Updated on 2023/09/27

写真a

 
MIYATA, Hiromitsu
 
Affiliation
Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, School of Culture, Media and Society
Job title
Professor
Degree
Ph.D. (Letters) ( 2009.03 Kyoto University )
M.A. (Letters) ( 2006.03 Kyoto University )
B.A. (Letters) ( 2004.03 Kyoto University )
Homepage URL
https://miyata-lab-en.labby.jp/
Profile

By using research methods in psychology including surveys, experiments, and interventions, I currently study transformation of mind and body and its underlying psychological and/or physiological mechanisms associated with various Eastern traditional mind-body practices. Specifically, I study traditional yoga and meditation, martial arts, laughter yoga, speed-reading, regimen, traditional performing art, mindfulness, etc. Empirical studies typically aim to elucidate how these practices may alter dispositional mindfulness, interoceptive awareness, and psychologuical health outcomes, and how relavant psychological and/or physiological functions may be associated with such changes. I use various research methods inclusing psychological scales, measurement of autonomic nervous system activities, behavioral experiments, clinical interventions, etc., and their combinations.

In my carrer I have also conducted experimental studies to assess planning abilities in avian speces, i.e., pigeons (Columba livia) and keas (Nestor notabilis), as well as in human (Homo sapiens) young children and adults. These studies involved original behavioral tasks such as maze and "traveling salesperson" tasks that utilized a navigation behavior on an LCD screen, as well as artificial-fruit problems that used a lock-opening hehavior. Other experimental studies concern implicit nature of insight problem solving in adults. I have also used functional neuroimaing by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and eye-tracking (Tobii eye-tracker).

Research Experience

  • 2019.04
    -
    Now

    Waseda University   Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences   Professor

  • 2016.09
    -
    2022.03

    Japan Institute of Lifelong Learning   Visiting Researcher

  • 2014.04
    -
    2022.03

    Aoyama Gakuin University   College of Education, Psychology and Human Studies   Part-time Lecturer

  • 2017
    -
    2019

    Waseda University   Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences   Associate Professor

  • 2014
    -
    2017

    Aoyama Gakuin University   Human Innovation Research Center   Visiting Researcher

  • 2014
    -
    2016

    The University of Tokyo   Center for Research and Development of Higher Education   Associate Professor

  • 2013
    -
    2014

    Aoyama Gakuin University   Human Innovation Research Center   Assistant Professor

  • 2013
    -
    2014

    Nagoya University   Graduate School of Information Science   Visiting Associate Professor

  • 2012
    -
    2013

    Japan Science and Technology Agency   Okanoya Emotional Information Project (OEIP), Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO)   Researcher (Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University)

  • 2009
    -
    2012

    Japan Society for the Promotion of Science   Postdoctoral Fellow (Graduate School of Human Relations, Keio University)

  • 2006
    -
    2009

    Japan Society for the Promotion of Science   Research Fellow (Graduate School of letters, Kyoto University)

  • 2004
    -
    2005

    Kyoto University   Graduate School of Letters   Teaching Assistant

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Education Background

  • 2006.04
    -
    2009.03

    Kyoto University   Graduate School of Letters  

  • 2004.04
    -
    2006.03

    Kyoto University   Graduate School of Letters  

  • 2000.04
    -
    2004.03

    Kyoto University   Faculty of Letters  

Committee Memberships

  • 2020.04
    -
    Now

    Japan Association of Somatics & Somatic Psychology  Steering Committee

Professional Memberships

  • 2020.04
    -
    Now

    The Japanese Association of Health Psychology

  • 2015.09
    -
    Now

    Japan Emotionology Society

  • 2014.10
    -
    Now

    Japanese Association of Mindfulness

  • 2013.05
    -
    Now

    Japanese Cognitive Science Society

  • 2009.04
    -
    Now

    The Japan Neuroscience Society

  • 2009.04
    -
    Now

    Society for Neuroscience

  • 2004.04
    -
    Now

    The Japanese Psychological Association

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Research Areas

  • Cognitive and brain science / Clinical psychology / Experimental psychology / Cognitive science

Research Interests

  • interoceptive awareness

  • somatic psychology

  • thinking

  • meditation

  • neuroplasticity

  • expertise

  • problem solving

  • autonomic nervous system

  • maze

  • traveling salesperson problem

  • planning

  • pigeon

  • young children

  • kea

  • embodied psychology

  • mind-body theory

  • Eastern traditional practices

  • mindfulness

  • yoga

  • martial arts

  • laughter

  • speed reading

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Awards

  • Best Poster Award, The 8th Annual Meeting, Japanese Association of Mindfulness

    2021.12   Japanese Association of Mindfulness   Psychological impacts of 3-minute meditations introduced in a full-on-demand course for university undergraduates

    Winner： Hiromitsu Miyata, Isana Kubota, Iori Oikawa, Tamami Okamoto, Yuta Konno

  • JPA Awards for International Contributions to Psychology: Awards for Distinguished Early and Middle Career Contributions

    2016.11   The Japanese Psychological Association  

    Winner： Hiromitsu Miyata

  • Research Grant 2015

    2016.03   NPO, NeuroCreative Lab   Training that heightens creaticity: Altered information processing through contemplative practice

    Winner： Hiromitsu Miyata

  • Poster Award, The 17th Annual Meeting of Japanese Society of Cognitive Neuroscience

