Summer Institute on Bounded Rationality
Decision Making in a Digital World | June 17–25, 2025 | MPIB, Berlin, Germany
The Summer Institute on Bounded Rationality brings together talented early-career researchers and renowned scientists from around the globe and aims to spark a dialogue about decision making under the real-world constraints of limited time, information, and computational power. The Summer Institute offers a forum for early-career scholars from various disciplines to share their approaches, discuss their research, and inspire each other. The program will cover the fundamentals, methodology, and recent findings on bounded rationality.
We are delighted to announce that the 22nd Summer Institute on Bounded Rationality will once again take place June 17–25, 2025, at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, Germany. This year’s Summer Institute will approach the digital world through the lens of bounded rationality and interdisciplinary research on human decision making.
Applications for the 2025 Summer Institute are now closed.
About the program
The Summer Institute will begin with an introduction to the foundations of Bounded Rationality. These discussions will be led by renowned experts, including the Summer Institute’s directors Gerd Gigerenzer and Ralph Hertwig. We will then shift our focus to this year’s special topic: Decision Making in a Digital World. This topic will be explored from various angles, including discussions on public discourse, behaviorally-informed interventions, digital media and democracies, and collective intelligence.
We are also delighted to announce our three exceptional keynote speakers: Amy Orben will share key insights into her research on the impact of digital technologies on adolescent mental health. Marc Stadtler will discuss his research on the development of critical online competencies. Finally, this year’s “Hero of Science” keynote speaker, Robert N. Proctor, will share his experiences researching and standing up to the tobacco industry.
In addition, we are excited to host a series of talks and workshops by (in alphabetical order): Simon Ciranka, Mirta Galesic, Shahar Hechtlinger, Stefan Herzog, Anastasia Kozyreva, Ralf Kurvers, Tomás Lejarraga, Philipp Lorenz-Spreen, Michelle McDowell, Anne-Marie Nussberger, Lisa Oswald, Özgür Şimşek, Anna Thoma, Peter Todd, and Dirk Wulff.
Directed by
Gerd Gigerenzer & Ralph Hertwig
Organized by
Organizers | Friederike Stock & Linda Kerbl
Assistance | Inken Siebert
IT | Servicedesk
Design | Pietro Nickl & Amina Borgmann
Costs and further questions
There is no fee. Participants must arrange travel and accommodation. For more information, view our FAQ. For further questions email us at summerinstitute@mpib-berlin.mpg.de.