Other Highlights

Many of the empirical questions researched at the Institute can only be answered with the support of dedicated study participants. Their first point of contact is Sabrina Strelow, who has been working in the telephone studio for 16 years with great sensitivity and passion. Over the years, she has developed a special relationship with the long-term study participants and is a familiar voice to many of them. In the interview, she provides fascinating insights into her daily work, talks about the tasks she particularly enjoys and how her work has changed over the years.  more

How can we protect ourselves from online misinformation? A toolbox offers nine evidence-based strategies—ranging from warning and fact-checking labels to media literacy techniques—to help users identify and counter false information. Developed through a collaborative effort by researchers from 25 institutions and universities, this open-access resource is crafted for a broad audience.  more

A new science podcast, Unraveling Behavior, has been launched by the Center for Adaptive Rationality. The podcast 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. more

How can knowledge be made freely accessible to everyone? This is the question that Josefine Blunk, a member of the Service Unit Library and Research Information, is passionate about. In this interview, she explains why she chose a career in librarianship and what her enthusiasm for Open Science is all about.  more

As of July 2024, Simone Kühn leads the newly founded Center for Environmental Neuroscience. Her goal: to understand how our physical environment influences the brain and mental health. In this interview, she talks about why her research is so relevant in the face of climate change and urbanization, the innovative methods she uses – such as mobile MRI and twin studies – and why it takes a pioneering spirit to delve into this still largely unexplored field. With YouTube video. more

The website of the first German twin register went online in August. The register is an initiative of the Research Center for Environmental Neuroscience at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (MPIB) and its cooperation partners (Tübingen University Hospital, Bremen University, Bielefeld University, Medical School Hamburg, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics and Saarland University) and was launched in 2022. more

Developmental psychologist Zoe Ngo focuses on studying memory development in childhood. In the interview, she explains what makes working with children so unique and how she uses a gamification approach to make her experiments particularly appealing to young children. In our "This is us" format, colleagues share insights into their work and motivation.  more

The Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina has published a statement on ‘Supporting the self-regulation skills of children and adolescents in day-care centres and schools’. more

A new science podcast, Unraveling Behavior, has been launched by the Center for Adaptive Rationality. The podcast 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. The first episode focuses on the impact of digital media on democracy.  more

The artist duo Varvara Guljajeva and Mar Canet Solà are set to join the Artist & AI Residency at the Center for Humans and Machines (CHM) from August to December 2024. Renowned for their innovative exploration of the intersection of art, technology, and society, the pair has been creating thought-provoking work since 2009, particularly focusing on the profound impacts of the digital age. more

How does our working memory work? Fabio Bauer, a PhD student in the ERC-funded Research Group Adaptive Memory and Decision Processes, is investigating this question. In this interview, he explains how his machine learning model can be used to simulate and test working memory processes. In our "This is us" format, colleagues share insights into their work and motivation. more

The institute covered an impressive 6,264 kilometers in the CITY CYCLING campaign, saving 1,040.0 kg of CO₂ emissions. more

Psychologist Anna Thoma from the Center for Adaptive Rationality studies how children learn different decision-making strategies. For her work, she has been awarded the Otto Hahn Medal 2024. In the interview, she provides insight into her work and explains why children tend to find more unlikely solutions to problems than adults. In our format "This is us," colleagues share insights into their work and motivation.  more

Stefan Appelhoff has been awarded the Open Science Innovation Award 2024 for his work on the data standard BIDS (Brain Imaging Data Structure). In his appeal, he shares his experiences with Open Science initiatives and emphasizes the importance of commitment to open science.   more

The anthropologist Max Jack studies social movements and subcultural groups. In the interview, he talks, among other things, about his latest book, Insurgent Fandom, which focuses on ultras—passionate football fans who support their clubs by attending all home and away games. However, he also sees them as a transnational movement that protests againgst the commercialization of professional sports. more

Interview with Ute Frevert on the occasion of the conclusion of the research center for the History of Emotions – with an additional video on YouTube more

Marwa Kavelaars is a biologist specializing in animal behavior and movement ecology. At the Center for Adaptive Rationality, she expands her focus to include human decision-making behavior. In this interview, she discusses her research with Finnish ice fishers to study how humans forage for food. In the "This is Us" series, colleagues share insights into their work and motivations. more

Artist Karim Ben Khelifa kicks off the new Artist & AI Residency program at the Center for Humans and Machines. He will be visiting the Center from April to August 2024, contributing his artistic perspective to the scientific discourse during his stay. more

Cast off for the MS Wissenschaft! Since May 14,​ the floating science center of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research navigates around 30 ports in Germany and Austria between May and September. In the Science Year 2024, the focus is on the theme of freedom. The institute is represented multiple times.  more

