A groundbreaking study led by Prof. Dr. Hitoshi Yamamoto (Rissho University) and his collaborators from, Soka University, Koriyama Women’s College, and the RINRI Institute has made significant strides in the field of indirect reciprocity: a key mechanism for sustaining cooperation in human societies. Their research unveils new insights into the social norms that protect cooperative behaviour from defector invasion and reputation costs, thereby deepening our understanding of how large-scale societies maintain stability. The results of the study were published in Scientific Reports.

This study explored the agreement or discrepancy between subjective difficulties in social cognition and actual cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia. It identified three clinical subtypes: the “low-impact group” (low levels of objective impairment and subjective difficulties), the “unaware group” (high levels of objective impairment but low levels of subjective difficulties), and the “perceptive group” (moderate levels of objective impairment and high levels of subjective difficulties). This classification could serve as a guidepost for formulating individualized, targeted interventions.

New study details how major real-world events grow and strengthen global hate networks online, inciting new hate content around specific hot-button issues.

Congratulations to Prof. Tamar Saguy of the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology on receiving the 2024 Diversity Science award for outstanding researchers from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (SESP). The SESP is a prestigious international scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of social psychological research, with a particular focus on experimental research. The award, presented annually, recognizes substantial, innovative, and sustained contributions to advancing the social psychology of diversity. Prof. Saguy studies the psychology of social change. Her research, which spans over 100 articles and has been cited more than 7,500 times, examines the mental processes that perpetuate inequality and explores interventions that can help bring about social change. Her work addresses various forms of inequality, including those based on nationality, race, ethnicity, and gender. Her research has been utilized to optimize intergroup encounters, both within and beyond the academic sphere.