    2012.09   Japanese Society of Cognitive Neuroscience   Visuo-spatial processing and eye-movements when reading Japanese short novels: Comparisons between normal and speed-readers

    Winner： Hiromitsu Miyata, Shigeru Watanabe, Kazuhiro Ueda, Toyofumi Sasaki, Yasuyo Minagawa

 

Papers

  • "Soma and psyche" that go beyond and connect: Looking back on the 8th Memorial Meeting of the Japan Association of Somatics & Somatic Psychology

    Hiromitsu Miyata

    VOSS: Voice of Somatics & Somatic Psyhology   8  2022.03  [Invited]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • Effects of breathing meditation before meals on eating behavior and mindfulness

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Saki Akatsuka

    Japanese Journal of Mindfulness   7   印刷中  2022  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • Dispositional mindfulness and interoceptive awareness in a continuous practitioner of martial arts: A preliminary study

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Manaka Tano, Beopryong Kim, Ziyu Dong, Mari Roah

    Japanese Journal of Mindfulness   6 ( 1 ) 23 - 32  2021.12  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • Toyo-teki shinshinkan to shinrigaku wo megutte (Eastern views of mind-body and psychoology)

    Hiromitsu Miyata

    VOSS: Voice of Somatics & Somatic Psyhology   7   28 - 29  2021.03  [Invited]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • Pain and psychological health: Examination of moderating effects by using the Six Factors Mindfulness Scale

    Hiromitsu Miyata

    The AGU Journal of Psychology   20   19 - 28  2021.03  [Domestic journal]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • Mindfulness and psychological health in practitioners of Japanese martial arts: A cross-sectional study

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Daisuke Kobayashi, Akifumi Sonoda, Hibiki Motoike, Saki Akatsuka

    BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation   12 ( 1 ) 75  2020.12  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    　View Summary

    <title>Abstract</title><sec>
    <title>Background</title>
    Empirical data have suggested that mind-body practices that originated in Eastern traditions can cause desirable changes to psychological traits, the brain, somatic physiological functions, etc. Martial arts in Japan refer to the physical/mental practices that were developed based on historical combat techniques. Today, martial arts are considered activities that seek embodiment and/or mind-body unity, as well as sports. Empirical studies involving practitioners of Japanese martial arts to date remain scarce.


    </sec><sec>
    <title>Methods</title>
    We conducted a questionnaire survey using a cross-sectional design to examine whether the practice of martial arts based on Japanese traditions are associated with mindfulness and psychological health. Participants included a population of practitioners of martial arts with a practice period of 0.6–35.0 years, and non-practitioners matched for demographic variables.


    </sec><sec>
    <title>Results</title>
    Compared with the non-practitioners, the practitioners of martial arts had significantly higher scores for mindfulness and subjective well-being and lower scores for depression. Among the practitioners of martial arts, a longer period of practice or a higher frequency of daily practice significantly predicted higher mindfulness and psychological health.


    </sec><sec>
    <title>Conclusions</title>
    The results obtained are consistent with those previously obtained for other populations of Japanese contemplatives, and support the view that practice of multiple Eastern mind-body practices might be associated with similar desirable psychological outcomes. A cross-sectional design has limitations in that it is difficult to determine the effect of continued practice, so that a longitudinal study that follows the same practitioners over time is desired in the future enquiry.


    </sec>

    DOI

    Scopus

    12
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • Impacts of reading habits on mindfulness and psychological status: A further analysis

    Hiromitsu Miyata

    WASEDA RILAS JOURNAL   8   207 - 218  2020.10  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • Impact of 5-Minute meditation sessions at the beginning of a university class on the psychological states of undergraduates

    Japanese Journal of Mindfulness   5 ( 1 ) 1 - 12  2020.08  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Last author, Corresponding author

  • Ongaku chikaku to undo shutaikan no seiseikatei to no kanren ni kansuru ichi kosatu (A discussion on the associations between music perception and emergence of the sense of agency)

    Technical Report of the Japanese Cognitive Science Society   JCSS-TR-83   1 - 18  2020.03  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Last author, Corresponding author

  • The Park-Sasaki method of speed-reading and mindfulness: A cross-sectional study

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Toyofumi Sasaki

    WASEDA RILAS JOURNAL   7   235 - 248  2019.10  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • Short-term contemplative practices with vocalization alter psychological states in an unexperienced student sample

    Hiromitsu Miyata

    Bulletin of the Graduate Division of Letters, Arts and Sciences of Waseda University   64   65 - 79  2019.03

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • A preliminary analysis on the autonomic nervous system activities during meditation by a yoga expert

    Hiromitsu Miyata

    Technical Report of the Japanese Cognitive Science Society   JCSS-TR-77   1 - 9  2018.03  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • How reading habits and smartphone usage relate to mindfulness and psychological status in a student sample: A pilot study

    Miyata, H

    The AGU Journal of Psychology   18   9 - 18  2018

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • Do subliminal hints facilitate sequential planning when solving a spatial insight problem?

