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The evidence is piling up: Digital media threatens democracy

Digital media are increasingly shaping the political landscape worldwide. A new replication study takes a closer look at earlier research on the influence of digital media on democracy and confirms worrying developments. Although digital media offer opportunities for political participation and access to information, they also contribute to polarization, declining trust in institutions, and the spread of misinformation.

Male person in a blue and white striped shirt standing in front of a blurred background showing geometric shapes in blue and white.

Ulman Lindenberger elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society

Ulman Lindenberger, Director of the Center for Lifespan Psychology, has been elected to the Royal Society. The prestigious British association recognizes his conceptual, methodological, and empirical contributions to lifespan psychology

Beyond Nudging—How Boosting Empowers Citizens to Make Good Decisions – New episode of the Unraveling Behavior podcast featuring Ralph Hertwig

Our science podcast Unraveling Behavior delves into the world of human judgment and decision making, exploring how people make decisions, how they handle risk, and how our surroundings shape our behavior.

On the picture: Catalina Goanta, Gérman Johannsen and Clara Iglesias Keller.

New videos online: How digital public spaces can strengthen democracy

In a workshop organized by the humanet3 research group, experts from various disciplines came together to discuss the future of digital spaces. The resulting video series offers new perspectives and provides impulses for shaping these spaces in a democratic way. Featured in the next episodes: Catalin Goanta, Gérman Johannsen and Clara Iglesias Keller.

For the 25th time in Berlin: The Long Night of the Sciences on 28 June 2025

We will be opening our doors to you from 5 p.m. to midnight, offering insights behind the scenes and the opportunity to experience research first-hand with our scientists. To mark its anniversary, the LNDW has a special offer for its guests: this time, tickets cost just 5 euros and children under the age of 6 are invited free of charge.

Journalism: Online headlines shift from concise to click-worthy

Over the past 20 years, online news headlines have become longer, more negative, and increasingly focused on click-through rates—regardless of journalistic quality. This is the conclusion reached by researchers at the MPI for Human Development, who analyzed around 40 million headlines from English-language news outlets across the last two decades. Their study has been published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.

Social learning: People adapt their learning strategies dynamically

Those who skillfully alternate between their own learning and observing others achieve the greatest learning success. This is the conclusion reached by an international research team involving the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. Using the popular video game Minecraft, the researchers investigated how people combine personal and social information during a virtual foraging task.

Verbal fluency in old age is an indicator of higher life expectancy

Older people who can easily list animals or different words beginning with the same letter are more likely to live longer. In a new analysis of the Berlin Aging Study an apparently simple task proves to be a particularly predictive measure of life expectancy in old age.

The photo shows Muna Aikins (female) smiling in front of a concrete-like wall, which is divided diagonally and painted white in the upper right half. She is wearing a long-sleeved black sweater. She has short, brown, curly hair.

This is us: Muna Aikins

How does racism experienced in childhood affect our health across a lifetime? Muna Aikins from the MPRG Biosocial is investigating this question.
In this interview, she explains how early experiences of racism leave lasting marks on both physical and mental health.
As the lead researcher of the Afrozensus research project, she helped deliver the first comprehensive survey capturing the experiences of Black people in Germany.

A hand with a remote control points at a television. Visible are green treetops. The image is drawn and held in bright colors: purple, green, and orange.

Virtual nature videos help relieve physical pain

Experiencing nature can relieve acute physical pain - even without actually being in nature. Just watching virtual nature videos can have this effect, as an international research team led by the University of Vienna and involving the Max Planck Institute for Human Development has discovered. These findings, published in Nature Communications, underscore the potential of nature-based therapies as complementary approaches to pain management.

The image shows an AI-generated drawing. You can see a robot hand lying on a laptop keyboard. The colours are green and pink.

How do people feel about AI replacing human jobs?

Fears about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace vary substantially across occupations and countries, researchers led by the MPIB have found in a representative study. They examined public attitudes in 20 countries toward AI in six occupations, including doctors, judges, and journalists. The findings, published in American Psychologist, can help anticipate how new AI developments will be received in different nations, and address fears in a principled yet culturally sensitive manner.

Graduate program with a future: IMPRS LIFE to be established permanently

The Max Planck Society has approved the continuation of the LIFE doctoral program. From January 1, 2026, the program will be established permanently at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and continue under the new name "International Max Planck Research School on Learning, Institutions, and Future Evolution (LIFE)".

Strengthening democratic resilience

Democracies worldwide are under pressure and increasingly at risk of sliding into autocracy. But democratic structures often prove resilient: protective mechanisms and the engagement of civil society prevent them from ultimately failing. Researchers from the University of Potsdam, the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the University of Bristol have used historical examples to examine how such crises arise and how they could be averted.

