Masahito MORITA, PhD

Assistant Professor (the official English title in the university: Research Associate)

Department of Health Sciences of Mind and Body, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Human Arts and Sciences →

Visiting Researcher

Evolutionary Anthropology Lab (Yasuo Ihara's Lab) →, Department of Biological Sciences → , Graduate School of Science →, The University of Tokyo →, Japan

ResearchGate →

ORCID id：0000-0002-7840-4238 →

Contact information

E-mail: mmorita.human "at" gmail.com (primary) or masmorita "at" bs.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Postal address: UHAS, 1288 Magome, Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama 339-8539, Japan

Tel: +81-48-749-6111; Fax: +81-48-749-6110

Research interests

The biology of human behavior, including evolutionary and sociocultural aspects

Human behavioral ecology, evolutionary demography, human ethology, and anthropology

Evolutionary approaches to fertility decline and other (mal)adaptive behaviors

Evolutionary studies of human behavior and the sociobiology debate

National birth cohort survey on child health, child development, and family wellbeing →

Evolutionary and ecological studies on human language (Evolinguistics) →

Adolescent sociality, communication, cultural transmission, and metacognition →→

Symposium "ALE <Adolescence X Language Evolution>" in Tokyo 2019 →

Education

2016: PhD (5-year course) in the Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems →→, School of Advanced Sciences →, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies) →, Japan

Supervisors: Dr. Mariko Hiraiwa-Hasegawa →, Dr. Hisashi Ohtsuki →→→, and Dr. Kaori Iida →→; Hasegawa & Kutsukake Research Group

2011: BSc in the Department of Biology →, Faculty of Science →, Osaka City University →→, Japan

Supervisor: Dr. Masanori Kohda → (Laboratory of Animal Sociology)

Research experience

2022.4 – present: Assistant Professor (the official English title in the university: Research Associate) in the Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Human Arts and Sciences →→

2018.4 – 2022.3: Postdoctoral Researcher (the official English title in the university: Project Researcher) in the School of Science, The University of Tokyo →

2016.4 – 2018.3: Postdoctoral Researcher (the official English title in the university: Researcher) in the Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University →→

2013.4 – 2016.3: Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (DC1) →

2012.6 – 2013.3: Research Assistant in the School of Advanced Sciences, SOKENDAI →

2011.6 – 2012.3: Research Assistant in the School of Advanced Sciences, SOKENDAI →

Publications (peer-reviewed)

Google Scholar Citations →

12. Morita, M., Nishikawa, Y. & Tokumasu, Y. (2024)

Human musical capacity and products should have been induced by the hominin-specific combination of several biosocial features: a three-phase scheme on socio-ecological, cognitive, and cultural evolution

Evolutionary Anthropology, 33(4): e22031. → (https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.22031)

11. Morita, M., Saito, A., Nozaki, M. & Ihara, Y. (2021)

Childcare support and child social development in Japan: investigating the mediating role of parental psychological condition and parenting style

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376(1827): 20200025. → (https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0025)

10. Morita, M. (2019)

Behaviours of dyads sitting outside in New York's Times Square: exploratory observation using webcam videos

Journal of Human Ergology, 48(2): 69–81. → (https://doi.org/10.11183/jhe.48_2.69)

9. Morita, M. (2019)

Human behavioral ecology

In: Schackelford, T. K. & Weekes-Shackelford, V. A. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science, Springer, Cham. → Living Edition: 4 pp. → (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1380-1)

8. Morita, M. (2018)

Demographic studies enhance the understanding of evolutionarily (mal)adaptive behaviors and phenomena in humans: a review on fertility decline and an integrated model

Population Ecology, 60(1–2): 143–154. → (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10144-017-0597-y)

7. Morita, M., Go, T., Hirabayashi, K., Heike, T. & Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS) Group (2017)

Parental condition and infant sex at birth in the Japan Environment and Children's Study: a test of the Trivers–Willard hypothesis

Letters on Evolutionary Behavioral Science, 8(2): 40–44. → (https://doi.org/10.5178/lebs.2017.63)

6. Morita, M. (2017)

An evolutionary perspective on child sciences: towards interdisciplinary studies [in Japanese]

Child Science, 13: 33–36. →

5. Morita, M. (2016)

The relationship between evolutionary studies of human behavior and society: with reference to the sociobiology debate [in Japanese with an English abstract]

Japanese Journal of Ecology, 66(3): 549–560. → (https://doi.org/10.18960/seitai.66.3_549)

4. Morita, M., Ohtsuki, H. & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M. (2016b)

Does sexual conflict between mother and father lead to fertility decline? A questionnaire survey in a modern developed society