    Miyata, H, Otagiri, H, Suzuki, H

    The AGU Journal of Psychology   17   47 - 56  2017

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • Enhanced visual form and visuo-spatial processes in Japanese speed-reading experts: A preliminary analysis

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Shigeru Watanabe, Kazuhiro Ueda, Toyofumi Sasaki, Yasuyo Minagawa

    Technical Report of the Japanese Cognitive Science Society   JCSS-TR-74   1 - 13  2016.10  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • Effects of reading time and speed on mindfulness and psychological status: Evidence from a Japanese sample

    Miyata, H

    The AGU Journal of Psychology   16 ( 16 ) 45 - 54  2016

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    CiNii

  • Mindfulness and psychological status of Japanese yoga practitioners: A cross-sectional study

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Kazuo Okanoya, Nobuyuki Kawai

    Mindfulness   6 ( 3 ) 560 - 571  2015.06  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author

    DOI

    Scopus

    6
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • Problem solving during infancy and early childhood, Development of

    Hiromitsu Miyata

    International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd Edition   19   68 - 72  2015.03  [Refereed]  [Invited]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • Psychological studies of speed-reading as a contemplative training method

    Miyata, H

    The AGU Journal of Psychology   15 ( 15 ) 77 - 90  2015

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    CiNii

  • Performance of young children on ‘‘traveling salesperson’’ navigation tasks presented on a touch screen

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Shigeru Watanabe, Yasuyo Minagawa

    PLoS ONE   9 ( 12 ) e115292 - e115292  2014.12  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    DOI

    Scopus

    6
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • Comparative navigation studies: Testing pigeons (Columba livia) and humans (Homo sapiens) on computerized problems

    Miyata, H

    The AGU Journal of Psychology   14 ( 14 ) 17 - 28  2014

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    CiNii

  • Exploring the unconscious nature of insight using continuous flash suppression and a dual task

    Hiroaki Suzuki, Haruaki Fukuda, Hiromitsu Miyata, Keiji Tsuchiya

    Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society   36   2955 - 2960  2014  [Refereed]

  • Shiko-taiken no kodogaku-teki kaiseki (Behavioral analyses on peak experience)

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Nobuyuki Kawai

    Seibutu no kagaku iden (Biological Sciences: Genetics)   67 ( 6 ) 679 - 684  2013.11  [Invited]

    Authorship：Lead author

  • Shadows alter facial expressions of Noh masks

    Nobuyuki Kawai, Hiromitsu Miyata, Ritsuko Nishimura, Kazuo Okanoya

    PLoS ONE   8 ( 8 ) e71389 - e71389  2013.08  [Refereed]

    DOI

    Scopus

    6
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • The mysterious Noh mask: Contribution of multiple facial parts to the recognition of emotional expressions

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Ritsuko Nishimura, Kazuo Okanoya, Nobuyuki Kawai

    PLoS ONE   7 ( 11 ) e50280 - e50280  2012.11  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author

    DOI

    Scopus

    7
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • Further tests of pigeons’ (Columba livia) planning behavior using a computerized plus-shaped maze task

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Kazuo Fujita

    Perceptual and Motor Skills   115 ( 1 ) 27 - 42  2012.08  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    DOI

  • Reading speed, comprehension and eye movements while reading Japanese novels: Evidence from untrained readers and cases of speed-reading trainees

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Yasuyo Minagawa-Kawai, Shigeru Watanabe, Toyofumi Sasaki, Kazuhiro Ueda

    PLoS ONE   7 ( 5 ) e36091 - e36091  2012.05  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    DOI

    Scopus

    12
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • Acquisition of a same-different discrimination task by pigeons (Columba livia)

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Kazuo Fujita

    Psychological Reports   110 ( 1 ) 251 - 262  2012.02  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    　View Summary

    Four homing pigeons were trained to discriminate two figures simultaneously presented on an LCD screen. The figure was either a rectangle (A) or a square (B), and four combinations of the two figures, AA, AB, BA, BB, appeared in a pseudo-randomized order. The pigeons' task was to peck one of these figures based upon whether the two figures were identical or not. One pigeon successfully learned this discrimination, with proportions of correct responses above 90% in two consecutive sessions. Of the other birds, two performed above chance level but had difficulty meeting a learning criterion of above 80% in two consecutive sessions. All birds achieved this criterion when the combinations of figures presented were reduced to two. Results suggested that learning the present same-different discrimination is within the capacity of pigeons to a certain extent, although there exists considerable individual variation in the pigeons' skills to acquire complex discrimination.

    DOI

  • Flexible route selection by pigeons (Columba livia) on a computerized multi-goal navigation task with and without an “obstacle”

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Kazuo Fujita

    Journal of Comparative Psychology   125 ( 4 ) 431 - 435  2011.11  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    DOI

    Scopus

    6
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • Planning abilities in non-human animals: New findings in primates and birds

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Kazuo Fujita

    The Japanese Journal of Animal Psychology   61 ( 1 ) 69 - 82  2011.06  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    　View Summary

    Planning, or an internal process of making decisions about one's future behavior, appears advantageous not only for humans but also for non-human species. In fact, recent studies have shown that many non-human primates as well as some avian species may be endowed with planning capacities. Those animals are suggested to plan in order to meet not only present but also future needs, as opposed to the Bischof-Köhler hypothesis. Testing planning in a wider variety of species using various setups would be required to uncover phylogenetic and ecological factors that may have facilitated evolution of planning. In particular, it is important to examine planning abilities by using general learning tasks instead of species-specific situations such as tool-use and food-caching. After reviewing evidence on planning by non-human animals, we introduce recent findings about planning by pigeons in operant tasks including computerized navigation and maze tasks. Planning capacities may be shared across species from wider-ranging taxa than have been assumed. Metacognition of planning would serve as one of the most important topics for the future quest.

