The Max-Planck-Institute for Human Development (Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung) is an internationally renowned social science research organization. Located in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, it was initiated in 1961 and officially began operations in 1963 under the name Institute for Educational Research in the

Max Planck Society The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. ...

, before receiving its current name in 1971. Its co-founder and first director was Hellmut Becker. The institute is part of the Human Sciences Section of the Max Planck Society. Research activities focus on the

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

, with an emphasis on

basic research Basic research, also called pure research or fundamental research, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenomena. In contrast, applied resear ...

. The concept of education is defined broadly, embracing both formal educational processes as well as developmental processes from childhood to old age. Currently, around 350 employees contribute to interdisciplinary research in four research centers, a Lise Meitner Group and three research groups. Research Centers * Center for Adaptive Rationality (Director:

Ralph Hertwig Ralph Hertwig (born 4 November 1963, in Heilbronn, Germany) is a German psychologist whose work focuses on the psychology of human judgment and decision making. Hertwig is Director of the Center for Adaptive Rationality at the Max Planck Institu ...

) * Center for Lifespan Psychology (Managing Director:

Ulman Lindenberger Ulman is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: *Kenneth Ulman (born 1974), American politician *Avrohom Yitzchok Ulman, Hungarian-born haredi rabbi *Bernie Ulman (died 1986), American football and lacrosse ...

) * Research Center History of Emotions (Director:

Ute Frevert Ute Frevert (born 10 June 1954 in Schötmar, Bad Salzuflen, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German historian. She is a specialist in modern and contemporary German history, as well as social and gender history. In January 2008, she was appointed mana ...

) *Center for Humans and Machines (Director:

Iyad Rahwan Iyad Rahwan ( ar, إياد رهوان), is a Syrian-Australian scientist. He is the director of the Center for Humans and Machines at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. Between 2015 and 2020, he was an associate professor of Media Art ...

) Lise Meitner Group * Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience (Head: Simone Kühn) Research Groups * Max Planck Research Group iSearch , Information Search, Ecological and Active Learning Research with Children (Head: Azzurra Ruggeri) * Max Planck Research Group Neural and Computational Basis of Learning, Memory and Decision Making (Head: Nicolas Schuck) * Max Planck Research Group Naturalistic Social Cognition (Head: Annie E. Wertz) In addition, there are two more research centers: * The Harding Center for Risk Literacy was opened in April 2009. Motivating its research is the vision of enlightened individuals who are equipped to deal with risks in the modern technological world in an informed way. The director of the Harding Center is

Gerd Gigerenzer Gerd Gigerenzer (born 3 September 1947) is a German psychologist who has studied the use of bounded rationality and heuristics in decision making. Gigerenzer is director emeritus of the Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition (ABC) at the Max P ...

. *The Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research took up its work in April 2014. It is the result of the existing collaboration between the Max Planck Society and University College London that began in 2011. The Centre is dedicated to studying the causes of psychiatric disorders as well as the causes of individual differences in cognitive development, with an emphasis on adulthood and old age. Two Co-Directors form the Leading Team of the Centre: Ray Dolan for

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and

for the

. The Research Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition (Director:

) ended its activities in 2017. The Research Center of Educational Research (Director: Jürgen Baumert) ended its activities in 2010. Its best-known projects were the TIMS study (

TIMSS The IEA's Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is a series of international assessments of the mathematics and science knowledge of students around the world. The participating students come from a diverse set of educ ...

) and the

PISA Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

study, whose results received wide attention by both the

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information ...

and

politicians A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. The institute is located in

Wilmersdorf Wilmersdorf (), an inner-city locality of Berlin, lies south-west of the central city. Formerly a borough by itself, Wilmersdorf became part of the new borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. History The vi ...

, a neighbourhood in the southwest of Berlin, immediately bordering on the neighborhood of Dahlem, and is therefore considered part of Dahlem's traditional science district. This is home to a number of scientific organizations such as the

Free University Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in poli ...

, which works together with the institute. The founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development was

Hellmut Becker Hellmut is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Hellmut Andics (1922–1998), Austrian journalist, publicist, and writer * Hellmut Bunge (1920–2006), Hauptmann in the Wehrmacht during World War II, recipient of the Knight's Cross ...

, subsequently joined by

Dietrich Goldschmidt Dietrich () is an ancient German name meaning "Ruler of the People.” Also "keeper of the keys" or a "lockpick" either the tool or the profession. Given name * Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg (c. 1398 – 1440) * Thierry of Alsace (german: Dietric ...

(1963) and Saul B. Robinsohn (1964) as the first generation of directors. They were followed by directors

Wolfgang Edelstein Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...

(1973), Peter M. Roeder (1973) and

Friedrich Edding Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

(director from 1973),

Paul B. Baltes Paul B. Baltes (18 June 1939 – 7 November 2006) was a German psychologist whose broad scientific agenda was devoted to establishing and promoting the life-span orientation of human development. He was also a theorist in the field of the psycholog ...

(1980),

Karl Ulrich Mayer Karl Ulrich Mayer (born 10 April 1945) is a German sociologist. He is Director Emeritus of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, Germany, as well as the Stanley B. Resor Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Professor at the Inst ...

(1983), Jürgen Baumert (1996),

(1997),

(2003),

(2008),

(2012) and

(2019).

External links

Publications of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development

Official site MPI-Berlin

Harding Center for Risk Literacy

Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research

Twitter Channel of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development

YouTube Channel of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development
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Human Development Human development may refer to: * Development of the human body * Developmental psychology * Human development (economics) * Human Development Index, an index used to rank countries by level of human development * Human evolution, the prehistoric ...

Social science institutes Universities and colleges in Berlin

See also

External links