Human Nature, 27(2): 201–219. → (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-016-9254-y)

3. Morita, M., Ohtsuki, H. & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M. (2016a)

A panel data analysis of the probability of childbirth in a Japanese sample: new evidence of the two-child norm

American Journal of Human Biology, 28(2): 220–225. → (https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.22776)

2. Morita, M., Ohtsuki, H., Sasaki, A. & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M. (2012)

Factors affecting the number of children in five developed countries: a statistical analysis with an evolutionary perspective

Letters on Evolutionary Behavioral Science, 3(1): 7–11. → (https://doi.org/10.5178/lebs.2012.19)

1. Morita, M. (2011)

Sex differences in human greeting behaviors in waiting and meeting situations: a field study in Japan

Journal of Human Ergology, 40(1–2): 79–83. → (https://doi.org/10.11183/jhe.40.79)

Other publications (without review; regardless of article type)

10. Morita, M. (in press)

Evolution of human behavior [in Japanese]

In: Sakai, M. et al. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Mammalogy. Maruzen Publishing. →

9. Emmott, EH. & Morita, M.  (2025)

Diversifying methods in evolutionary anthropology: exploring autophotography as a quasi-naturalistic observational method

SocArXiv Papers. → (https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/q87hu_v1)

8. Emmott, EH., Ihara, Y., Tokumasu, Y., Saito, A., Nozaki, M., Kawamoto, T., Ito, S., Hassan, A., Brown, LJ., Dennett, T., Crane, A., Nesci, A., Borra, C. & Morita, M.  (2024)

Adolescence as a key period of identity development and connectedness: a comparative autophotography study in England and Japan

OSF Preprints. → (https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/ktw35)

7. Morita, M. (2022)

Evolution of human behaviour and mind: including a perspective of the mind-body correlation and my self-introduction [in Japanese]

Human Arts and Sciences, 42: 3–5.

6. "Adolescent Sociality Across Cultures" Project (2021)

What does adolescence look like for teenagers in England and Japan?

Futurum Careers article → (https://doi.org/10.33424/FUTURUM204)

5. Morita, M. (2021)

Raise children [in Japanese]

In: Oda, R., Hashiya, K., Ohtsubo, Y. & Hiraishi, K. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Understanding of Human Behavior: 152–157. Asakura Publishing. →

4. Morita, M. (2020)

Book review "Different Animals, Different Solutions: Comparative Views on Animal Parenting" Saito, A., Hiraishi, K. & Kuze, N. (Eds.) [in Japanese]

Anthropological Science (Japanese Series), 128(1): 41–43. → (https://doi.org/10.1537/asj.20br02)

3. Morita, M., Iwasawa, M. & Kaneko R. (2018)

An evolutionary and ecological study on marriage and fertility decline: socioeconomic success and reproductive success [in Japanese]

JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Grant Number: 25245061) Project Report, 117–119. →

2. Morita, M. & Kaneko R. (2017)

Analyses on marriage towards understandings of fertility decline: the relationship between socioeconomic success and reproductive success (a preliminary report) [in Japanese]

JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Grant Number: 26285128) Project Report, 161–174. →

1. Morita, M. (2016)

Understanding human nature: a personal perspective [in Japanese]

Anthropological Letters, 5(2): 23–25.

Presentations

13. ○Morita, M., Nishikawa, Y., Tokumasu, Y. & Ihara, Y.

A Three-Phase scheme for the evolution of human music: a review from an anthropological perspective

Joint Conference on Language Evolution →

Kanazawa Bunka Hall, Kanazawa, Japan & Online, 5–8 September, 2022, Online Poster [67] →

12. ○Morita, M., Saito, A., Nozaki, M. & Ihara, Y.

Parental psychological condition and parenting behaviour mediate the associations between childcare support and child social development in Japan

The 16th European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association conference (EHBEA 2021 DIGITAL) →

Online, 24–27 March, 2021, Poster →

X. ○Morita, M., Emmott, E., Brown, L., Hassan, A., Ihara, Y., Tokumasu, Y., Nozaki, M., Saito, A., Kawamoto, T. & Ito, S.

Photovoice as an ethological method in the "private world" of teenagers in England and Japan

The 15th European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association conference →

Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland, 1–4 April, 2020, Poster →

*The conference was cancelled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

X. ○Emmott, E. & ○Morita, M.

Understanding adolescent sociality: photovoice as an ethological method

The 15th European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association conference → Workshop/Symposium "Evolutionary Approaches to Adolescence" → Organizers: Emily Emmott & Masahito Morita

Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland, 1 April, 2020, Oral →

*The conference has been cancelled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

11. ○Morita, M.

