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Social Sciences - 19.09.2023 
At which age we are at our happiest
An evaluation of over 400 samples shows how subjective well-being develops over the course of a lifespan. At what age are people at their happiest? This seemingly simple question has been studied extensively over the past decades, but a definitive answer has long been elusive. A research team from the German Sport University Cologne, Ruhr University Bochum, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the universities of Bern and Basel in Switzerland has now shed light on the question in a comprehensive meta-analytic review published on 7.
Social Sciences - Law - 15.09.2023
Social Sciences - 16.08.2023 
The evolution of complex grammars
A new study shows that changes in grammatical complexity are not shaped by social environments Many linguists have proposed that languages spoken by numerous non-native speakers tend to have simpler grammars. A new study led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig challenges this claim.
Social Sciences - 03.08.2023 
Search-and-rescue operations do not seem to have an influence on the crossing attempts of migrants in the central Mediterranean Sea
The search for and rescue of boats transporting migrants across the central Mediterranean Sea does not seem to have any influence on the number of people starting the risky journey. This is the conclusion of a research team led by Potsdam social scientist Alejandra Rodríguez Sánchez, who analyzed data on attempted crossings between 2011 and 2020.
Social Sciences - 01.08.2023 
Personality traits and the likelihood of childbearing
The decline in birth rates in many industrialized countries since the mid-1950s is partly due to a change in values. People decide more individually whether they want to have children or not. Steffen Peters of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research has investigated the role played by personality traits such as empathy or extroversion.
Health - Social Sciences - 31.07.2023 
What helps Stephanie doesn’t necessarily help Stefan
Women and men react differently to strain and stress. This is shown by a study from the first year of the corona pandemic. A team from Würzburg University Medical Center is responsible for the study. Does anyone remember the first phase of the Corona pandemic in 2020? When stores, restaurants, cinemas and theaters were closed.
History / Archeology - Social Sciences - 31.07.2023 
Family History at the Shell Mound
Researchers from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen and the Brazilian University of São Paulo, together with an international research team led by first author Dr. Tiago Ferraz, compiled the largest genomic dataset from Brazil to demonstrate that sambaqui communities on the southern and southeastern coasts did not represent a genetically homogeneous population.
Social Sciences - Life Sciences - 26.07.2023
Social Sciences - Media - 20.07.2023 
#BodyPositivity: More acceptance for different bodies
Social media play an important role in users' perception of the ideal body - often leading them in an unhealthy direction. Researchers at the University of Würzburg have investigated how this can be counteracted . How can social media contribute to a more diverse concept of body shapes and physical attractiveness? The answer is: body-positive content.
Social Sciences - 20.07.2023 
#BodyPositivity: More Diversity in Body Shapes
Social media play an important role in users' perception of the ideal body - often leading them in an unhealthy direction. Researchers at the University of Würzburg have investigated how this can be counteracted. How can social media contribute to a more diverse concept of body shapes and physical attractiveness? The answer is body-positive content.
Career - Social Sciences - 18.07.2023
Social Sciences - 12.07.2023 
Accurate self-assessment: what matters for children
Those who assess themselves and their abilities realistically get further in life than others. A study by the University of Würzburg now shows how children can learn precise self-assessment. Apprenticeship or study at university? Should I do languages or science? What suits me best? How accurately young people answer these questions depends largely on one factor: their social environment.
Life Sciences - Social Sciences - 10.07.2023 
More menu choices: Migrant orangutans learn a lot about food by watching the locals
Researchers from Leipzig University and MPI studied the behaviour of male animals in Sumatra and Borneo Migrant male orangutans on Borneo and Sumatra learn about unfamiliar foods in their new home range by -peering- at experienced locals: intensely observing them at close range. This is what an international research team led by Leipzig University and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig found out in a long-term study with 152 male animals observed over a period of 30 years.
Social Sciences - 05.07.2023 
Male humor is different
How do men react to jokes that make fun of them? Scientists at the Universities of Würzburg and Kaiserslautern-Landau investigated this. The result surprised them, too . If a blonde comes to a gas station..". There are many jokes of this kind - a Google search for "blonde jokes" produces around 230,000 hits.
