than reiterating the efficacy and importance of using con-doms to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, it is much more effective to explain in detail ways in which condoms can be purchased without embarrassment, such as by using helpful facial expressions and mannerisms, or buying them in combination with certain other items. Higuchi creates video content to address this very topic. On the other hand, feeling embarrassment can have unex-pected benefits. “For example, there is a study showing that when someone accidentally knocks down a stack of products in a supermarket, their favorability will be the same regard-less of whether they try their best to return the products to where they were, or simply stand there embarrassed.” It seems facial expressions that communicate embarrassment can lessen or cancel out the blunder, and invite forgiveness. As the professor notes above, Japanese have an inclination to interpret embarrassment in a positive way, and therefore this may manifest itself in these kinds of circumstances. “This is why psychological research should not be solely con-cerned with how to restrain the aspects of embarrassment that prevent us from moving forward,” concludes Higashi, “but also with embarrassment’s positive aspects, and how to live with them.” “My life has been utterly riddled with ‘embarrassment,’” jokes Higuchi about the emotion that has consistently been the central theme of his research, ever since his undergraduate thesis. The im-petus of this lifelong work was a book received, by chance, from his seminar professor. This tome was “Nacktheit und Scham” (Nakedness and Shame) by Hans Peter Duerr. “That book had me hooked, and was filled with fasci-nating information, such as the fact that in the past, women of high social standing nonchalantly bathed on ve-randas because they did not consider themselves to be the same humans as the commoners walk-ing outside,” reminisces Higuchi.Even though we all share the same bodies and sexual organs, why do we feel embarrassed when showing them naked? This question, quite the mystery when one thinks about it, is one the professor has now been engaged with for two decades. “There are no conclusions, of course, and I think one should not hurry to produce such results. I have a feeling we will not reach a conclusion, but I am fine with that. Either way, I will engage with this topic until the end of my life as a researcher.” The Department of Psychology, the professor’s affiliated de-partment, is in the Faculty of Human Sciences, together with the Department of Education, the Department of Sociology, the Department of Social Services, and the Department of Nursing. “It is a unique combination of academic fields, but appropriate in terms of examining humans from all perspec-tives. When learning psychology or conducting research, one can expect to be stimulated in ways one can’t be elsewhere.”Given that Sophia University is rooted in Catholicism, Hi-guchi also has considerable interest in a social-psychological approach to religion. “There are positive and negative sides to religion, as seen in how devotees build desirable social rela-tions among themselves but develop prejudices and antago-nisms towards outsiders. As with shame, I want to proceed in my research by taking great care to look at both aspects simultaneously.” Engaging thus with shame and religion, Higuchi’s research may use different perspectives to shed light on the notions of “guilt culture” and “shame culture” presented by Benedict. Conclusions Do Not Have to Be the Goal of ResearchAn entrainment behavior experiment in Professor Higu-chi’s Social Psychology class: What percent of people will look up at the sky, in response to a single individual gazing up at an empty sky in which there is nothing to see?“Social Psychology: Revis-iting the Classic Studies” (Translation co-supervisedby Masataka Higuchi)13Research
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