In human societies, close monogamous relationships are prevalent, whereas clandestine extra-pair relationships are also frequently observed. The successful regulation of amorous temptation toward alternative partners could have a crucial role in stable relationship maintenance. Researchers in the fields of anthropology, social psychology, and evolutionary psychology have suggested models to describe the processes of close relationship building and maintenance. Such an intimate relationship is deeply correlated with successful species survival; thus, specific cognitive and neural mechanisms are expected to support the suppression of amorous temptation. Cognitive science researchers following this prediction have focused on active regulation and automatic regulation processes. Since the 2000s, functional magnetic resonance imaging has also been widely utilized to investigate neural mechanisms. However, the interactive relationships between the two regulation systems remain unclear. In this paper, I review the regulative processes of amorous temptation and present a hypothesis that the two regulation systems could interact to suppress temptation, depending on factors such as an alternative partner’s attractiveness and the relationship stage. Empirical approaches could enable scientists to reveal individuals’ internal cognitive processes, which has remained unclear in other fields.

Creating a meaning system is fundamental to human adaptation. This article reviews how the emotion of awe, characterized by perceived vastness and the need for accommodation, has a crucial role in meaning-­making. Empirical evidence suggests that the experience of awe alters how people construe the world, the self, and the relationship between them, and in finding meaning in life. Directions for future research are discussed with a focus on how the dynamic process of meaning-making through awe would be constrained by cultural meaning systems and how sharing awe experiences with others would contribute to collective meaning-making processes.

Cooperation is a common phenomenon in human societies. Indirect reciprocity is a candidate that sustains large-scale cooperation. If members of a community behave cooperatively only when it enhances one’s reputation, then the reputation of the target agents would collapse. However, the underlying mechanism of this negative evaluation is unclear. In this paper, we hypothesized that such a negative evaluation serves as a psychological counterstrategy against “reputational management,” and essentially helps to maintain reputation dynamics. We also focused on the development of social evaluation for these “calculating” agents. We investigated the validity of our hypothesis from an empirical perspective or a theoretical perspective. We also proposed a pathway to explore the cooperation system and reputation dynamics.

Utilizing the predecessor generation’s experience on the next generation is an important human behavior. In this paper, the author examines elderly people’s helping behavior, based on their experience, toward young people and the psychological characteristics that promote elderly people’s behavior. In addition, I discuss the psychological impact of intergenerational interaction on elderly and young people. The findings indicated that young people desire the “failure” experience of the predecessor generation, and that elderly people’s altruism is promoted when young people thank the tradition of their “failure” experience. Future studies should discuss the meaning of inheriting and utilizing predecessor generation’s experience from the perspective of interpersonal communication and from a wider perspective.

Human beings can adaptively regulate their cognitive/behavioral strategies to accomplish goals by using information regarding their internal cognitive states. This ability is called metacognition. Comparative studies of metacognition have found that certain primates also possess this ability, and recent studies have apparently found it in rats. These results suggest that these species can serve as animal models for metacognition. Furthermore, studies with animal models would allow researchers to investigate metacognitive mechanisms in detail. However, because metacognitive research in animals has focused on proving the existence of metacognition, findings about its properties have not been organized or consolidated. In this paper, we reviewed and summarized findings from studies of metacognition in primates and rats, and then compared them with related research on human beings. Finally, we discuss the properties of metacognition that human beings and animals have in common, and the potential for future work on metacognition in animals.

Recent advances in the technology of wearable devices have enabled scientists to access infants’ sensory-motor experiences. Previous studies have recorded infants’ egocentric vision in a naturalistic context by employing a head-camera or head-mounted eye tracker. These studies have all evaluated infants’ visual experience when they interact with the environment; however, the studies are diverse in relation to the location of the record, movement that is possible for the infant, and methods used. In the present paper, these studies are reviewed, and the contributions and limitations of various recording methods are summarized. The approaches to record infants’ visual experiences provide evidence that complements experimental studies or developmental theories, and contributes to understanding infant development as a dynamic system, based on interactions between brain, body, and the environment.