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Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
@ae.mpg.de
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Official account of the MPI for Empirical Aesthetics. News about our multi-disciplinary research on aesthetic evaluation and perception of art. #EmpiricalAesthetics Imprint: ae.mpg.de/imprint
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ae.mpg.de
It’s almost time! The 2nd Annual Conference on #AestheticDevelopment takes place on November 20, 2025, at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main.

Registration to attend the conference is open until November, 10 ⏰.

More information: s.gwdg.de/5XdgmU
Visual with the title and date of the 2nd Annual Conference on Aesthetic Development.
November 3, 2025 at 2:11 PM
ae.mpg.de
What does it mean to be ripe—and why do we find it so beautiful? Philosopher #LeonJoskowitz explores how #ripeness, #taste, and #perception shape our #senseofbeauty.

📅 Nov 6, 2025 | 🕕 6 p.m.
📍 MPIEA Library, Frankfurt am Main
🗣️ Talk in German

More: www.aesthetics.mpg.de/newsroom/ver...
Poster Library Talks with date and location of the event and the German title
October 27, 2025 at 8:33 AM
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🗣️ Can you tell an #AIvoice from a human one? Researchers from our Institute and the University of Applied Arts Vienna #dieangewandte found that while synthetic #TextToSpeech voices often fool us, they’re still rated as less attractive than human ones.

Learn more: doi.org/10.1016/j.chbah.2025.100211
Illustration of a human and a robotic head with overlapping profiles and colored speech bubbles.
October 23, 2025 at 10:11 AM
ae.mpg.de
Today, our Institute hosted a distinguished delegation from the #UniversityOfSeoul, led by President Yongkul Won, during their visit to @goetheuni.bsky.social. The visit focused on Germany’s model of cooperation between university and non-university #ResearchInstitutions.

@maxplanck.de
October 20, 2025 at 3:30 PM
ae.mpg.de
Nikita Kudakov and his project partners have successfully advanced to Phase 2 of the @maximize-incubator.bsky.social start-up program of @maxplanck.de!

Get involved: Are you a singer, rapper, or DJ and would like to enhance your live performance? Read more → s.gwdg.de/K2dgbC
Group photo of the team behind start-up project Great Gig Group.
October 16, 2025 at 9:35 AM
ae.mpg.de
Hindemith „bewusst“ oder „gefühlsbetont“ erleben: Das Max-Planck-Institut für empirische Ästhetik lädt zu zwei Konzerten mit Vortrag und einer begleitenden Studie ein.

Wann? 21. und 25. November, 2025
Wo? MPIEA, Grüneburgweg 14, 60322 Frankfurt am Main

Mehr Informationen: ae.mpg.de/hindemith
Visual der Hindemith Tage 2025 mit Informationen zur Veranstaltung des Max-Planck-Instituts für empirische Ästhetik
October 14, 2025 at 10:18 AM
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📢 Call for Abstracts!

The 2nd Annual Conference on #AestheticDevelopment takes place on Nov 20, 2025, at the MPIEA. We invite submissions on how children engage with and develop through the arts.

🗓 Deadline: Oct 12, 2025
🔗 indico.ae.mpg.de/event/29/abstracts/
#Aesthetics #Conference
Visual with a Call for Papers for the 2nd Annual Conference on Aesthetic Development.
October 7, 2025 at 12:42 PM
ae.mpg.de
Today is a special day for us—it's #InternationalMusicDay! We investigate why and how people create art and how they perform, experience, and evaluate it, with a particular focus on #music. Learn more about our diverse #research 👉 ae.mpg.de/en
Person wearing EEG cap plays keyboard with sheet music on a tablet stand. Woman in silver sari plays tanpura with eyes closed, audience silhouette in foreground. Two pianists perform on grand pianos with cables and electronic equipment around them. Rapper in red jacket performs on stage under red lights, crowd raises hands.
October 1, 2025 at 7:38 AM
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We look forward to welcoming the next generation of scientists!
mps-cognition.bsky.social Max Planck School of Cognition @mps-cognition.bsky.social · Sep 4
The new application cycle for our fully funded international graduate program has just started. You can now apply via our website, sign up for a Q&A, or participate in the Applicant Support Program cognition.maxplanckschools.org/en ! 👍🏻🧠👏🏾#passionforscience, #maxplanckschools
September 24, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Reposted by Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
mps-cognition.bsky.social
The new application cycle for our fully funded international graduate program has just started. You can now apply via our website, sign up for a Q&A, or participate in the Applicant Support Program cognition.maxplanckschools.org/en ! 👍🏻🧠👏🏾#passionforscience, #maxplanckschools
September 4, 2025 at 11:21 AM
ae.mpg.de
#Sexlessness: Why do some people never have #sex, even later in life? A new study, conducted by @amsterdamumc.bsky.social and the University of Queensland alongside researchers of our Institute, explores this fascinating question.

Check out the @pnas.org paper here: doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2418257122
A large, blue-grey, abstract silhouette of a person in front of a background of numerous red-orange figures.
September 22, 2025 at 10:06 AM
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We’re excited to welcome Kaj Duncan David as our new INHABIT artist-in-residence! The renowned composer and performer explores connections between human and synthetic sounds to craft musical dialogues—something he’ll further develop at our Institute.

