[My Recommended Class] Introduction to Social Psychology: Experiential Learning in Action

A classroom echoes with lively, cheerful voices. This is the "Introduction to Social Psychology" class taught by Professor Junkichi Sugiura of the Faculty of Letters. It is a required course for students in the Major in Sociology within the Faculty of Letters, but students from other majors and faculties can also take it.

The defining feature of this class is, quite simply, "learning through interactive games."

On this day, the activity was "Desert Survival Task." Students prioritize 15 items they have with them while stranded—such as water, clothing, and maps—and the closer their ranking is to that of the experts, the higher their score.

First, each student considers how they would judge the situation and creates their own individual answers. After that, they split into groups of five to eight people for group work, sharing rules such as "no majority voting," "discuss until everyone is satisfied," and "don't just state your own opinion, but also listen to what others think."

Once the group work begins, active discussions break out throughout the classroom. With both laughter and serious expressions, each group decides on their rankings while respecting one another's opinions.

After the discussion, representatives from each group write their results on the blackboard, and finally, the correct answers are announced. When the professor showed the rankings determined by experts, gasps of surprise echoed throughout the classroom.

However, winning is not the most important thing in this class. Afterward, time is set aside to reflect on the discussion, looking back at the process: "Why did we choose that ranking?" and "How did we build consensus?" Through the game, students learn by experiencing firsthand how people make decisions and form consensus with others.

In addition to this, various experiential games are incorporated into the curriculum, such as the "Chemical Reaction Game," where each student becomes an element like hydrogen, oxygen, or carbon to create water, carbon dioxide, and methane, and the "Star Power Game," where students simulate the experience of social inequality and power structures through resource allocation and changing rules.

Some people might have an image of university classes as being "one-way lectures from a professor" or "passive and boring." However, in this class, students deepen their learning while having fun through various games.

It is a standout course that proves just how engaging university learning can be.

*This article was created based on information as of 2026.