    DOI CiNii

  • Two successive neurocognitive processes captured by near-infrared spectroscopy: Prefrontal activation during a computerized plus-shaped maze task

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Shigeru Watanabe, Yasuyo Minagawa-Kawai

    Brain Research   1374   90 - 99  2011.02  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    DOI

    Scopus

    8
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • How do keas (Nestor notabilis) solve artificial-fruit problems with multiple locks?

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Gyula K. Gajdon, Ludwig Huber, Kazuo Fujita

    Animal Cognition   14 ( 1 ) 45 - 58  2011.01  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    DOI

    Scopus

    27
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • Route selection by pigeons (Columba livia) in “traveling salesperson” navigation tasks presented on an LCD screen

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Kazuo Fujita

    Journal of Comparative Psychology   124 ( 4 ) 433 - 446  2010.11  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    　View Summary

    Navigation tasks using the traveling salesperson problem (TSP) were presented to pigeons (Columba livia) to determine their strategy on spatial tasks with 2 to 3 goals In Experiment 1 a simple TSP task with 2;oats awls presented In Experiment 2 3 goals were presented so that each of the goals and the starting location of the target held each corner of a square In Experiment 3 3 goals were aligned along a straight line In Experiment 4 3 goals were placed so that the 2 of them were in close proximity to each other to form a group In all of these experiments the pigeons showed tendencies to visit the nearest goal first which may suggest that the pigeons mainly used local or inflexible strategies in determining the routes to take However further evidence was also found that in Experiment 2 the pigeons frequently selected routes with short traveling distances while traveling either counterclockwise or clockwise not necessarily relying on the nearest neighbor algorithm Results from these experiments are discussed in relation to the pigeons foraging ecology and adaptation

    DOI

    Scopus

    18
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • Prefrontal activation during and before solution of an eight-arm shuriken-shaped maze task presented on a touch screen: A near-infrared spectroscopy study

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Shigeru Watanabe, Yasuyo Minagawa-Kawai

    Inquiries into Humans and Societies: Studies in Sociology, Psychology and Education   70 ( 70 ) 125 - 140  2010  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    CiNii

  • Evolutionary origins of thinking abilities: Comparative studies involving pigeons, human children, and keas

    Hiromitsu Miyata

    Ph.D. Thesis, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University     1 - 200  2009.03

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • Planning in human children (Homo sapiens) assessed by maze problems on the touch screen

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Shoji Itakura, Kazuo Fujita

    Journal of Comparative Psychology   123 ( 1 ) 69 - 78  2009.02  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    　View Summary

    The authors examined how human children perform on maze tasks on the touch screen and whether the children plan the solution of the mazes. In Experiment 1, the authors exposed children around 3 years of age to a maze having an L-shaped line as a barrier that can be solved by moving an illustration of a dog (the target) to that of a bone (the goal) with their fingers. The participants successfully solved the maze by taking efficient routes more frequently than chance, although the authors found no evidence that a preview of the maze before starting to solve the task facilitated their performance. In Experiment 2, using a plus-shaped maze, the authors found that 3- and 4-year-old children plan and adjust their moves while solving the maze, with 4-year-olds showing more advanced and higher-level planning than 3-year-olds. Similarity of these results to what the authors previously found in pigeons tested in the same tasks may suggest an analogy for planning capacity in the behavioral level across taxa and developmental stages.

    DOI

    Scopus

    16
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • Pigeons (Columba livia) plan future moves on computerized maze tasks

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Kazuo Fujita

    Animal Cognition   11 ( 3 ) 505 - 516  2008.07  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    DOI

    Scopus

    26
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • Performance of pigeons (Columba livia) on maze problems presented on the LCD screen: In search for preplanning ability in an avian species.

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Tomokazu Ushitani, Ikuma Adachi, Kazuo Fujita

    Journal of Comparative Psychology   120 ( 4 ) 358 - 366  2006.11  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    DOI

    Scopus

    19
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • Perception of the standard and the reversed Muller-Lyer figures in pigeons (Columba livia) and humans (Homo sapiens)

    Noriyuki Nakamura, Kazuo Fujita, Tomokazu Ushitani, Hiromitsu Miyata

    Journal of Comparative Psychology   120 ( 3 ) 252 - 261  2006.08  [Refereed]

    Authorship：Last author

    　View Summary

    The authors compared perception of the standard and reversed Muller-Lyer figures between pigeons (Columbia livia) and humans (Homo sapiens). In Experiment 1, pigeons learned to classify 6 lengths of target lines into "long" and "short" categories by pecking 2 keys on the monitor, ignoring the 2 brackets so placed that they would not induce an illusion. In the test that followed, all 3 birds chose the "long" key more frequently for the standard Muller-Lyer figures with inward-pointing brackets (&gt;&lt;) than for the figures with outward-pointing brackets (&lt;&gt;). The subjects' responses were accountable by neither overall lengths of the figures nor horizontal gaps between the 2 brackets. For the reversed figures, effects of the brackets were absent. These results suggested that the pigeons perceived the standard Muller-Lyer illusion but not the reversed one. Experiment 2 confirmed that humans perceived both types of the illusion. Pigeons and humans may perceive the same illusory figures in different ways.

