Development of tactility shaping 'world'

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17KT0135
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 特設分野
• Research Field: Orality and Society
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: WATANABE Hama 東京大学, 大学院教育学研究科(教育学部), 特任准教授 (00512120)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-07-18 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 乳児 / 触覚 / 触知性 / コミュニケーション

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose was to clarify a process by which the sense of touch becomes "tactile" and that leads to tactile communication. It was confirmed that active tactile communication between an infant and a caregiver was performed in situations of putting the infant to sleep. In addition, methods for measuring the physiological and neurological responses in situations such as stroking and tapping skin has been established. Furthermore, this project succeeded in measuring the pressure on the skin at home. In the early development of human beings, based on these studies, the development of orality that brought by actions such as "touching" and "exploring".

Free Research Field

発達科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

基本的な感覚のひとつである触覚を、世界とつながるコミュニケーションのための知性として捉え、その発達過程を議論した点が本研究の特色である。日常生活における乳児の触経験によって生じる生理学的・脳機能的活動の計測は、オラリティ(他者理解、共感、共鳴、共存の能力)の芽吹きにつながる乳児期の経験を理解するために役立つ。