Social Sciences - 31.05.2023 
Curious children, less curious apes
Children choose a "mystery box" more often than apes, but after a glimpse of a larger reward from the uncertain option, great apes show more curiosity Humans are curious creatures. We are motivated to explore and investigate mysterious or unknown objects, but do other great apes share this innate curiosity?
Social Sciences - History / Archeology - 09.05.2023 
Preceding the work: the search for a common language
Presentation of two research projects from the humanities and social sciences It is an unwritten law: scientific exchanges and interdisciplinarity are the basis for excellent research. How does interdisciplinary collaboration increase the gain in knowledge? What obstacles have to be overcome in everyday work? We take a closer look at these and other questions by presenting two research projects from the Humanities and the Social Sciences.
Life Sciences - Social Sciences - 03.05.2023 
Traces from the past
An international research team led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, has for the first time successfully isolated ancient human DNA from a Paleolithic artefact: a pierced deer tooth discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. To preserve the integrity of the artefact, they developed a new, nondestructive method for isolating DNA from ancient bones and teeth.
Computer Science - Social Sciences - 18.04.2023 
A question of promoting talent
When children develop their professional interests, the social environment is extremely formative. Girls often still lack female role models in the field of computer science. The university group she.codes wants to change that and get girls excited about programming. It is often said that IT is a man's world.
Life Sciences - Social Sciences - 14.04.2023 
Ancient DNA reveals the multiethnic structure of Mongolia’s first nomadic empire
The Xiongnu dominated the Eurasian steppes two millennia ago and foreshadowed the rise of the Mongol Empire The Xiongnu, contemporaries of Rome and Egypt, built their nomadic empire on the Mongolian steppe 2,000 years ago, emerging as Imperial China's greatest rival and even inspiring the construction of China's Great Wall.
Materials Science - Social Sciences - 15.12.2022 
Risk of population disruption as a result of decarbonisation
Researchers including Göttingen University analyse resources, demographics and disruption in energy transition Research led by University of Queensland (UQ) and including the University of Göttingen analysed the effects of decarbonisation strategies by linking global resource inventories with demographic systems to generate a matrix showing the risks and benefits.
Social Sciences
Results 1 - 20 of 81.
An evaluation of over 400 samples shows how subjective well-being develops over the course of a lifespan. At what age are people at their happiest? This seemingly simple question has been studied extensively over the past decades, but a definitive answer has long been elusive. A research team from the German Sport University Cologne, Ruhr University Bochum, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the universities of Bern and Basel in Switzerland has now shed light on the question in a comprehensive meta-analytic review published on 7.
Report on Violence Against Human Rights Defenders in Brazil
Study with contributions from sociologist and jurist Maria Eugenia Trombini reveals extent A study on violence against human rights defenders in Brazil reveals more than 1,000 cases occurred between 2019 to 2022. The report was compiled by the Brazilian human rights organisations "Terra de Direitos" and "Justiça Global".
Study with contributions from sociologist and jurist Maria Eugenia Trombini reveals extent A study on violence against human rights defenders in Brazil reveals more than 1,000 cases occurred between 2019 to 2022. The report was compiled by the Brazilian human rights organisations "Terra de Direitos" and "Justiça Global".
A new study shows that changes in grammatical complexity are not shaped by social environments Many linguists have proposed that languages spoken by numerous non-native speakers tend to have simpler grammars. A new study led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig challenges this claim.
The search for and rescue of boats transporting migrants across the central Mediterranean Sea does not seem to have any influence on the number of people starting the risky journey. This is the conclusion of a research team led by Potsdam social scientist Alejandra Rodríguez Sánchez, who analyzed data on attempted crossings between 2011 and 2020.
The decline in birth rates in many industrialized countries since the mid-1950s is partly due to a change in values. People decide more individually whether they want to have children or not. Steffen Peters of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research has investigated the role played by personality traits such as empathy or extroversion.
Women and men react differently to strain and stress. This is shown by a study from the first year of the corona pandemic. A team from Würzburg University Medical Center is responsible for the study. Does anyone remember the first phase of the Corona pandemic in 2020? When stores, restaurants, cinemas and theaters were closed.
Researchers from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen and the Brazilian University of São Paulo, together with an international research team led by first author Dr. Tiago Ferraz, compiled the largest genomic dataset from Brazil to demonstrate that sambaqui communities on the southern and southeastern coasts did not represent a genetically homogeneous population.