    DOI

    Scopus

    54
    Citation
    (Scopus)

  • Comparative cognitive studies on the ability to operate on mental representations

    Hiromitsu Miyata

    Master's Thesis, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University     1 - 91  2006.03

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

  • Comparative cognitive studies on mental rehearsal by using a maze task

    Hiromitsu Miyata

    Graduation Thesis, Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University     1 - 67  2004.03

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

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Books and Other Publications

  • TEAM WSP kyoju interview shu 2021 (TEAM WSP interviews with the professors 2021)

    Hiromitsu Miyata( Part： Contributor, Pp. 35-36)

    Toyo-Shiso Kenkyu-Kai (Society for the Study of Eastern Thoughts), Waseda Universiy  2021.11

  • Kenko Family (Health Family), Autumn Edition 2021

    Hiromitsu Miyata, Hideo Terashima( Part： Contributor, Shoku kara himotoku mindfulness (Mindfulness unraveled from eating))

    Bunrishoin  2021.09

  • Comparative cognition: Commonalities and diversity

    J. R. Anderson, H. Kuroshima( Part： Contributor, Planning abilities in nonhuman animals: In search of the evolutionary origins of “thought”)

    Springer Naturte Singapore  2021.08

  • DAIHORIN 2019.11.

    ( Part： Contributor, Mindfulness ga toku kokoro ("Kokoro" that mindfulness tells))

    DAIHORIN-KAKU  2019.11

  • Dobutsu-tachi ha nani wo kangaete iru? Dobutsu-sinrigaku no chosen (What are animals thinking about? Challenges of animal psychology)

    Kazuo Fujita, The Japanese, Society for Animal Psychology( Part： Contributor, Kou-yatte, aa-yatte…Dobutsu ni sakiyomi ha dekiru? (This way, then that way…Can animal plan ahead?) (Pp. 148-152))

    Gijutsu-Hyohron Co., Ltd.  2015.05 ISBN: 9784774172583

  • Dobutsu-no keikaku-nouryoku: “Shiko” no sinka wo saguru (Planning abilities in animals: In search for the evolution of “thinking”)

    Hiromitsu Miyata( Part： Sole author)

    Kyoto University Press  2014.03 ISBN: 9784876983971

▼display all

Research Projects

  • Integration of awareness on one's internal and external environment through mental training

    Japan Society for the Promotion of Science  Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

    Project Year :

    2018.04
    -
    2021.03
     

    Hiromitsu Miyata

  • Training that enhances creativity: Changes in information processing induced by meditation

    NPO, NeuroCreative Lab  Research Grant 2015

    Project Year :

    2016.03
    -
    2017.03
     

    Hiromitsu Miyata

  • Research on mindfulness and changes of information processing

    Japan Society for the Promotion of Science  Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)

    Project Year :

    2014.04
    -
    2017.03
     

    Miyata Hiromitsu

    　View Summary

    The present study examined changes of psychological and physiological status induced by mindfulness, or contemplative practices. First, a questionnaire survey was conducted in order to uncover psychological status of trainees in contemplative reading (i.e., speed-reading). The results suggested desirable changes of psychological status associated with continued training. Also, for non-meditators habits of reading predicted more desirable psychological status. Second, autonomic nervous activities in an experienced yoga practitioner were measured during meditations with different themes. Different patterns in autonomic nervous activities were observed between meditation while focusing attention on one’s own breath and meditation while internally repeating a mantra of love, which suggested active switching of physiological status.

  • Representation and function of subliminal information used in problem solving

    Japan Society for the Promotion of Science  Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

    Project Year :

    2012.04
    -
    2015.03
     

    Hiroaki Suzuki, Haruaki Fukuda, Satoshi Suzuki, Hiromitsu Miyata

    　View Summary

    Previous studies have revealed that subliminal hint information facilitates performance in insight problem solving. Our research aims at specifying which memory system the subliminal information is stored, and examining whether this information is static visual image or manipulated flexibly. In order to specify the memory system, we posed a visual search task when presenting subliminal hint information. The results showed that subjects' performance would not affected by a dual task which is expected to interfere the retention of the subliminal hint information. This suggests that subliminal information should be stored in a storage system other than working memory. In the second experiment, we presented subjects with a series of partial hint information subliminally. However, this experimental manipulation would not affect subjects' performance at all. The results suggest that subliminal information could not be manipulated flexibly, unlike information in working memory.

  • Discretionary Funds of the President for publication of the Ph.D. thesis

    Kyoto University 

    Project Year :

    2013.04
    -
    2014.03
     

    Hiromitsu Miyata

  • Approaches from scientific study of consciousness on the evolutionary origins of thinking abilities

    Japan Society for the Promotion of Science  Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows

    Project Year :

    2009.04
    -
    2012.03
     

    Hiromitsu Miyata

  • Comparative cognitive study on the ability to operate on mental representations

    Japan Society for the Promotion of Science  Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows

    Project Year :

    2006.04
    -
    2009.03
     

    Hiromitsu Miyata

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Misc

  • Integration of awareness on one's internal and external environment through mental training

    Hiromitsu Miyata

        1 - 13  2021.06

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    Other  

  • "Koto kyoiku kikan ni okeru jinzai ikusei" ni kansuru jittai chosa (9-11, 2017) hokokusho (Report of the fact-finding survey on "human resource development at institutions of higher education (9-11, 2017)")

    Japan Institute of Lifelong Learning

        1 - 74  2018.06  [Domestic journal]

    Internal/External technical report, pre-print, etc.  