Historian Soňa Mikulová from the Center for the History of Emotions focuses on the emotional integration of the Sudeten German expellees after 1945. In this interview, she discusses her research and what lessons we can draw for current integration debates, as well as her upcoming projects. In our series "This is Us," colleagues answer questions about their work and motivation.  more

Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In the latest "This is us" format we introduce Stefan Appelhoff . more

Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In the latest "This is us" format we introduce Lisa Oswald. more

Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In the latest "This is us" format we introduce Sarah Power. more

Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In the latest "This is us" format we introduce Julia Wambach. more

Gert G. Wagner, Max Planck Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, died on January 28, 2024, at the age of 71. "We bid farewell to a highly respected scientist, esteemed colleague and amiable person. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Gert, because he was one of the most curious, open-minded and least dogmatic people I know," says Managing Director Ralph Hertwig. more

Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In the latest "This is us" format we introduce Anne-Marie Nussberger. more

Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In the latest "This is us" format we introduce Marwa El Zein. more

Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In the latest "This is us" format we introduce Anika Löwe. more

The Max Planck Institute for Human Development (MPIB) is expanding its research infrastructure in the field of cognitive neuroscience with the purchase of additional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners from Siemens Healthineers. more

Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In the latest "This is us" format we introduce Sonja Sudimac. more

Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In the latest "This is us" format we introduce Yayouk Willems. more

Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In the latest "This is us" format we introduce Nour Tawil. more

Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In the latest "This is us" format we introduce Elisa Buchberger.
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Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In the latest "This is us" format we introduce Lou Haux. more

Under the motto "A Journey through the Cosmos", the MS Wissenschaft is opening its doors again and touring Germany and Austria from 9 May to 27 September. The MPIB is represented with two exhibits this year. more

Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In our "This is us" format, colleagues answer questions about their work and their motivation. more

Our institute has over 300 employees. But that is just a number. Who are the people at our institute? What do they do and what drives them? In our "This is us" format, colleagues answer questions about their work and their motivation. more

After a three-year break, the Max Planck Institute for Human Development finally opened its doors again on July 2, 2022 as part of the Long Night of the Sciences 2022 (#LNDW22). More than 600 visitors, from toddlers to seniors, attended the many booths, lectures, hands-on activities, and guided tours. The event was a great success for the Institute. more

In memory of Director Wolfgang Edelstein, who passed away in 2020, the "Wolfgang Edelstein Memorial Lecture" took place on June 24. The event was hosted by Ute Frevert, Deputy Managing Director of the MPI for Human Development. The memorial speech was held by Heinz-Elmar Tenorth, Professor of Historical Education at the Humboldt University in Berlin. more

On the occasion of Jürgen Baumert's 80th birthday in 2021, a symposium was held at the Harnack-Haus in Berlin on June 17, 2022. more

Many people and organisations are currently showing solidarity with Ukraine. As such, they are unconsciously following in the footsteps of one of the initial moments of international solidarity from 200 years ago, when many people throughout Europe came out in solidarity with Greece, a small nation that was fighting for its right to self-determination. At the Max Planck Institute for Human Development Caroline Moine has been researching the history of this period. more

In 2022, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Berlin, CCI Berlin (Industrie- und Handelskammer, IHK zu Berlin) once again certifies that the Institute is committed to securing skilled workers by means of dual training and thus makes an important contribution to the future viability of the city of Berlin. more

The Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience offers a Voluntary Social Year in Research for the second time. Research Group Leader Simone Kühn is currently accepting initiative applications for the next round. more

After a long break, our directors finally welcomed guests again at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. Under the title "Kepler in Relation: Emotion and Science in a New Age of Knowledge" Ulinka Rublack held the Reimar Lüst Memorial Lecture 2022. For this special occasion, numerous interested people also joined in digitally. The recording of the lecture in English is now available on the Institute's YouTube channel. more

Laurel Raffington’s research group examines how social disparities affect child and adolescent development and lead to differential outcomes in education, health, and well-being across the life span. We warmly welcome the new group to the Institute and are looking forward to working with them. more

Who controls AI or the companies that develop it? What does AI mean for our society and for politics? In the first (German) episode of the podcast "Berlin Research – Forschung in Berlin", Thomas Prinzler discusses this with Thomas Müller from the Center for Humans and Machines at the MPI for Human Development, Jeanette Hofmann from the WZB Berlin Social Science Center, and Aljoscha Burchardt from the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Berlin. more

Emotions have a bad reputation in the political sphere. According to traditional dogma, political decisions should be rational and sensible, but under no circumstances should they be emotional. Reality, however, has always been somewhat different. The impact that feelings had and continue to have on political events and the rise and fall of leaders is the primary field of interest for Ute Frevert and her team at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin. Read more about this topic in the MaxPlanckResearch periodical. more

