Prospective students are kindly requested to read the following carefully.
Director: Yukiko Uchida, PhD. （Professor, Institute for the Future of Human Society, Kyoto University）
Please contact us via this form: http://goo.gl/forms/DKaHhP3fsy
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We do not accept “research students” without funding.
The MEXT scholarship (embassy recommendation) is recommendable, and our graduate school does not offer MEXT scholarship (university recommendation).
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Research field information
This is a Cultural Psychology Research Lab. The methodology used is similar to Social Psychology, which includes experiments and surveys. International comparison research as well as field work inside Japanese farming and fishing villages are conducted. Because cross-cultural collaboration is a main part of our research, we have many foreign students and short-term/long-term visiting scholars, thus the seminar is now conducted mainly in English. Recent research themes include well-being and happiness, the relationship between social-cultural environment and the mind, cultural change, social structure (social hierarchy) and cognition, learning process of different cultural-cognitive styles, organizational culture and regional culture.
Practical information and Entrance Examination
Students need to have sufficient Japanese language ability to live in Japan and to take university classes in Japanese (JLPT N2 / N1 recommended).
Students need to take the entrance exam for the Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies at Kyoto University where Professor Uchida is affiliated. The exam for Psychology will be given in Japanese, so sufficient knowledge of the field as well as of the language is required.
For details, please visit the website: http://www.h.kyoto-u.ac.jp/jinkan/entrance/
Regarding Graduation with a Master’s Degree Only
In the Uchida Laboratory, we also engage in approaches using theories and methods of cultural and social psychology to address real-world issues such as well-being in communities, companies, and organizations. We welcome those who are considering a career path where they can apply the theories and methods of cultural and social psychology learned through involvement in such projects during their master’s program in the real world after graduation.
However, we are not accepting students who do not have experience in writing a research paper in empirical psychology dealing with data or who do not plan to do so before entering graduate school.
Regarding Transfer to Doctoral Program
Generally, we primarily provide a five-year continuous graduate education starting from the master’s program, and priority is given to internal students advancing from the master’s program
and government-sponsored international students for the doctoral program, so we generally do not accept transfers (exceptions may be made for those who have completed master’s program in a Cultural Psychology/Experimental Social Psychology area).
Scholarship and funding
Candidates are strongly recommended to apply for a scholarship in order to receive funding to study in Japan. Scholarships from other countries, companies or the MEXT scholarship from the Japanese government are fit for this purpose. Please note that our graduate school does not offer MEXT scholarship (university recommendation).
The MEXT scholarship (embassy recommendation) is recommendable for those who wish to pursue studies in this lab. With this scholarship, students are able to stay in Japan before the entrance exam as “research students” and take classes to improve their Japanese level.
In the case of the MEXT scholarship, contact the lab only after the primary screening (written examination and interview).
For details please visit the website:
https://www.studyinjapan.go.jp/en/smap-stopj-applications-research.html
List of the books/papers for your study
Books
Uchida, Y.; Rappleye, J. (2023). Happiness: A World Map. In An Interdependent Approach to
Happiness and Well-Being (pp. 19-33). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
（https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-26260-9）
“Cultural Psychology” by Steven J Heine
“Culture of Honor” by Nisbett & Cohen
“Research Design Explained” by Mitchell & Jolley
「社会心理学概論」 北村英哉・内田由紀子 ナカニシヤ出版
「社会心理学キーワード」 山岸俊男 有斐閣
Papers
・Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological review, 98, 224-253
・Kitayama, S., Park, H., Sevincer, A. T., Karasawa, M., & Uskul, A. K. (2009). A cultural task analysis of implicit independence: comparing North America, Western Europe, and East Asia. Journal of personality and social psychology,97, 236-255
・Uskul, A. K., Kitayama, S., & Nisbett, R. E. (2008). Ecocultural basis of cognition: Farmers and fishermen are more holistic than herders. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105, 8552-8556.
・Kitayama, S., Ishii, K., Imada, T., Takemura, K., & Ramaswamy, J. (2006). Voluntary settlement and the spirit of independence: Evidence from Japan’s” northern frontier.”. Journal of personality and social psychology, 91, 369-384
・Kitayama, S., Duffy, S., Kawamura, T., & Larsen, J. T. (2003). Perceiving an object and its context in different cultures A cultural look at new look. Psychological Science, 14, 201-206.
・Uchida, Y., Kitayama, S., Mesquita, B., Reyes, J. A. S., & Morling, B. (2008). Is perceived emotional support beneficial? Well-being and health in independent and interdependent cultures. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 741-754.
・Uchida, Y., & Kitayama, S. (2009). Happiness and unhappiness in east and west: themes and variations. Emotion, 9, 441-456.
・Uchida, Y., & Ogihara, Y. (2012). Personal or interpersonal construal of happiness: A cultural psychological perspective. International Journal of Wellbeing, 2, 354-369.
・Norasakkunkit, V., & Uchida, Y. (2011). Psychological consequences of postindustrial anomie on self and motivation among Japanese youth. Journal of Social Issues67, 774-786.
・Uchida, Y., Takemura, K., Fukushima, S., Saizen, I., Kawamura, Y.,Hitokoto, H., Koizumi, N., & Yoshikawa, S. (2019). Farming cultivates a community-level shared culture through collective activities: Examining contextual effects with multilevel analyses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 116(1), 1-14.