Research Topics
■ Research on social cognitive development in infancy
■ Empirical research of mother-child interaction

In order to truly understand human behavior, it is necessary to take into account not only the process of behavioral development from embryo to adult (ontogeny), but also the process of behavioral evolution from protozoa to humans (phylogeny). The comparative developmental psychology pursues the study of human mind, behaviour and body, and their interrelationships, using developmental psychology and comparative ethology as methodologies. Our research covers a wide range of human subjects, from infancy to childhood, and occasionally adulthood.
Our research focuses on a variety of topics using empirical methodologies, with a particular focus on social cognition in infancy, for example, understanding of others, morality and prosociality, and social learning. We mainly conduct experiments on cognitive development in infants and on mother-infant interaction in the university research room.