Comprehensive Research OrganizationWaseda University

The purpose of this research center is to develop a methodology for microanalysis of people’s decision-making processes in social situations and to conduct basic and practical applied research using this methodology. Human decision making in social situations is not always economically rational or consistent. For example, attempts to make economic policy based on utility theory in economics may fail to fully explain the situation-dependent nature of consumer decision making. In addition, social predictions may be invalid because individuals’ daily life decisions are made dependent on the social environment. The goal of this institute is to understand the characteristics of such decision-making based on methods such as Internet surveys, mail surveys, interview surveys, behavioral observations, and psychological experiments, and to use the findings to inform practical activities such as marketing and social policy. Experiments on human decision-making processes, which form the core of this research, are conducted in the facilities of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, Waseda University (Psychology Laboratory and Social Psychology Laboratory).Experimental investigations of microanalysis of decision-making processes are conducted using eye movement measurement devices, personal computers for experimental control, video displays, personal computers for data analysis, and computational software. Experiments using these eye movement measurement devices are currently being conducted effectively, and we plan to continue to conduct comprehensive research on decision making using these devices. Decision-making processes in animals will also be examined.