Hattori Lab - College of Comprehensive Psychology, Ritsumeikan University

Human intellectuality and foolishness: The cognitive psychology view

How are our minds and brains constructed?

We, humans, cannot make lightning-fast calculations like computers can. We even often make errors. However, humans are capable of feats that computers cannot accomplish; we demonstrate keen intuition, flexibility, and outstanding creativity. Furthermore, our emotional faculties strengthen the bonds between individuals, and the resulting social cohesion allows us to achieve more than we could if we operated individually.

While such intelligence is present in humans, on the flip-side, we also demonstrate our fair share of silliness. For example, we become enslaved to prejudice, believe in jinxes and other superstitions, continually engage in irrational impulse buying, and succumb to jealousy and bitterness, which can plunge us into an endless negative spiral. However, considering that our mental processes developed over a long span of evolutionary history, our intelligence and silliness may in fact be two sides of the same coin.

In this lab, we focus on these dual aspects of human intelligence, and aim to elucidate the nature of human reasoning, decision making, and problem solving.

What's New?

1-Apr-2023: We welcome 11 new juniors (3rd year students) to our lab.
29-Jul-2020: R. Orita (Alumni) and M. Hattori (Prof) have received the 2019 Distinguished Paper Award, Japanese Psychological Association for the paper on affect and implicit cognition.

Orita, R., & Hattori, M. (2019b). “Positive and negative affects facilitate insight problem solving in different ways: A study with implicit hints.”
1-Apr-2020: We welcome 11 new juniors (3rd year students) to our lab.
18-Sep-2019: M. Hattori (Prof) has contributed a chapter to a new book on psychology of learning and language, which is now available at bookstores.

Hattori, M. (2019b). Language and reasoning. In T. Kusumi (Ed.), “Psychology of learning and language.”
1-Apr-2019: Y. Nishida (PD) has started a new work as a postdoctoral fellow at Ritsumeikan University.
23-Mar-2019: Y. Nishida (D3) received a Ph.D. from Ritsumeikan University.
1-Jan-2019: M. Hattori (Prof) now assumes the Editor-in-Chief of Cognitive Studies: A Bulletin of Japanese Cognitive Science Society.
23-Dec-2018: M. Hattori (Prof) gave a talk at The 22nd AI Art and Aesthetics Research Meeting at Bigakko, Tokyo.

Hattori, M. (2018h). “Deep + Meta + alpha: Some thoughts over rationality, creativity, and consciousness”
1-Nov-2018: M. Hattori (Prof) authored an article on artificial intelligence, which has just been published in Journal of Japanese Society for Artificial Ingelligence, 33(5), 771–779.

Hattori, M. (2018g). “What artificial intelligence reveals about creative cognition: A study from the standpoint of duality and rationality of thinking.”
20-Sep-2018: R. Orita (Alumni) and M. Hattori (Prof) coauthored a paper on the relationship between affect and implicit cognition, which has just been accepted for publication in Japanese Psychological Research, 61(2).

Orita, R., & Hattori, M. (2019b). “Positive and negative affects facilitate insight problem solving in different ways: A study with implicit hints.”
15-Jun-2018: M. Hattori (Prof) coauthored sections of a new handbook, Handbook of Experimental Psychology Methodology.

Hattori, M. (2018f). “Deductive reasoning”, “Wason selection task”
16-Apr-2018: R. Orita (Alumni), M. Hattori (Prof), and Nishida (D3) coauthored a paper on a Japanese remote associates task (RAT), which has just been accepted for publication in Japanese Journal of Psychology, 89(4).

Orita, R., Hattori, M., & Nishida, Y. (2018a). “Development of a Japanese Remote Associates Task as insight problems.”
1-Apr-2018: R. Orita (Alumni) has started a new work as a lecturer at the University of East Asia.
24-Mar-2018: R. Orita (Assist) received a Ph.D. from Ritsumeikan University.
15-Mar-2018: M. Hattori (Prof) gave a talk at The 21st Lecture of Whole Brain Architecture Initiative at Lazona Kawasaki Toshiba Building.

Hattori, M. (2018c). “Rationality and duality of human reasoning”
14-Mar-2018: M. Hattori (Prof) contributed a preface for Cognitive Studies, 25(1).

Hattori, M. (2018b). “Academicism of cognitive studies.”
18-Jan-2018: M. Hattori (Prof) authored an article on artificial intelligence, which has just been published in Psychology World, 80, 27–28.

Hattori, M. (2018a). “Which is rational, artificial intelligence or human beings?”
3-Nov-2016: R. Orita (Assist) is going to be awarded the Distinguished Presentation Prize for the poster presentation at the 81st Annual Convention of the Japanese Psychological Association:

Orita, R., Hattori, M., & Nishida, Y. (2017a). “Development of a Japanese remote associates test as insight problems.”
6-Nov-2017: Y. Nishida (D2), M. Hattori (Prof), R. Orita (Assist) coauthored a review paper on inhibition function in insight problem solving, which has just been accepted for publication in Ritsumeikan Journal of Human Sciences.

Nishida, Y, Hattori, M., & Orita, R. (2017a). “Idea generation in insight problem solving: A review from a viewpoint of inhibitory mechanism.”
29-Oct-2017: Y. Nishida (D2), R. Orita (Assist), M. Hattori (Prof), V. Castoldi (JSPS PD Fellowship), and L. Macchi (collaborator) coauthored a paper on inhibition function in insight problem solving, which has just been accepted for publication in Cognitive Studies.