  • "Hi ninchi noryoku" no gainen ni kansuru kosatsu (A discussoin on the concept of "non-cognitive skill")

    Japan Institute of Lifelong Learning

        1 - 11  2018.03  [Domestic journal]

    Internal/External technical report, pre-print, etc.  

  • Research on mindfulness and changes of information processing

    Hiromitsu Miyata

        1 - 4  2017.05  [Domestic journal]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    Other  

  • Training that heightens creaticity: Altered information processing through contemplative practice

    Hiromitsu Miyata

    Research report of the NPO, NeuroCreative Lab Research Grant 2015     1 - 3  2017.05  [Domestic journal]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    Internal/External technical report, pre-print, etc.  

  • "Sohatsu gakushu kankyo design" kyoiku kenkyu project katsudo seika hokoku (Progress report of the "emergent learning environmental design" education and research activity)

    Hiroaki Suzuki, Yumiko Sugitani, Atsushi Terao, Eri Shigemasu, Hiromitsu Miyata, Satoshi Suzuki

        5 - 15  2016  [Domestic journal]

    Internal/External technical report, pre-print, etc.  

  • Representation and function of subliminal information used in problem solving

    Hiroaki Suzuki, Haruaki Fukuda, Satoshi Suzuki, Hiromitsu Miyata

        1 - 4  2015.06  [Domestic journal]

    Authorship：Last author

    Other  

  • Siko taiken (Peak experience)

    Hiromitsu Miyata

        110 - 112  2015  [Domestic journal]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    Internal/External technical report, pre-print, etc.  

  • Nomen ga tsutaeru jodo (Emotion conveyed by Noh masks)

    Hiromitsu Miyata

        100 - 102  2015  [Domestic journal]

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    Internal/External technical report, pre-print, etc.  

  • "Sohatsu gakushu kankyo design" kyoiku kenkyu project katsudo seika hokoku (Progress report of the "emergent learning environmental design" education and research activity)

    Hiroaki Suzuki, Mitsuhiro Oda, Yumiko Sugitani, Atsushi Terao, Eri Shigemasu, Hiromitsu Miyata, Satoshi Suzuki, Haruaki Fukuda

        4 - 14  2015  [Domestic journal]

    Internal/External technical report, pre-print, etc.  

  • "Sohatsu gakushu kankyo design" kyoiku kenkyu project katsudo seika hokoku (Progress report of the "emergent learning environmental design" education and research activity)

    Hiroaki Suzuki, Hitsuhiro Oda, Yumiko Sugitani, Atsushi Terao, Hiromitsu Miyata, Satoshi Suzuki

        4 - 17  2014  [Domestic journal]

    Internal/External technical report, pre-print, etc.  

  • Kunren ni yoru joudou seigyo (Emotion regulation through mantal training)

    Hiromitsu Miyata

        103 - 105  2012

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    Internal/External technical report, pre-print, etc.  

  • Dento geino ni okeru jodo dentatsu (Emotion expression in traditional performing art)

    Hiromitsu Miyata

        102 - 103  2012

    Authorship：Lead author, Corresponding author

    Internal/External technical report, pre-print, etc.  

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Syllabus

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Teaching Experience

  • Psychology 4-2: Seminar

    Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University  

    2021.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Psychology 4-1: Seminar

    Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University  

    2021.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Psychology: Research Seminar 4-2

    Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University  

    2021.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Psychology: Research Seminar 4-1

    Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University  

    2021.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Graduation Research

    School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda Universtiy  

    2019.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Seminar on Human Mind and Body (Mind and Body) B

    School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda Universtiy  

    2019.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Seminar on Human Mind and Body (Mind and Body) A

    School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda University  

    2019.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Contemporary Human Studies 2

    Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University  

    2019.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Contemporary Human Studies 1

    Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University  

    2019.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Advanced Seminar in Psychology/Seminar in Psychology ⅠB

    College of Education, Psychology and Human Studies, Aoyama Gakuin University  

    2019.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Introduction to Psychology 2

    Facultyu of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University  

    2017.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Core Lecture 2 (RE)

    School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda University  

    2017.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Core Lecture 1

    School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda University  

    2017.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Contemplating Relationships between Mind and Body (CHS Advanced Seminar)

    School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda University  

    2017.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Bodies of the Other: Viewing Humans as Bodies (CHS Advanced Seminar)

    School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda University  

    2017.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Body, Society, and Everyday Life (CHS Advanced Seminar)

    School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda University  

    2017.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Life World and the Body

    Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University  

    2017.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Mind-Body Theory

    Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University  

    2017.04
    -
    Now
     

  • Required Core Seminar 28

    School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda University  

    2020.04
    -
    2021.03
     

  • Psychological Research Methods

    College of Education, Psychology and Human Studies, Aoyama Gakuin University  

    2014.04
    -
    2020.03
     

  • Elective Core Seminar 14

    School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda University  

    2018.04
    -
    2019.03
     

  • Required Core Seminar 25

    School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda University  

    2018.04
    -
    2019.03
     

  • Seminar on Human Mind and Body (Mind and Body)

