This study investigated gloss perception in base makeup and its relationship with optical characteristics. Using foundation on artificial skin to minimize variability, we established an evaluation system combining sensory evaluation, microscopic photometry, and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for luminance analysis. Results revealed two distinct perceptual criteria: one prioritizing visual attributes such as brightness, and another emphasizing textural impressions like smoothness. Optimal light-receiving angles varied by criteria; specular reflection predominated for visual-focused groups, whereas diffuse reflection was more critical for texture-focused groups. Furthermore, the luminance regions contributing to these criteria differed even under identical conditions. These CNN-based findings were consistent with analysis based on Gray-Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) features, validating the developed model. These findings indicate that gloss perception cannot be defined by a single physical indicator, and that measurement conditions need to be selected to match specific perceptual criteria.

Recalling past experiences can help individuals remember positive aspects of daily life and promote their positive mood. While lifelogging technologies have the potential to encourage positive emotions, few studies have explored concrete methods for recording pleasant daily memories or their emotional effects. We have proposed a voice-based lifelogging application, called ‘Laughter Map’, that records and visualizes past laughter scenes on a map to support mental health. To validate its usefulness for conveying past laughter experiences in a map format, we conducted an experiment comparing two presentation formats: a chronological list and a map-based visualization. Results showed that the map format enhanced the detailed recall of laughter episodes compared to the chronological list format. Furthermore, we examined whether the Laughter Map could enhance a positive mood. A second experiment revealed that using Laughter Map increased positive mood indicators, such as vigor, more effectively than a random map that randomly extracted previous conversation.

This study investigated how emotional information conveyed through voice influences the understanding of emotional metaphors. Emotional metaphors were used as experimental stimuli in which speakers described their own negative emotional experiences. We presented the metaphors auditorily using synthesized speech in order to manipulate the emotional information conveyed by the voice. We examined how such vocal emotional information affected listeners’ cognition of the metaphors in terms of harshness, indirectness, and negativity. The results showed that emotional prosody significantly influenced the understanding of emotional metaphors, particularly the degree to which a metaphor was perceived as unforgiving, roundabout, or negative. Furthermore, the effects of emotional prosody appeared to interact with multiple factors, such as the topic and vehicle of the metaphor and how the listener perceived the politeness of the emotional expression. These findings suggest that emotional prosody plays a complex and context-dependent role in the understanding of emotional metaphors.

This study aims at clarifying mathematically whether a group can reach a consensus and select an alternative as its final decision when new alternatives are created in the consensus-building process. The framework of cooperative game theory, namely “committees with permission,” is used to express the consensus-building situation. In this paper, we review the concept called “stable alternatives” which expresses alternatives that will be selected by a group eventually, and prove four propositions regarding situations where stable alternatives appear/change/disappear or are unchanged. We show that continuing negotiation to find a preferred agreement after a stable alternative appears and losing the opportunity for reaching a consensus are inextricably linked. Moreover, we examine relations between Pareto efficiency and the existence of stable alternatives, and show that if a group wants to reach a preferred consensus, agents of the group should try to not only allocate resources efficiently but create new value.

This study tests whether synesthetic metaphors systematically map onto taste mixtures built from sweetness, saltiness, umami, and sourness. Twenty-one Japanese speakers rated 16 taste samples using 30 Kansei terms on five-point scales. One-way ANOVA confirmed between-sample differences. Multiple regression identified sourness and saltiness as the most influential predictors across terms, while sweetness and umami exerted selective effects. Sourness positively predicted “bright,” “noisy,” and “lively,” and negatively predicted “soft,” “quiet,” and “plain,” suggesting an arousal-like dimension. For potency-related factor terms, “large” and “small” exhibited a symmetrically unidimensional pattern with respect to the effects of saltiness, umami, and sourness; however, sensitivity and explanatory power for each taste factor were biased toward the “small” side, suggesting possible structural asymmetry. Findings demonstrate cross-modal links from taste to multisensory impressions, clarify when antonym pairs diverge structurally, and inform Kansei evaluation models and sensory design aiming to target specific impression profiles.

