Kokology: More of the Game of Self-Discovery

by Tadahiko Nagao, Isamu Saito

Overview

The bestselling Japanese phenomenon, Kokology is the addictive and fun pop-quiz game that uses proven psychological principles to reveal your hidden attitudes about sex, family, love, work, and more.

Introducing Kokology—the fascinating, addictive pop-psych quiz game that reveals the surprising real you.

Created by a famous Japanese psychologist, kokology is the study of kokoro (“mind” or “spirit” in Japanese). Based on sound psychological principles, Kokology asks you to answer questions about seemingly innocent topics—such as the color of an imaginary bird that has flown in your window—and then reveals what your answers say about you. Kokology offers a unique approach to self-discovery and, when played with others, can provide hilarious insight into the you that they never knew.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780684871486
Publisher:	Touchstone
Publication date:	10/03/2000
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Isamu Saito, a renowned professor at Rissho University in Japan, is the author of a number of bestselling books on psychology and relationships. He created Kokology.

Read an Excerpt

Building a New Tomorrow

The clock struck twelve, the ball dropped in Times Square, and the sound of champagne corks popping was heard around the globe. And after all the buildup, hoopla, and hype, after the apocalyptic anxieties and eager anticipation, the world somehow managed to find its way safely into the new millennium. Looking back, we can see that the prophecies of doom were overblown and the Y2K bug seems like little more than a ploy to sell system upgrades. But we, the last children of the twentieth century, all shared for a moment that sense of newness and opportunity -- the chance to make a world better than the one we inherited and create a legacy to share with our children and theirs over the next thousand years.

1. You are working for an urban planning corporation and have been assigned to the community development team for a major new millennium project. You have been asked to come up with an inspirational theme for the city. What theme do you propose?

2. The project team has a number of members, each with a certain set of experiences and skills. Why do you think you were selected to participate in this project? (Give as many reasons as you like.)

3. What kind of person is the project manager? Describe his or her personality and qualities as a leader.

Key to "Building a New Tomorrow"

Towns and cities are natural symbols of social life. Most of the cities we are familiar with sprang up unplanned and spread outward and upward in a seemingly random fashion. But this scenario asks you to deliberately plan a city for the future, giving your mind the chance to express its vision of an ideal setting for human interaction. Your answers reveal your approach and feelings about the social world around you.

1. The theme you selected for the new city is something you feel is absolutely essential to your own happiness as a member of society. And for most people, that means the very thing they sense is most sorely lacking in their environment at present.

Was your theme something ideal, like "harmony," "peace," or "Mother Nature"? We all feel the need for more of those these days. Or did you pick something along the lines of a cartoon fantasy world where everyone smiles all the time and the sun is always shining? That may actually be an easier goal to achieve, but you're facing some strong competition in Orlando, Anaheim, and Tokyo.

2. The reasons you gave for being picked for the team are strengths you see in yourself that no one else recognizes. That may be because those "strengths" are not quite as strong as you might like to think. The people around you are the most objective judges of your potential. Don't be afraid to listen to what others have to say about your abilities -- their evaluations can steer you away from the dead-end streets of overconfidence and self-deception.

3. The team manager reveals your own image of yourself in the future. Do you see yourself developing into a supportive, motivated, and inspirational leader, or a harsh and unreasonable slave driver? If it's the latter, you may want to start reconsidering the particular path to personal development you're currently heading down. Even Scrooge got the chance to repent.

Copyright © 2001 by I.V.S. Television Co., Ltd., and Yomiuri Telelcasting Corporation

Table of Contents

Contents

Kokology 101

A Word from Professor Saito

Playing the Game

A Desert Journey

The Blue Bird

A Night at the Symphony

On Your Birthday...

Pictures at an Exhibition

Deep in the Mountains

The Forgotten Wallet

Blue Coat, Yellow Coat

Written in the Stars

Sweet Memories

The Ride of Your Life

You're Only Human

Abracadabra, Ala-Kazam

In the Pages of a Magazine

Under a Clear Blue Sky

Into the Depths

In the Bag

Cinderella Story

(Not So) Happily Ever After

Untamed

Midnight Caller

Whale Watching

Blowing Your Own Horn

Planting the Seeds

The Stolen Berries

Caught in the Rain

Adrift on the Breeze

Bare Necessities

Something's Fishy

Welcome to My Parlor

You Be the Judge

Whispers in the Darkness

The Big Blowup

In Business for Yourself

Before They Hatch

Hung Out to Dry

Like a Monkey in a Cage

The Greatest Mystery

A True Adventure

Monster!

The Labyrinth

Empty Inside

Circle, Triangle, Square

Doctor You

Ready to Rumble

Judging By Its Cover

Busted!

Driving Machine

Just Can't Wait

On Second Thought...

The Doctor Will See You Now

Spreading Your Wings

All the World's a Stage

Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
Who knew mind games could be good for you? Bring Kokology 2 and a great bottle of wine to your next dinner party, and you're sure to be a hit. East meets West in this series of mind- and heart-teasers that asks you to put yourself in various imaginary situations and answer what you would do. (If you could be a boat peacefully floating on the water, what kind of boat would you be?) The answer keys after each "pop quiz" reveal what your answers really mean -- about you.

Kokology, based on Western psychological principles, is the study of kokoro, which means "mind" or "spirit" in Japanese. Authors Tadahiko Nagao and Isamu Saito bring you to the heart of kokology through the series of "what if" quizzes that are designed to help unearth those hidden motivations that come into play in your relationships with friends, coworkers, family members, and significant others. You'll see much more clearly why you and others do the things you do.

I rounded up my own circle of unknowing suspects, (all in the name of research, mind you), and asked them to try a few tests. Here's what I found out: Everyone wanted to take this book out of my hands -- from cynical coworkers, single girlfriends, and ex-boyfriends (no wonder they're history!) to the cute couple that lives downstairs.

Leave it on your coffee table, take it to your favorite coffee shop, read it in bed, or pass it around at the next family gathering, and gain new insights on just what makes you and those around you tick! (Jennifer Forman)

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