Find out more: ae.mpg.de/INHABIT
September 19, 2025 at 9:26 AM
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Congratulations to @davidpoeppel.bsky.social of the MPIEA, the recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Career Award! The Society for the Neurobiology of Language honored his research, which has advanced our understanding of how the brain processes language. s.gwdg.de/rnHI4J

#SNL2025 #Neuroscience
Two men on stage, a screen in the background, the man on the right is presenting the other man with an award.
September 16, 2025 at 2:04 PM
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You’ve probably heard all about AI taking over the world. So how about a fresh perspective? On Sept 17, 7 p.m. The MPIEA hosts a concert where 3 pianists improvise live—with each other and an AI-inspired system.

Curious? Find more info and the link to our livestream here: ae.mpg.de/musicaldialogues
Visual with information on the event "Creative Musical Dialogues Between Human and Machine"
September 10, 2025 at 1:21 PM
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Congratulations to Fredrik Ullén, Director of the MPIEA, on receiving the 2025 Mensa Foundation Prize! He was honored for his pioneering #research on the neural basis of expertise through the lens of #music practice.

Read more: s.gwdg.de/EgiytW

(Photo: Sandy Marak)
MPIEA Director Fredrik Ullén with the Foundation Prize award. (Photo: Sandy Marak)
July 8, 2025 at 12:50 PM
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🎶 How does urban life influence our music choices?
An international research team analyzed the listening habits of 2.5 million people in France, Brazil, and Germany. The study found that urban dwellers select more diverse music compared to rural populations.

Read more: s.gwdg.de/9bdw1Q
A man wearing a black quilted jacket, a black backpack, and headphones is seen from behind in the foreground. The blurred background shows a street with red buses passing by and high-rise buildings.
June 17, 2025 at 12:29 PM
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What makes us enjoy contemporary dance? 🕺 Researchers at our Institute found that both subjective and objective factors influence our evaluation. In particular, the expressiveness of the dance, but also our age, gender, and personality.

Out now in cognitionjournal.bsky.social: s.gwdg.de/tVWVff
A dancer in a black motion capture suit in a dynamic pose. In the foreground, silhouettes of an audience and a camera can be seen.
June 12, 2025 at 4:38 PM
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🧠 Our #brain is part of us—yet still a mystery. A new study from our Institute reveals how it syncs with rhythmic #sounds and how electrical currents can influence this.

Dive deeper: s.gwdg.de/kj7cxy
@ycabral.bsky.social
A man in black and white seen from behind with blond hair and a hoodie, with blue and white cables attached to his head. To the right and left of his ears are fine wavy lines in blue, pink, and orange.
June 10, 2025 at 1:06 PM
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A new acoustic research set has been developed at our Institute: "CoVox" offers over 1,300 recordings of 22 singers in 5 vocal styles. It is a rich resource for the study of speech and singing—providing many opportunities for further research!

Check it out: s.gwdg.de/rOdgOK
May 13, 2025 at 1:04 PM
ae.mpg.de
What is consciousness? 🧠💭 An international research team set out to challenge two theories of #consciousness and offer new perspectives on the way we study complex scientific questions.
Find out more: s.gwdg.de/fvr2jk
Read the full publication -> s.gwdg.de/fs30Th
A group of scientists wearing white lab coats stand in a futuristic observation room, gazing out a large window into space. Outside, a planet shaped like a human brain floats among the stars, half resembling Earth's surface and half appearing translucent, showing neural structures. Some scientists hold sketches of brains, others point and discuss excitedly, while a few study brain diagrams on paper and computer screens.
April 30, 2025 at 4:03 PM
ae.mpg.de
To celebrate #InternationalDanceDay, we met our researcher Julia F. Christensen to discuss the benefits of dancing! Find out more and how to implement dancing into your daily life.

Take part in Julia's dance study → ae.mpg.de/DanceSurvey

More studies → ae.mpg.de/takepart
April 29, 2025 at 1:29 PM
ae.mpg.de
It's #WorldLaboratoryDay!

In our lab, we use a variety of methods to explore how people create, perform, experience, and evaluate art and music.

Curious? Take a look—or join us right away:
👉 ae.mpg.de/takepart

Audio source: Hip-Hop-Upbeat by Jamendo, AdobeStock
April 23, 2025 at 8:47 AM
ae.mpg.de
If you enjoy working in the field of #sound #engineering and are interested in #scientific #research, you can become part of our team! 🙌 Apply for the position of a Student Assistant (m/f/d) for the Department of #Music: e-recruiting.pro/jobposting/8...
Visual with text "We are hiring!" with link to the job listing: ae.mpg.de/jobs
April 17, 2025 at 1:46 PM
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🎵 Why do some people enjoy #music more than others? New findings published in @naturecomms.bsky.social show that our capacity to enjoy music is partly inherited, with 54% of music enjoyment variability linked to #DNA differences: doi.org/10.1038/s414...

@mpi-nl.bsky.social @ki.se #BehaviorGenetics
Two women wearing headphones
April 11, 2025 at 1:04 PM
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Why do books have to be beautiful and what makes them beautiful? 📖✨
Join Carolin Blöink (@stiftungbuchkunst.bsky.social) as she discusses the criteria for judging beautiful #books in our next #LibraryTalks on Thurs. April 24, 6 p.m. (in German).
More information ➔ ae.mpg.de/LibraryTalks
Library Talks Ankündigung: Warum müssen Bücher schön sein?
April 10, 2025 at 9:55 AM