Architectural design incorporating natural elements (i.e. biophilic design) is becoming popular in the contemporary building industry enhancing human health and well-being. This highlights the need of psychological scales evaluating impressions of biophilic design for studies testing health benefits from building environments. In this study, we developed a scale for evaluating impressions of biophilic office environments, by using images of offices receiving high ratings from the WELL Building Standard promoting occupants’ health and well-being. A preliminary survey yielded 194 verbal expressions representing impressions of the selected WELL offices. Exploratory factor analyses using the results of two online surveys (N = 450 and 547, respectively) revealed 18 items grouped into 3 factors, such as compatible design, Nature-Based design, and office design. The construct was validated by the confirmatory factor analysis. The scale developed in this study should be tested in future studies of biophilic design elements’ effects on various health outcomes.

Chewing sounds influence the judgment of food characteristics and the evaluation of eating experiences. In this study, we investigated the psychological effects of chewing sounds resulting from complex structures by comparing the chewing sounds produced by each element in a frozen dessert, including ice cream, monaka, and chocolate. We measured subjective evaluations of sound quality, mood evoking, and preference for each pre-recorded chewing sound. As a result, the condition containing ice cream, chocolate, and monaka received higher ratings than the other conditions in several items of both mood and preference evaluations, suggesting that the composite structure of frozen desserts has a positive effect on the perception of chewing sounds and on mood. Furthermore, principal component analysis and preference evaluations revealed that sound quality characteristics such as “natural,” “prominent high-frequency components,” and “spaciousness” are associated with preferences for the chewing sounds of frozen desserts.

This paper reviews the Japanese culture-specific concept of waku-waku and proposes an integrative framework for understanding it as a future-oriented positive emotional state. Previous findings are organized into two domains: linguistic definitions and physiological measurement. Linguistic studies indicate that waku-waku historically referred to broad emotional agitation, including both positive and negative meanings, but in contemporary Japanese mainly denotes unsettled excitement arising from the expectation of future joy. Physiological studies have attempted to quantify waku-waku using heart rate, electrodermal activity, brain activity, and EEG, yet suggest that it cannot be explained by arousal alone. Based on these findings, this paper operationally defines waku-waku as a dynamic affective state characterized by (i) positive valence, (ii) high arousal, and (iii) the expectation that future events will unfold in a desirable direction. The proposed framework integrates subjective reports, physiological indicators, contextual information, and temporal changes, providing a basis for Kansei engineering research and design.

Using an eye-tracking head-mounted display and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), this study investigated prefrontal cortex responses of older (n=29) and non-older (n=14) drivers approaching unsignalized intersections prone to crossing collisions. Results showed: (1) By applying Z-score normalization to changes in total hemoglobin concentration (ΔtHb) to eliminate the influence of inter-individual variability in signal amplitude, the results demonstrated the potential for distinct differences between older and non-older drivers in non-priority directions. (2) Unlike EMD, changes in ΔtHb did not immediately synchronize with spatial stimuli requiring visual exploration. (3) Clustering normalized time-series waveforms revealed no age-related differences in priority-direction scenarios. In contrast, in non-priority scenarios, non-older drivers typically showed a “decreasing-to-increasing” ΔtHb trend, whereas older drivers were significantly more likely to exhibit a “consistently increasing” trend.

Food purchases are expected to be influenced by consumers’ psychological factors. While the Big Five personality can reportedly influence purchase of specific products, no systematic research has investigated the relationship between food purchases and psychological factors, such as sensory-processing sensitivity, visual imagery, interoception, and so forth. In this study, we examined the influence of 15 psychological factors expected to be related to food purchases using purchase amount data from 12,357 adults over one year, and verified the following hypotheses: (H1) Food purchasing behavior is promoted by Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Agreeableness. (H2) Food purchasing behavior is inhibited by Neuroticism. We also examined the relationship between each psychological factor and purchasing behavior for each food category. The results supported both hypotheses. We also observed that meal and snack categories were more susceptible to the influence of psychological factors, such as stress and interoception, while ready-to-drink beverages and limited-use foods were less susceptible.