Research Centers

The Center for Adaptive Rationality (Director: Ralph Hertwig) investigates how simple decision-making strategies—also known as heuristics—and cognitive search and learning help people to navigate the twilight of uncertainty in a constantly changing world. The Center further explores how these cognitive processes develop over the lifespan and play out in groups. The insights from this research feed into conclusions and recommendations on heuristics and environmental changes that can empower citizens, patients, doctors, and policy makers to make better decisions. more

At the Center for Lifespan Psychology (Director: Ulman Lindenberger), researchers from various disciplines study human development from birth until old age. Using training studies, they explore hidden potentials and examine how brain changes are related to behavioral changes. In longitudinal studies like the Berlin Aging Study, they determine the causes and consequences of long-term developmental differences. more

The aim of the research center is to find out what impact the physical environment has on the individual. The scientists assume that the external environment has a major impact on brain plasticity as well as on behavioural change. The influence of the environment is oftentimes neglected, a phenomenon that has been termed the „fundamental attribution error“, describing that individuals tend to ignore the impact of situational/environmental factors when evaluating the behaviour of people. In order to fill this gap, the discipline of environmental psychology has evolved. more

The Center for Humans and Machines (Director: Iyad Rahwan) conducts science to understand, anticipate, and shape major disruptions from Artificial Intelligence, the Web, and social media to the way we think, learn, work, play, and govern our lives. more