Gender and emotions are all too often thought of in stereotypical images. Against such a background, this issue deals with ambiguities and deviations, that is, with the dynamic interplay of gender and emotion. In five contributions, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development conceive neither gender nor emotion as consistent categories, but rather as phenomena in motion that are constantly being created anew. more

How can you explain the goal of the Jacobs Foundation to a child? Ulman Lindenberger, Director of the Center for Lifespan Development, talks about his work in the Jacobs Foundation Board of Trustees. His key priorities are: creating evidence-based ideas for improved learning, offering quality education, and transforming education systems. Read his interview with the Jacobs Foundation. more

Do you tend to rely on your personal judgment, or do you rely on the opinions of others? The answer to this question can help with better understanding phenomena such as polarization. An experiment on this topic is part of the Humboldt Laboratory in Berlin. The results will be used in a project of the “Science of Intelligence” Cluster of Excellence and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. Time slots can now be booked free of charge. more

On September 26th not only the elections of the German parliament will take place, but as well of the Parliament of Berlin. With a position paper developed under the umbrella of Berlin Research 50, the non-university institution of Berlin emphasize what is important for science in Berlin. The position paper contains 10 demands that should be implemented by the future senate to strengthen Berlin as science metropolis. more

How is mental health linked to brain development? To answer this question neuroscientists have launched an app that tests cognitive brain functions and anonymously queries mental health. Anyone can take part, regardless of whether or not they have a mental illness. The researchers' goal is to gather as much data as possible from a wide range of age groups in German and English-speaking countries. more

We may not always be aware of it, but we all practice deliberate ignorance. In other words, we consciously choose not to seek or use information. This is as true for individuals as it is, for example, for organizations, welfare economics, and law. But where exactly does deliberate ignorance play a role? And when is it a blessing, when a curse? In our feature, we present examples and consider possible implications. more

Manuel Cebrian, head of the research group "Digital Mobilisation", is one of the pioneers of contact tracing by mobile phones. Last year, his paper on the subject, published in 2014, gained unexpected relevance. In a recent article in nature electronics, he outlines the conditions under which Covid-19 tracing apps can be helpful in containing the pandemic. more

How can we best communicate information about the new COVID-19 vaccines to inform as many people as possible and prevent the spread of misinformation? This question has been addressed by an international team of more than 25 scientists, including Stefan Herzog from the Center for Adaptive Rationality. Their results have been published in The COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Handbook.  more

What can humans learn from fish? When do groups make better decisions than individuals? Answers to these questions are presented by Pawel Romanczuk from the Technische Universität Berlin and Ralf Kurvers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. They are exploring swarm intelligence in fish and humans. The event will take place digitally on November 7th, 6-7pm (CET). more

An analysis of historical economic data in the USA shows that the economic development of cities always follows a similar path. Only from a population of 1.2 million upwards does a transition to innovative economies take place. The study by Inho Hong, postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Humans and Machines, and researchers from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University was published in the  Science Advances. more

Online platforms collect large amounts of information about us and our behavior. This information is used to tailor advertising to our needs, but also to our personal vulnerabilities. If this happens without our knowledge, online advertising can become manipulative. In a new article in Scientific Reports, researchers from the Center for Adaptive Rationality show how simple interventions can improve people’s ability to detect microtargeted advertising. more

The new Research Report is available. The Research Report is published every 3 years, in time for the Institute's Scientific Advisory Board meeting. It documents the Institute's scientific activities for the Report's respective period of time. more

Many countries are relying on Corona apps to identify the contacts of infected persons and isolate those affected in order to break the infection chains. Germany has now also published an app that uses Bluetooth technology to warn people if they have been in the vicinity of infected people. One of the first scientific studies on the subject has been published as early as 2014. Computer scientist Manuel Cebrian, one of the authors and Research Group Leader in the Center for Human and Machines, explains if contact tracing needs technical support and why it can work even if not everyone installs a tracing app. more

The contributions of the blog engage with emotions as a day-to-day occurrence and their role in current events and incidents. The blog provides brief, prompt, and essayistic analyses and viewpoints about the verbal and visual negotiations of emotions as they appear in everyday media coverage and beyond. more

Why do people with similar starting conditions develop so differently across their lifespan? Elliot Tucker-Drob (University of Texas at Austin) and Andreas Brandmaier (Center for Lifspan Psychology) talk about the complex process of development in an interview with the Jacobs Foundation’s “BOLD – Blog on Learning and Development”. more

This question is the subject of the second part of the new explanatory video series “Wissen Was” by the Max Planck Society. Ralph Hertwig, director of the Center of Adaptive Rationality, talks about it with science YouTuber Doctor Whatson. more