    School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda University  

    2018.04
    -
    2019.03
     

  • Contemporary Human Studies 2

    Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University  

    2017.04
    -
    2019.03
     

  • Contemporary Human Studies 1

    Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University  

    2017.04
    -
    2019.03
     

  • Seminar in Psychology ⅠB

    College of Education, Psychology and Human Studies, Aoyama Gakuin University  

    2014.04
    -
    2019.03
     

  • Lecture on Psychology B

    College of Education, Psychology and Human Studies, Aoyama Gakuin University  

    2014.04
    -
    2019.03
     

  • Seminar on Mind-Body Theory

    School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda University  

    2017.04
    -
    2018.03
     

  • The 17th Psychology Colloquium (Sentence comprehension, eye movements, and brain activities by trained speed-readers––Effects of mental training on higher cognition)

    Graduate School of Human Relations, Keio University  

    2012.01
    　
    　
     

  • Invited lecture at Dr. Gyula Gajdon’s course (Do pigeons plan an action?––Evidence from maze tasks on the LCD monitor

    Department for Neurobiology and Behavioral Science, University of Vienna  

    2007.06
    　
    　
     

  • Practice in PsychologyⅠ (Teaching Assistant)

    Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University  

    2004.04
    -
    2005.03
     

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Academic Activities

  • Congress Chair of the 8th Commemoration Meeting, Japan Association of Somatics & Somatic Psychology

    Academic society, research group, etc.

    日本ソマティック心理学協会  

    2021.10
    　
    　

Internal Special Research Projects

  • 東洋的健康法の効果に関する研究

    2022   小林　大介, 陳　潔寅, 魯　彩恩

    　View Summary

    Eastern-based mind-body practices not only aim to attain higher stages of mind-body integration, but can also help to improve both physical and mental health. The present study involving short-term interventions examined health benefits of practices originated from the Eastern traditions, including mindfulness-based interventions, contemplative practices before meals, and footbath as regimen. First, we showed that a two-week intervention by a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program can be effective in alleviating body dysmorphic concern in university students via enhanced mindfulness. Second, we found that a two-week intervention by Zen-based contemplative practices including breath counting meditation and “Gokan no Ge” (vocalizing meal sutra) before starting each meal can reduce binge eating and psychological distress. Third, we showed that a 2-week intervention by footbath can have psychological benefits including increased interoceptive awareness and psychological health, even though a longer intervention period may be required so that effects at the physiological and/or endocrinological levels are to be observed.

  • メンタルトレーニングによる身体内外環境への気づきの統合

    2021   小林　大介

    　View Summary

    The present study examined whether and how mental training based on the Eastern traditions as well as dispositional mindfulness can improve interoceptive and exteroceptive awareness, and contribute to better psychological health. First, we introduced short-term mindfulness meditation on different themes to an on-demand lecture of a university. After the semester was over, an online questionnaire survey was conducted to examine the psychological impacts of these practices. Students gave relatively high self-evaluated scores on these practices, with 56.0 % of participants reporting that they had continued their practice after the lecture was over. Thus, these practices were suggested to have desirable psychological impacts. Second, we examined whether and how dispositional mindfulness may moderate the relationships between altered lifestyles during the COVID-19 pandemic and psychological health. An online questionnaire survey was conducted in September 2021 by involving working adults. Compared with the data obtained in 2020, participants expected that they may get infected with the COVID-19 to a lesser extent. In addition, the extent to which participants felt may be infected significantly predicted higher perceived stress only when mindfulness was relatively low. These results suggest that mindfulness could serve as a protective factor against deterioration of psychological health associated with the pandemic.

  • 伝統医学の体質理論と気分および性格特性との関連

    2021   小林　大介

    　View Summary

    The tridosha theory of Ayurveda classifies compositions and conditions of the body into three constructs (or doshas), i.e., vata, pitta, and kapha, and assumes personality and mood status unique to each of these body compositions, i.e., prakriti, and conditions, i.e., vikrti. We examined potential relationships between these constructs in traditional medicine and the psychological constructs of personality traits and/or mood states. A total of 1,279 healthy adults completed an online questionnaire survey that involved interview sheets used to separately assess prakriti and vikrti based on the tridosha theory, as well as psychological scales on Big Five personality traits (TIPI-J) and mood states (POMS-2). Scores from many subscales of the POMS-2 were significantly positively correlated with scores from the body compositions and conditions of the tridosha theory. Further, multiple regression analyses revealed that the Agreeableness scores from the TIPI-J negatively predicted the vata, pitta, and kapha scores for vikrti. In addition, the Anger-Hostility and Confusion-Bewilderment subscale scores from the POMS-2 significantly positively predicted the vata, pitta, and kapha scores for vikrti. These results support the notion that multiple dimensions of personality traits and mood states as studied in modern psychology are related to the mind-body theory of a traditional medicine.

  • 大学生のマインドフルネスと心理に関する基礎的研究

    2020   石川　遥至

    　View Summary

    (This abstract is tantatively undisclosed)

  • メンタルトレーニングによる身体内部環境への気づきの変容

    2019  

    　View Summary

    The present study aimed to elucidate whether and how meditation-based mental training would alter interoceptive awareness, i.e., sensitivity to one’s own bodily sensations. In Study 1, an advanced expert on contemplative practices and control participants naïve to meditation completed psychological scales on interoceptive awareness, trait mindfulness, subjective well-being, and trait anxiety. Compared with the control participants, the meditator self-reported significantly higher scores on multiple dimensions of interoceptive awareness including noticing, attention regulation, body listening, and trusting. The expert also reported higher scores on mindfulness and well-being and lower scores on anxiety. These case data are consistent with the notion that enhanced sensitivity to one’s own bodily states are associated with higher psychological well-being among contemplatives. Study 2 preliminarily examined whether interoceptive awareness may be deteriorated when staying in a microgravity environment. Participants who were not habitual meditators stayed either in a pool or on the ground for an hour, and performed on a heartbeat detection task before and after each stay. Significant changes in performance on heartbeat detection were not observed, although time-domain heart rate variability (RMSSD) increased after staying in the water. These data could be used in a future study to examine potential differences between meditators and non-meditators.

