A role-focused life centers on the continuous fulfillment of meaningful roles, emphasizing the ongoing process of becoming the person you aspire to be. In contrast, a goal-focused life tends to prioritize specific achievements, which may not always contribute to a sense of purpose or long-term satisfaction. Generally speaking, with goals, if we don’t achieve them, we […]

LEGOOne toy or tool that many of us associate with play and creativity is LEGO. The name “LEGO” is an abbreviation of the two Danish words “leg godt,” meaning “play well.” This ideal has guided The LEGO Group for over 90 years. LEGO building bricks are not only toys for children but are also a popular

The third behavior to increase rolefulness is expressing gratitude. Expressing gratitude isn’t just a feel-good activity; it’s a powerful way to create and enhance rolefulness. When you take the time to genuinely thank someone, you’re doing more than just acknowledging their efforts. You’re stepping into a role that values and appreciates others. This sets the stage

Conversation is key to making both personal and professional roles work smoothly. In your personal life, talking with others helps you build and keep strong relationships. Whether you’re chatting with a partner, family member, or friend, these conversations help you share your feelings, needs, and expectations, which keeps your connections strong. Talking things through also helps

GreetingsGreetings might seem like just exchanging pleasantries, but the way you greet others and the way you are greeted by others can have a huge impact on rolefulness by fostering a sense of connection and acknowledgment. Think of greetings as the social grease that helps interactions flow smoothly, building supportive relations and an engaged community.We’ve

”IBASHO” in Japan means a place where people can feel safe, have roles, and recognize their lives as meaningful. If IBASHO helps older adults to see their lives as meaningful, implementing “IBASHO” in the community would possibly contribute to community members’ objective well-being… Findings suggest that implementing “IBASHO” within community settings is associated with higher

After validating the Rolefulness Scale, Daiki and Dr. Suzuki created a developmental model to visualize and interpret rolefulness across different psychological stages. They also cross-referenced it with well-known psychological frameworks, such as social learning theory and self-determination theory. Their model proposes that social rolefulness develops first—through lived experiences, early childhood modeling, and the approval we receive

After coining the term rolefulness, Daiki felt it was essential to move beyond theory and explore how to measure it in a meaningful way. Together with Dr. Mikie Suzuki, he developed a scale that could evaluate both social rolefulness and internal rolefulness, as well as the relationship between the two. They created a 10-item scale, with

In 2018, Daiki, together with his colleagues conducted a study exploring the psychological process of group dynamics during a collaborative art expression using LEGO blocks. They divided participants into small groups of four and asked them to create anything they liked together using the blocks. The results were fascinating. They saw a remarkable increase in trust

Role captivity is a condition in which individuals feel trapped in a role that they no longer find fulfilling or meaningful. Unlike role ambiguity or role overload —which arise from unclear expectations or an excess of responsibilities—role captivity is defined by a deeper sense of entrapment. It is the experience of being stuck in a