Japanese

Graduate School Faculty of Arts and Letters Tohoku University

Profiles

Professor ARAI Takashi

Affiliations :

  • Graduate School Faculty of Arts and Letters
  • Division of Department of Integrated Human Sciences
  • Psychology and Linguistics Course
  • Department of Psychology

The dark side of human hearts as a key to the essence of humanity

Are humans good or evil? Some of us won’t hesitate to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others, but there are also those that hurt others to satisfy their own ambitions. We must thus admit that not all humans are good, and that evil does exist. My intention is to explore the essence of humanity by looking into this dark side of human hearts.
Our social reality harbors a multitude of problems related to this inner darkness, including violence or aggressive behavior. Investigating the motivations and emotions that lay behind such behavior has pragmatic importance, as it can help us deal with various social issues.
You might consider yourself above violent or aggressive behavior, but think again, please: Are you absolutely sure that under extreme circumstances or in an abnormal situation you wouldn’t succumb to your dark side? This research is valuable precisely because no one is safe from temptation.

  • Research, History
  • Books, papers, etc.
  • Courses
    Social Psychology (General Lecture): social, group, and family psychology
    Social Psychology (Special Lecture): forensic and criminal psychology
    Social Psychology (Advanced Seminar)
    Personal History
    Mar 2011 Completed the graduate program in psychology at the Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba

    Career:
    Apr 2011 Full-time Non-regular Staff, Crime Prevention Section, Department of Criminology and Behavioral Sciences, National Research Institute of Police Science
    Nov 2011 Research Assistant Professor, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba
    Apr 2012 Lecturer, Faculty of Psychology, Otemon Gakuin University
    Apr 2017 Associate Professor, Faculty of Psychology, Otemon Gakuin University
    Apr 2018 Associate Professor, Graduate School Faculty of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University
    Apr 2025 Appointed to current position
    Degree
    Ph.D. (Psychology)
    Field
    Social Psychology; Criminal Psychology
    Research Subject
    Promotion of crime prevention behaviors; effective distribution of crime information; mechanisms of violence; dating violence and stalking; anger management
    Keywords
    Fear of crime; crime prevention; aggression and violence; anger
    Database of Researchers Information
    https://www.r-info.tohoku.ac.jp/ja/78c13f89443d3795fba70933175595a5.html
    Website
    https://sites.google.com/view/arai-laboratory/
  • Books
    『ライブラリ　心理学の杜　司法・犯罪心理学』（分担執筆、サイエンス社、2021）
    『心理学の視点25』（分担執筆、国際文献社、2022）
    『心理学ビジュアル百科　司法・犯罪心理学偏　犯罪を生む心，社会を守る心』（分担執筆、創元社、2025）
    『司法・犯罪心理学』（分担執筆、ナカニシヤ出版、2026）
    Academic Papers
    荒井崇史・菱木智愛（2019）．犯罪予防行動の規定因―計画的行動理論の観点からの検討―　心理学研究，90 (3)，p.263-273．
    Kanemasa, Y., Miyagawa. Y., & Arai. T. (2022). Do the Dark Triad and psychological intimate partner violence mutually reinforce each other? An examination from a four-wave longitudinal study. Personality and Individual Difference, 196, 111714.
    荒井崇史・岩佐和典（2024）．三領域嫌悪感尺度（TDDS）日本語版の妥当性と信頼性の検討　心理学研究，95 (1)，p. 22-32．
    Kanemasa, Y., Miyagawa. Y., & Arai. T. (2024). Attachment Anxiety and the Dark Triad Increase Stalking after Breakups of Romantic Relationships through Psychological Maltreatment of Romantic Partners and Reactions to Breakups. Aggressive Behavior, 50 (1), e22133.
    Mazher, S., & Arai, T. (2025). Behind bars: A trauma-informed examination of mental health through importation and deprivation in prisons. European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 9 (1), 100516.
    Arai, T., Miyagawa, Y. & Kanemasa, Y. (2026). The sense of rejection and intimate partner violence perpetration: Mediating effects of the need for control and relationship satisfaction. Journal of Family Violence.
    Awards
    July 2018 – Outstanding Paper Award, Japanese Psychological Association (Takahito Shimada & Takashi Arai)
    September 2019 – Outstanding Paper Award, Japanese Psychological Association (Yuji Kanemasa, Takashi Arai, Takahito Shimada, Hitoshi Ishida, & Isao Yamamoto)
    February 2026 – Outstanding Presentation Award for the 2025 Annual Convention, 89th Annual Convention of the Japanese Psychological Association (Takashi Arai & Shion Iwama)

Research

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