  • 武道の実践による生理心理過程の変容

    2019  

    　View Summary

    Martial arts refer to physical and mental practices based on historical combat techniques, and have been suggested to involve components parallel to those of Zen Buddhism and mindfulness. Empirical studies involving Japanese experts on traditional martial arts to date remain scarce. The present study involved a highly advanced expert on martial arts as well as non-practitioners to examine practice-induced differences in interoceptive awareness. In order to examine interoceptive accuracy, i.e., sensitivity to one’s own bodily sensations, a heartbeat detection task and an original task to estimate respiratory rate were introduced. A multisensor physiological measurement system NeXus-4 wad used to measure autonomic nervous system activities during these tasks. Compared with the non-practitioners, the expert on martial arts performed significantly better on the heartbeat detection task. The expert also performed better than non-practitioners on the respiratory rate estimation task, although the data were not supported by statistical significance. These case data seem to preliminarily support the idea that long-term practice of traditional marital arts can improve at least some dimensions of interoceptive awareness. The data may also be associated with the enhanced dispositional mindfulness and psychological health outcomes that were previously suggested in the population of practitioners of Japanese traditional martial arts.

  • 武道の熟達による心身変容の心理学的基礎

    2018   村松　聡, 小村　優太, 石川　遥至, 丸山　貴彦

    　View Summary

    Martial arts refer to the physical/mental practices based on the historical combat techniques of Japan. The present study examined psychological status and interoceptive awareness (preliminary experiments) in practitioners of martial arts based on Japan’s traditions. In Study 1, a questionnaire survey was conducted to assess whether practitioners of martial arts show enhanced mindfulness and relevant psychological traits. Participants included thirty-three practitioners of martial arts whose practice period ranged from 0.6 to 35.0 years, and 66 non-practitioners as controls. Compared with the non-practitioners, the practitioners self-reported significantly higher scores on mindfulness and subjective well-being and significantly lower scores on depression. Among the practitioners, period of practice was significantly correlated positively with scores of mindfulness and well-being and negatively with those of depression. These data are consistent with those previously obtained for Japanese yoga practitioners (Miyata et al., 2015), and support the view that continued training in various Eastern traditional mind-body practices can cause desirable changes to the psychological status. In Study 2, a preliminary investigation of interoceptive awareness was conducted by involving university students. Heartbeat detection task and an original breath counting task were introduced, which could be used in the forthcoming experiments to compare practitioners and non-practitioners of martial arts.

  • 瞑想的実践による自律神経機能の制御

    2017  

    　View Summary

    Contemplative training has been suggested to cause plastic changes to the brain. How can somatic physiological functions change through long-term meditative practice? The present study examined control of autonomic nervous system activities during yoga sitting meditation. A Japanese yoga expert (female, 50 years) with 25 years of yoga practice and two university students participated. During each session, a two-minute resting period was followed by a four-minute meditation period, which was repeated four times. Participants engaged in two types of traditional yoga meditation in a pseudorandomized order. Breath meditation involved sustaining attention on the breath. Mantra meditation involved covertly repeating a common mantra phrase Om Namah Shivaya. Cardiovascular activities (photoplethysmogram) and skin conductance were measured by using a multisensor measurement system NeXus-4. For the expert, heart rate decreased by 2.05 bpm and 0.45 bpm from the resting to the meditation periods, for the breath and mantra meditation respectively. For all the measures and groups, statistically significant outcomes failed to be observed. These results seem consistent with the notion that at least breath meditation can elicit increase in parasympathetic nervous system activities. I made multiple oral and poster presentations on relevant topics, and published a technical report on a preceding study.

  • 読書とマインドフルネスに関する研究

    2017  

    　View Summary

    Although contemplative practices have been suggested to alter information processing, little empirical data have demonstrated relationships between higher daily cognitive activities such as reading and psychological functions. The present study examined habits of reading in university students, and how reading activities may be associated with mindfulness and psychological status. 52 students (mean age: 20.2 years) participated in a questionnaire survey that included mindfulness, subjective well-being, depression, and anxiety. Participants also reported time and amount of reading different types of text, and types of media when reading. Mean reading time was 45.3 min per day (6.1 books per month), of which novels and critical essays accounted for 15.6 min and 10.2 min, respectively. Reading with paper books and smartphones each accounted for 35.8 min and 8.6 min. Duration of reading paper books was significantly correlated with lower scores of well-being, and higher scores of depression and anxiety. By contrast, reading on PCs/tablets and playing games on smartphones showed significant correlations with higher scores of well-being. These results may reflect the fact that students often read books for obligatory studies, and use PCs/tablets and play games for pleasure. I made and plan multiple oral and poster presentations on this and related topics.

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