Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics

We’re hiring!📢

We are offering a postdoctoral position at the Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology.

More information here: ae.mpg.de/7teslajob

Live-Musik – Warum Konzerte unersetzlich bleiben Trotz Streaming-Boom erlebt Live‑Musik eine Renaissance, weil sie Körper, Gehirn und Gemeinschaft stärker aktiviert als jede Aufnahme.

Live lebt! 🎶 #Musik in Konzerten aktiviert das #Gehirn stärker und löst mehr #Emotionen aus als z. B. in der gestreamten Version. Ein toller #Podcast mit Melanie Wald-Fuhrmann und Nikita Kudakov (alias Coodiny) @ae.mpg.de im ART-Lab in Frankfurt 🎧 www.swr.de/swrkultur/wi...

Impressions from the LibraryTalks event.

Impressions from the LibraryTalks event.

Impressions from the LibraryTalks event.

An evening of conversations and inspiration.💬
At #LibraryTalks, we discussed with Thomas Meincke the intersections of his novels and music, collective writing processes with the audience, and an AI that recognizes itself in the title “I as Text.”
Thanks to everyone involved!

Experimental Concert Research ECR untersucht was das ästhetische Erleben im Konzert ausmacht.

The study is part of the “Experimental Concert Research” project, which collects insights into concert experiences and music enjoyment.
More information on the research project: experimental-concert-research.org?lang=de

What influences our concert experience? 🎵

Researchers at our Institute, with the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media and the @unicologne.bsky.social, have found that the aesthetic experience varies depending on the concert format.
Read the Paper: doi.org/10.1057/s415...

When Scientific Research Meets Human Creative Spontaneity and AI on the Concert Stage A unique evening hosted in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute, featuring concert pianist and cognitive neuroscientist Fredrik Ullén alongside David Dolan and Oded Ben-Tal.

If you are in London, don’t miss this exciting event where human musicians and AI-inspired systems come together! Performance and research-led discussion with our Director Fredrik Ullén, David Dolan, and Oded Ben-Tal at Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

More information 👉 s.gwdg.de/q8Zoc1

#Author and #Musician Thomas #Meinecke works at the intersection of literature and music and will share insights into his writing process during our next Library Talk. Don't miss it!

📅 Feb 5, 2026, 6pm

📍MPIAE Library, Frankfurt am Main

🗣️Talk in German

More: s.gwdg.de/h1uy03

New paper alert! 🎉 Congrats to the whole team! 👏

Giacomo’s work highlights the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of aesthetics and was shaped by his time as a student of the @mps-cognition.bsky.social at the @mpi-nl.bsky.social

Congratulations! @giacomobignardi.bsky.social receives the Frank X. Barron Award for his superior contributions to the psychology of aesthetics, creativity, and the arts as a student. The American Psychological Association honors his research on genetic effects on the perception of art🎶

Distinguished visitors at the MPIEA: our Scientific Advisory Board is here! Six experts from leading universities worldwide are visiting to review our research and exchange ideas—joined by the Vice President of the @maxplanck.de.
Looking forward to three exciting days!

Photo showing the new MPIEA research report.

So, what exactly is a #researchreport? 🤔 A research report documents the progress and results of research projects and is usually published by an institute itself, not sold in bookshops. Our latest one is out now—a great snapshot of what’s happening at our Institute. 🤩 Read it online: ae.mpg.de/rr

Visual of the sculpture of the word “Schön” in the four seasons.

At Christmas, we enjoy the little joys – like singing carols together. This fits perfectly with our Institute, where we explore why music and art move us. In this spirit, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a joyful start to 2026! 🎄✨

We look forward to welcoming you to the Institute!

Illustration eines menschlichen und eines Roboter-Kopfes mit überlappenden Profilen und bunten Sprechblasen.

Podcast-Empfehlung! Camila Bruder, Wissenschaftlerin am MPIEA, spricht in der Reihe „IQ - Wissenschaft und Forschung“ über KI-Stimmen in der Musik und die Berechenbarkeit von Pop-Hits. Die Folge ist ab Samstag, 20. Dezember in der ARD-Audiothek verfügbar.

Zum Podcast ➞ s.gwdg.de/f5hyZ3

The pages of an open book with sparkling effects.

New paper out: An international research team, including researchers from the MPIEA, explored how children’s attachment security and empathy influence their emotional experiences while listening to fairy tales.

Read the paper here: doi.org/10.1007/s42761-025-00339-4

Drawing of how intracranial recordings become a public dataset.

Open science breakthrough: @arc-cogitate.bsky.social has launched an open-access iEEG dataset of 38 people, including work from @ae.mpg.de.

This high-resolution resource tests competing theories & is available to researchers worldwide: bit.ly/49gRhne

Visual with the title and date of the 2nd Annual Conference on Aesthetic Development.

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

Poster Library Talks with date and location of the event and the German title

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...

Illustration of a human and a robotic head with overlapping profiles and colored speech bubbles.

🗣️ 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

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

Group photo of the team behind start-up project Great Gig Group.

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

Visual der Hindemith Tage 2025 mit Informationen zur Veranstaltung des Max-Planck-Instituts für empirische Ästhetik

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 with a Call for Papers for the 2nd Annual Conference on Aesthetic Development.

📢 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

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.

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

We look forward to welcoming the next generation of scientists!

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

A large, blue-grey, abstract silhouette of a person in front of a background of numerous red-orange figures.

#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

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

Photo: Katrien Segaert