The evidence is piling up: Digital media threatens democracy

Digital media are increasingly shaping the political landscape worldwide. A new replication study takes a closer look at earlier research on the influence of digital media on democracy and confirms worrying developments. Although digital media offer opportunities for political participation and access to information, they also contribute to polarization, declining trust in institutions, and the spread of misinformation.

Ulman Lindenberger elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society

Ulman Lindenberger, Director of the Center for Lifespan Psychology, has been elected to the Royal Society. The prestigious British association recognizes his conceptual, methodological, and empirical contributions to lifespan psychology

Beyond Nudging—How Boosting Empowers Citizens to Make Good Decisions – New episode of the Unraveling Behavior podcast featuring Ralph Hertwig

Our science podcast Unraveling Behavior delves into the world of human judgment and decision making, exploring how people make decisions, how they handle risk, and how our surroundings shape our behavior.

New videos online: How digital public spaces can strengthen democracy

In a workshop organized by the humanet3 research group, experts from various disciplines came together to discuss the future of digital spaces. The resulting video series offers new perspectives and provides impulses for shaping these spaces in a democratic way. Featured in the next episodes: Catalin Goanta, Gérman Johannsen and Clara Iglesias Keller.

For the 25th time in Berlin: The Long Night of the Sciences on 28 June 2025

We will be opening our doors to you from 5 p.m. to midnight, offering insights behind the scenes and the opportunity to experience research first-hand with our scientists. To mark its anniversary, the LNDW has a special offer for its guests: this time, tickets cost just 5 euros and children under the age of 6 are invited free of charge.

Journalism: Online headlines shift from concise to click-worthy

Over the past 20 years, online news headlines have become longer, more negative, and increasingly focused on click-through rates—regardless of journalistic quality. This is the conclusion reached by researchers at the MPI for Human Development, who analyzed around 40 million headlines from English-language news outlets across the last two decades. Their study has been published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.

Social learning: People adapt their learning strategies dynamically

Those who skillfully alternate between their own learning and observing others achieve the greatest learning success. This is the conclusion reached by an international research team involving the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. Using the popular video game Minecraft, the researchers investigated how people combine personal and social information during a virtual foraging task.

Verbal fluency in old age is an indicator of higher life expectancy

Older people who can easily list animals or different words beginning with the same letter are more likely to live longer. In a new analysis of the Berlin Aging Study an apparently simple task proves to be a particularly predictive measure of life expectancy in old age.

This is us: Muna Aikins

How does racism experienced in childhood affect our health across a lifetime? Muna Aikins from the MPRG Biosocial is investigating this question.
In this interview, she explains how early experiences of racism leave lasting marks on both physical and mental health.
As the lead researcher of the Afrozensus research project, she helped deliver the first comprehensive survey capturing the experiences of Black people in Germany.

Virtual nature videos help relieve physical pain

Experiencing nature can relieve acute physical pain - even without actually being in nature. Just watching virtual nature videos can have this effect, as an international research team led by the University of Vienna and involving the Max Planck Institute for Human Development has discovered. These findings, published in Nature Communications, underscore the potential of nature-based therapies as complementary approaches to pain management.

How do people feel about AI replacing human jobs?

Fears about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace vary substantially across occupations and countries, researchers led by the MPIB have found in a representative study. They examined public attitudes in 20 countries toward AI in six occupations, including doctors, judges, and journalists. The findings, published in American Psychologist, can help anticipate how new AI developments will be received in different nations, and address fears in a principled yet culturally sensitive manner.

Graduate program with a future: IMPRS LIFE to be established permanently

The Max Planck Society has approved the continuation of the LIFE doctoral program. From January 1, 2026, the program will be established permanently at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and continue under the new name "International Max Planck Research School on Learning, Institutions, and Future Evolution (LIFE)".

Strengthening democratic resilience

Democracies worldwide are under pressure and increasingly at risk of sliding into autocracy. But democratic structures often prove resilient: protective mechanisms and the engagement of civil society prevent them from ultimately failing. Researchers from the University of Potsdam, the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the University of Bristol have used historical examples to examine how such crises arise and how they could be averted.

The evidence is piling up: Digital media threatens democracy

Digital media are increasingly shaping the political landscape worldwide. A new replication study takes a closer look at earlier research on the influence of digital media on democracy and confirms worrying developments. Although digital media offer opportunities for political participation and access to information, they also contribute to polarization, declining trust in institutions, and the spread of misinformation.

Ulman Lindenberger elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society

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