Exploring socioecological foundations for the evolution of language: observation of communication in a natural setting using webcam videos

The 14th European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association conference →

Toulouse 1 University Capitole, France, 23–26 April, 2019, Poster →

10. ○Morita, M., Ohtsuki, H. & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M.

Evolutionary approaches to human demography: case studies on fertility decline →

The 32nd annual meeting of the Society of Population Ecology → Plenary Symposium "Evolutionary demography: the dynamic and broad intersection of ecology and evolution" Organizers: Takenori Takada & Richard Shefferson

Shika-no-yu Hotel in Jozankei, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, 3–5 November, 2016, Oral [S-14]

9. ○Morita, M., Ohtsuki, H. & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M. 

Socioeconomic success vs. reproductive success: an evolutionary approach to fertility decline in modern competitive societies

Economics and Biology of Contests conference →

Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, 27–28 February, 2016, Oral →

8. ○Morita, M., Ohtsuki, H., Kokko, H. & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M.

Maximization of "Happiness" (= biological fitness and self-enhancement): a mathematical model of fertility decline in humans

The 8th annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society of Japan →

SOKENDAI, Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan, 5–6 December, 2015, Poster [P26] →

7. ○Morita, M., Ohtsuki, H. & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M. 

Fertility decline in Japan: effects of socioeconomic status and sexual conflict

The 3rd annual meeting of the Evolutionary Demography Society →

Conference Centre De Werelt, Lunteren, The Netherlands, 5–7 October, 2015, Lightning Talk & Poster →

6. ○Morita, M., Ohtsuki, H. & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M.

Evolutionary biology of fertility decline in humans: case studies in Japan

Biology15 (the joint meeting of Swiss societies on organismic biology) →

Eawag, Dübendorf, Switzerland, 12–13 February, 2015, Poster [3] →

5. ○Morita, M., Ohtsuki, H. & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M.

Mothers desire a smaller number of children than fathers? Sexual conflict over fertility in modern society

The 22nd biennial international conference on Human Ethology →

Federal University of Pará, Belém, Brazil, 5–9 August, 2014, Poster [2] →

4. ○Morita, M., Ohtsuki, H. & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M.

The presence of two children prevents further childbirth? A statistical analysis of Japanese panel data

The 26th annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society →

Praiamar Natal Hotel & Convention, Natal, Brazil, 30 July – 2 August, 2014, Oral →

3. ○Morita, M., Ohtsuki, H. & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M.

Does sexual conflict between parents lead to fertility decline? A questionnaire survey in Japan

Cooperation and Conflict in the Family conference →

The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 2–5 February, 2014, Oral →

2. ○Morita, M., Ohtsuki, H. & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M.

When to have babies: a panel data analysis of childbirth in Japan with evolutionary perspectives

The 8th European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association conference →

VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 24–27 March, 2013, Poster [63] →

1. ○Morita, M., Ohtsuki, H., Sasaki, A. & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M.

Factors affecting the number of children in five developed countries: a statistical analysis with an evolutionary perspective

The 24th annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society →

The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, USA, 13–17 June, 2012, Poster [55] →

PhD Thesis (for Doctor of Philosophy)

Evolutionary approaches to fertility decline in humans: case studies in Japan →→

Research grants

X. Declined (2022–2024): Overseas Research Fellowships of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science →

"The integrated understanding of evolutionarily (mal)adaptive behaviours and phenomena in humans"

Host Researcher: Dr. Rebecca Sear at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine →

2. 2018/19–2021 (18 months + extension due to COVID): ESRC-AHRC UK-Japan Connections Grant →

"Adolescent sociality across cultures: establishing a Japan-UK collaboration" →→→

49,825 GBP in total (Co-PI with Dr. Emily Emmott at the University College London →)

1. 2013–2016 (36 months): Grant-in-Aid for JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) Fellows (JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number: 13J04635)

"Evolutionary approaches to fertility decline and human reproductive strategies"

3,000,000 JPY in total (PI)

Editorial services

Letters on Evolutionary Behavioral Science →, Copy Editor (2016.2 – 2021.3)

Reviewer: Annals of Nursing and Practice; Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology; Behavioral Sciences; Evolution and Human Behavior; Evolutionary Human Sciences; Frontiers in Psychology (2); Frontiers in Reproductive Health (6); International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health; Israel Science Foundation (research grant); Joint Conference on Language Evolution; Journal of Biosocial Science; Matrix: A Journal for Matricultural Studies; New Ideas in Psychology; Population Ecology; Social Sciences

Award

The SOKENDAI Research Award (September, 2016) →