≪今回のworkshop≫
参加人数：14名（うち新人の方：1名）
申し込み時点では20名程度の人数でしたが、直前でキャンセルが増えて最終的には4テーブルでの運用となりました。。。今回来れなかった方も、良ければまた次回以降のご参加をお待ちしております！
今回は前半では香水の種類を当てるゲーム、後半では通常スタイルのディスカッションを実施しました。
配られた香水のサンプルを嗅いで感想を英語で伝え、それらがどのブランドか、価格帯はどんなものか、といった会話を英語で行いましたが、まず英語で伝えるより前に”匂い”という抽象的なイメージを言語化するのがとても難しく、試行錯誤しながらグループメンバーに一生懸命伝えている方が多かったです。さらに、「初めてのデートでどれを付けていくべきか/避けるべきか？」というトピックでは、背景や実際の雰囲気をイメージしながらディスカッションを行い、とても盛り上がりました！
（詳しいディスカッションの様子はInstagramへ）
≪FIRST HALF≫
The World of Fragrance
Hi everyone! Do you like good scents?
When we smell something, the scent goes straight to the part of our brain that controls emotions and memories. Because of this, a scent can suddenly bring back clear memories from our past. This is called the “Proust effect.” (Sometimes, it even brings back “fake memories.” For example, a person who grew up in a big city might imagine the smell of a grandmother’s countryside house or beautiful nature.)
By the way, do you like perfume? To be honest, some people think perfume smells too strong. In the past, Japan was called a “perfume desert” because perfumes did not sell well at all.
However, the Japanese perfume market is growing very fast now. It is worth about 61 to 65 billion yen, which is 50% larger than before COVID-19. It is a huge boom right now. In fact, very expensive perfumes—costing 30,000 to 50,000 yen—are selling very well. If you are not interested in perfume, this might be hard to believe!
Today, let’s smell four different perfumes and enjoy a fun discussion using our senses!
<Questions>
Q1. First Impression (Time: 15 mins)
Smell Scents A to D. Please share your honest thoughts with your team.
– Do you like it or dislike it?
– Does it bring back any memories or images?
Q2. Guess the Scent! (Name & Price Game)
Smell Scents A to D, and match the scent with its real name!
(We will give you a hint sheet with names, brands, and concepts.)
Points:
Correct Name = 2 points each
Correct Price Ranking = 1 point each
Q3. The Perfect Match (Time: 30 mins including Q2 results)
Let’s think like a marketer or a producer!
Your best friend (a woman in her 30s) asked you for advice. She has “A First Date at a nice bar” and wants to know which perfume to wear.
– Which perfume do you recommend, and which one do you NOT recommend? Please choose one Best and one Worst as a team.
– Discuss the reasons: Why is it the best? Why is it the worst? Tell us your team’s story!
(Please share a brief summary of Q2 and Q3 in about one minute)
≪LATTER HALF≫
Risk-Averse and Risk-Seeking Behavior in Disaster Prevention
Japan has long been known as one of the most disaster-prone countries, facing earthquakes, typhoons, landslides, and snowstorms. We might assume, then, that Japanese people are highly literate in disaster prevention and make rational decisions when facing risky situations. However, a study indicates this assumption is not correct.
The research found that people’s decision-making in preparing for disasters is better explained not by normalcy bias—the cognitive bias that leads us to ignore or underestimate threat warnings—but by prospect theory, a basic idea in behavioral economics. The theory describes how people react differently to potential gains and potential losses.
Consider two questions. First, would you choose A) getting $25,000, or B) a 50% chance of getting $50,000? Second, would you choose A) losing $25,000, or B) a 50% chance of losing $50,000? The majority chose A) in the first and B) in the second. This shows that when facing a decision involving gains, people are risk-averse, preferring higher certainty even at lower expected utility. When facing losses, they become risk-seeking, preferring the chance to avoid any loss. Similar questions adjusted to disaster psychology will be presented at the start of the workshop; your answers may differ depending on your age, where you live, who you live with, and your disaster-prevention literacy.
The study also points out a non-linear relation between disaster-prevention literacy and risk-averse behavior. Generally, those with high literacy take protective actions such as evacuating early or stockpiling food. But the survey shows that when the threat reaches a certain level, people with low literacy tend to stop protecting themselves: when TV and other media inadvertently emphasize the threat of an imminent disaster, they give up taking risk-averse actions, resulting in more extensive damage to society.
<Questions>
Q1. Which would you choose, and what factors influenced your decision?
A) You spend $25,000 now on seismic retrofitting (strengthening your house against earthquakes).
B) You do nothing now, but your house has a 50% chance of suffering earthquake damage that costs $50,000 to repair.
Q2. What are the situations where you were most risk-seeking despite being aware of the risk involved? ***Note that “risk” here is not just physical injury, and any decision involves some trade-off.
Q3. What is your impression of how the media communicate disaster risks to the public? Do you think they provide information appropriately? Do you think they emphasize the threat too much, or they don’t emphasize it enough? Please be prepared to share your group’s opinion at the end of the workshop.