[My Recommended Class] Introduction to Social Psychology – Interview Edition –

This class is a requirement for the Major in Sociology in the Faculty of Letters, but what is the number one thing you want students to acquire?

Rather than simply memorizing knowledge of social psychology itself, I want them to acquire a "perspective for looking at things from a social psychological standpoint." Once you can use that way of thinking, the way you see the world itself changes.

For example, you might encounter someone doing something very good or someone behaving undesirably, and you might naturally wonder or think, "Why is this person acting this way?" or "Why are they saying this?" In such situations, you become able to grasp things from a "meta-perspective"—that is, a step back, including yourself. While it may be due to that person's characteristics, you become able to think more multi-dimensionally, considering that their position or the situation they are in might be influencing their behavior.

Sometimes, we inevitably take a biased view. And we sometimes think that such a biased view is a common way of thinking shared by those around us. We call that a "bias," and if you know about it beforehand, you will be able to notice, "Ah, I might be taking a slightly biased view."

It feels like that would make life easier to live, but what do you think?

Being able to understand the background of the other person's actions is a good thing, but precisely because you understand that "it can't be helped because the situation is what it is," it might conversely become painful at times.

On the other hand, having biases and values allows you to save effort in thinking in each moment. For example, when shopping, you can choose smoothly because your values have been formed by past experiences, such as "I like this" or "I'm in this kind of mood right now." Judgments like "like/dislike" or "good/bad" are learned through past experiences and organized as memories. And based on that accumulation, we choose our actions in the next situation. Daily consumer behavior and interactions with people work the same way. However, such judgment mechanisms are sometimes exploited by methods like fraudulent business practices.

You have been in charge of this class for 13 years since it opened in 2013. Do you feel any changes in the students or the classroom environment?

With the introduction of online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, the digitalization of materials progressed, and we no longer distribute paper copies of materials projected on slides. Previously, many students would take photos of the slides with their smartphones, but now it has become natural to attend the lecture while looking at the materials on the screen in front of them. To put it extremely, we have entered an era where you can attend the class just by listening to the broadcast and looking at the slides, even if you aren't in the classroom.

Furthermore, generative AI has spread rapidly over the past year or so. At Keio, starting from the 2026 academic year, policies for using generative AI will be clearly stated in syllabi, and how to utilize it for assignments is being discussed. It has become technically possible to record a class and have AI summarize it or write reaction papers.

Now that AI has become widespread, what kind of meaning do you think classes have?

I myself have re-questioned the meaning of classes. The games I incorporate into my classes are for "experiential learning." You experience something through a game, reflect on it to give it meaning, and then try it out in reality. By repeating trial and error, including failures, you acquire a sense of "let's think this way in this kind of situation" or "how the other person will react if I behave this way."

Lectures are the same. Learning only happens when there is a process of not just listening, but taking it into yourself and organizing it in your own words. There is the term "active learning," but whether you are listening quietly to a lecture or reading a book, learning is not established unless you think with your own head.

Precisely because we have generative AI now, there is great meaning in the experience of listening on the spot, thinking for yourself, and moving your hands to take notes. "Feeling like you understand" by looking at a screen is completely different from actually learning using your body. It is because you have the experience of thinking for yourself that you can ask appropriate questions to AI, and you can become a person who masters AI rather than being used by it. That is why I continue to hold game-style classes where people interact, make judgments on the spot, and can safely take on challenges and fail.

Finally, please tell us your recommended points about Keio from your perspective.

I feel that Yukichi Fukuzawa's spirit of "independence and self-respect," "Jigo-sakko" (being a pioneer), and "learning while teaching, teaching while learning" is truly wonderful. My current classes are possible specifically because people with the awareness of "carving out their own path" gather here.

Thinking for yourself and putting into practice what you think is good. I myself was once told by a colleague, "Please do what you think is good and what you want to challenge together with the students," and I was very encouraged by those words. I feel very grateful to be involved in education in such a free environment. I want to continue pursuing classes that I find "interesting" and create new learning together with the students.