News from

Developmental psychologist Dr Leon Li will spend the next two years at Leipzig University researching how unethical behaviour arises in groups. The Humboldt Fellow recently joined the Faculty of Education.

Leon Li received his doctorate from Duke University (US) in 2022. As part of a Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdocs, he has been a guest of Dr Sebastian Grüneisen’s junior professorship for the development of social behaviour in early childhood since January 2024. Until 2026, he plans to devote himself to the question of which developmental factors lead people to work together in groups for unethical purposes – and which factors curb this behaviour.

“Leipzig is a truly excellent location for developmental psychology research,” explains Li. “My American doctoral advisor worked in Leipzig for twenty years, mostly at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. I am happy to be able to conduct my own research at Leipzig University, which has one of the only European research institutions specifically focused on children’s social cognitive development.”

With the Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdocs, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation supports postdoctoral researchers with above-average qualifications from all over the world. Funding is provided for research stays in Germany of up to 24 months.