Nishida, Y, Orita, R., Hattori, M., Castoldi, V., & Macchi, L. (2018a). “Novel idea generation and inhibitory function in insight problem solving.”
16-Aug-2017: Dr. Valeria Castoldi (Univ of Millan-Bicocca) has just joined our lab as a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow.
27-Jul-2017: Y. Nishida (D2) has awarded a grant from JSPS, Overseas Challenge Program for Young Researchers (from 31-Jan to 31-Jul-2018, Italy).
20-Jun-2017: R. Orita (Assist) and M. Hattori (Prof) coauthored a paper on interpersonal cognition, which has just been accepted for publication in Japanese Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 57(2).

Orita, R., Hattori, M., & Yagi, Y. (2018a). “Mechanism of the effects of ease of retrieval: The influence of cognitive load and need for cognition.”
30-Apr-2017: N. Miyakawa (M2) and M. Hattori (Prof) coauthored a paper on disfluency effect of letters, which has just been accepted for publication in Cognitive Studies, 24(3).

Miyakawa, N, & Hattori, M. (2017a). “Effects of disfluency of letters on memorizing words: A perspective from working memory capacity.”
1-Apr-2017: We welcome 10 new juniors (3rd year students) to our lab.
31-Mar-2017: M. Hattori (Prof) coauthored a paper on causal reasoning, which has just been accepted for publication in Thinking & Reasoning.

Hattori, I., Hattori, M., Over, D. E., Takahashi, T., & Baratgin, J. (2017a). “Dual frames for causal induction: The normative and the heuristic.”
24-Mar-2017: R. Orita (Assist) and Y. Nishida (D1) make a poster presentation at ICPS 2017 (2nd International Convention of Psychological Science, Vienna, Austria).

Orita, R., Nishida, & Hattori, M. (2017a). “Paradoxical relationship between exogenous cues and endogenous activity in insight problem solving: The influence of two types of inhibitory controls.”
21-Mar-2017: Graduation ceremony: Eleven 18th batch lab students have just graduated.
6 to 26-Mar-2017: Y. Nishida (D1) is staying at Prof. L. Macchi's lab, Univ of Milan-Bicocca, Italy, and carrying out research into insight problem solving in collaboration.
3/4-Mar-2017: A meeting of the research project Implicit Creative Cognition and Conscious Control take place at Ritsumeikan University, Osaka Ibaraki campus.
3-Apr-2017: R. Orita has awarded a grant from JSPS, KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B).
17-Jan-2017: M. Hattori (Prof) now assumes a Review Editor of Frontiers in Psychology, section Cognition.
12-Nov-2016: M. Hattori (Prof) has contributed a chapter to a new book on psychology of thinking, which is now available at bookstores.

Hattori, M., Over, D., Hattori, I., Takahashi, T., & Baratgin, J. (2016a). Dual frames in causal reasoning and other types of thinking (pp. 98–114). In N. Galbraith, E. Lucas, & D. Over (Eds.), “The thinking mind: A festschrift for Ken Manktelow.”
3-Nov-2016: Y. Nishida (D1) is awarded the Research Encouragement Prize at the 128th Annual Meeting of Kansai Psychological Association to the following presentation:

Nishida, Y., Orita, R., & Hattori, M. (2015b). “Implicit cues and cognitive inhibition in remote associates tests.”
29-Oct-2016: Y. Nishida (D1) makes a poster presentation at JPS 2016 (35th Annual Convention of Japanese Psychonomic Society, Tokyo Woman's Christian Univ., Japan).

Nishida, Y., Orita, R., & Hattori, M. (2016b). “How conscious efforts enable us to choose invisible cues: An examination of insight problem solving using subliminal priming.”
23-Oct-2016: M. Hattori (Prof) coauthored a new text book on cognitive psychology, which has just been published.
Goryo, K., Kikuchi, T., Egusa, H., Ijuin, M., Hattori, M., & Iseki, R. (2016a). “Invitation to cognitive psychology (Rev. Ed.).” Tokyo: Saiensu.
30-Sep-2016: M. Hattori (Prof) authored a paper on syllogistic reasoning data, which has just been accepted for publication in Data in Brief.

Hattori, M. (2016d). “Model fitting data from syllogistic reasoning experiments.”
10-Sep-2016: M. Hattori (Prof) gives a public lecture at the 3177th Ritsumeikan Saturday Lecture Series.
Hattori, M. (2016b). “Cognitive science of thinking: Consciousness and rationality of thoughts.”
09-Sep-2016: M. Hattori (Prof) authored a paper on probabilistic representation in syllogistic reasoning, which has just been accepted for publication in Cognition.

Hattori, M. (2016c). “Probabilistic representation in syllogistic reasoning: A theory to integrate mental models and heuristics.”
01-Sep-2016: English pages are totally renewed.
04-Aug-2016: M. Hattori (Prof) gives an oral presentation at ICT 2016 (8th International Conference on Thinking, Brown Univ., Providence, USA).

Hattori, M., & Hattori, I. (2016a). “Dual frames in causal reasoning and other types of thinking: An emprical test.”
27-Jul-2016: R. Orita (Assist) makes a poster presentation at ICP 2016 (31st International Congress of Psychology, Pacifico Yokohana, Japan).

Orita, R., & Hattori, M. (2016a). “Malleability and durability of implicit attitude: The influence of approach and avoidance behavior.”
26-Jul-2016: Y. Nishida (D1) makes a poster presentation at ICP 2016 (31st International Congress of Psychology, Pacifico Yokohana, Japan).

Nishida, Y., Orita, R., & Hattori, M. (2016a). “A benefit of “flagging inhibition” in insight problem solving.”
19-Jun-2016: N. Miyakawa (M1) makes an oral presentation at JSCP 2016 (14th Annual Convention of the Japanese Society for Cognitive Psychology, Hiroshima Univ., Japan).