Family trees from the European Neolithic
The Neolithic burial site of Gurgy 'les Noisats' in France revealed two unprecedentedly large family trees which allowed a Franco-German team to explore the social organization of the 6,700-year-old community. Based on multiple lines of evidence, the team describes a close kin group which practiced monogamy and female exogamy, and experienced generally stable times.
The Neolithic burial site of Gurgy 'les Noisats' in France revealed two unprecedentedly large family trees which allowed a Franco-German team to explore the social organization of the 6,700-year-old community. Based on multiple lines of evidence, the team describes a close kin group which practiced monogamy and female exogamy, and experienced generally stable times.
Social media play an important role in users' perception of the ideal body - often leading them in an unhealthy direction. Researchers at the University of Würzburg have investigated how this can be counteracted . How can social media contribute to a more diverse concept of body shapes and physical attractiveness? The answer is: body-positive content.
Social media play an important role in users' perception of the ideal body - often leading them in an unhealthy direction. Researchers at the University of Würzburg have investigated how this can be counteracted. How can social media contribute to a more diverse concept of body shapes and physical attractiveness? The answer is body-positive content.
Employment has a positive effect on mothers’ well-being
The number of working mothers in Germany has been rising for years, however, they find themselves constantly balancing between work and family. Research shows that being employed has a positive effect on a person's health and well-being. However, no research has examined how employment affects the well-being and health of single mothers and cohabiting mothers.
The number of working mothers in Germany has been rising for years, however, they find themselves constantly balancing between work and family. Research shows that being employed has a positive effect on a person's health and well-being. However, no research has examined how employment affects the well-being and health of single mothers and cohabiting mothers.
Those who assess themselves and their abilities realistically get further in life than others. A study by the University of Würzburg now shows how children can learn precise self-assessment. Apprenticeship or study at university? Should I do languages or science? What suits me best? How accurately young people answer these questions depends largely on one factor: their social environment.
Researchers from Leipzig University and MPI studied the behaviour of male animals in Sumatra and Borneo Migrant male orangutans on Borneo and Sumatra learn about unfamiliar foods in their new home range by -peering- at experienced locals: intensely observing them at close range. This is what an international research team led by Leipzig University and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig found out in a long-term study with 152 male animals observed over a period of 30 years.
How do men react to jokes that make fun of them? Scientists at the Universities of Würzburg and Kaiserslautern-Landau investigated this. The result surprised them, too . If a blonde comes to a gas station..". There are many jokes of this kind - a Google search for "blonde jokes" produces around 230,000 hits.
Children choose a "mystery box" more often than apes, but after a glimpse of a larger reward from the uncertain option, great apes show more curiosity Humans are curious creatures. We are motivated to explore and investigate mysterious or unknown objects, but do other great apes share this innate curiosity?
Presentation of two research projects from the humanities and social sciences It is an unwritten law: scientific exchanges and interdisciplinarity are the basis for excellent research. How does interdisciplinary collaboration increase the gain in knowledge? What obstacles have to be overcome in everyday work? We take a closer look at these and other questions by presenting two research projects from the Humanities and the Social Sciences.
An international research team led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, has for the first time successfully isolated ancient human DNA from a Paleolithic artefact: a pierced deer tooth discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. To preserve the integrity of the artefact, they developed a new, nondestructive method for isolating DNA from ancient bones and teeth.
When children develop their professional interests, the social environment is extremely formative. Girls often still lack female role models in the field of computer science. The university group she.codes wants to change that and get girls excited about programming. It is often said that IT is a man's world.
The Xiongnu dominated the Eurasian steppes two millennia ago and foreshadowed the rise of the Mongol Empire The Xiongnu, contemporaries of Rome and Egypt, built their nomadic empire on the Mongolian steppe 2,000 years ago, emerging as Imperial China's greatest rival and even inspiring the construction of China's Great Wall.
Researchers including Göttingen University analyse resources, demographics and disruption in energy transition Research led by University of Queensland (UQ) and including the University of Göttingen analysed the effects of decarbonisation strategies by linking global resource inventories with demographic systems to generate a matrix showing the risks and benefits.
