Analysis). We then summarized each method along three axes: the data characteristics, the approach relied upon, and the phenomenon/task to be investigated. Then, based on the features of each method, we discussed the future direction and the domains or topics of possible applications.

Recently, a buzzer quiz has become popular and the number of theoretical studies about a quiz has also increased in various fields such as computer science and linguistics. A buzzer quiz is related not only to responders’ knowledge (known/unknown) but also to many psychological aspects such as competition, judgments under uncertainty, and strategy changes. However, there are no behavioral studies on a buzzer quiz and thus no behavioral data-based evidence has been obtained so far. In this paper, we analyzed quiz players’ behaviors in a Japanese quiz competition in terms of behavioral science. We quantified “uncertainty” of information for solving a quiz, and investigated tendencies of players’ judgments for pushing a button depending on the extent of pressures of wrong answers. We found that players often pushed a button even when a correct answer was not specified uniquely, and that players tended to obtain more information in situations where no more wrong answers were allowed. In addition, it is suggested that although players were required to make faster judgments, taking more information as possible would be a good strategy in a buzzer quiz. This study provides the first behavioral evidence and will be a scaffolding for new understandings of human judgments under uncertainty in a buzzer quiz.

How can prejudice be reduced? The public is interested in practical approaches based on psychological explorations. This study outlines key research on reducing prejudice at both individual and collective levels. It provides examples from recent interventional studies. Finally, a discussion follows on three important perspectives—intersectionality, recognizing and resisting privileges, and the paradox of prejudice reduction that are currently crucial in prejudice reduction research.

This article reviews the stream of social psychology research on prejudice and intergroup relationship, and will pick up the problem of automatic activation of stereotype from which the stereotype research of social cognition started. And the rebound effect would be discussed related with activation research. Next, the article treats with the matter of implicit measurement, such as Implicit Association Test and Affect Misattribution Procedure. Also investigating the influence of situational factor on prejudice, I will discuss on the future problem of this area.