Digital Helpers for Mental Health

Smartwatches, apps, and chatbots: digital helpers will soon be indispensable. What will matter going forward?

What ice-fishing competitions reveal about human decision-making

An international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, the Cluster of Excellence “Science of Intelligence” at TU Berlin and the University Eastern Finland in Joensuu has carried out an unusual study in the frozen landscapes of Finland. The researchers used ice-fishing competitions as a natural setting to investigate human foraging behavior. The results of the study have been published in Science. 

ZEIT-Podcast „Nur eine Frage“ with Ralph Hertwig – Is the internet destroying democracy? 

In the latest episode of the german podcast “Nur eine Frage” (Just a question), psychologist Ralph Hertwig, director of the Center for Adaptive Rationality, answers questions from ZEIT editor-in-chief Jochen Wegner.

Our Institute in the media

Here you can find links to selected articles, radio- and TV reports about the activities of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in 2025.

Join our research – become part of our studies

The Max Planck Institute for Human Development is always looking for adults and children of all ages, who would like to take part in studies.

About our Institute

Get to know us – our Research Center and Groups, our service structure, and what drives us in our scientific work.

Watch on YouTube: A Way Out of the Collingridge Dilemma: Science‑Fiction Science | Wissen Was with @DoktorWhatson and Iyad Rahwan

Das Collingridge-Dilemma beschreibt eine Herausforderung, die uns alle betrifft: Solange wir eine neue Technologie noch gestalten können, sind ihre gesellschaftlichen Folgen meist unklar. Wenn wir die Folgen hingegen kennen, ist die Technologie oft schon zu tief verankert, um sie noch zu beeinflussen. Doch müssen wir dieses Dilemma einfach akzeptieren? Vielleicht nicht. Einen Ausweg aus dem Dilemma zeigt ein neuer Forschungsansatz. Er verbindet Science-Fiction-Szenarien mit empirischen Daten.