Jesse Bering is an award-winning science writer specialising in human behaviour. His first book, The Belief Instinct (2011), was included on the American Library Association's Top 25 Books of the Year. This was followed by a collection of his previously published essays, Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That? (2012), and Perv (2013), a taboo-breaking work that received widespread critical acclaim and was named as a New York Times Editor's Choice. His latest book is Suicidal: Why We Kill Ourselves and will be released in 2018. All of his books have been translated into many different languages.
Bering and his work have been featured in numerous documentaries, TV shows, and radio programs, including Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, Conan, Chelsea Lately, Q&A (Australia), NPR's "All Things Considered," and the BBC. In addition to writing extensively for Scientific American and Slate magazines, his essays and opinion pieces have also appeared in Playboy, The New York Times, The Guardian, Discover, Vice, The New Republic, and many others.
An experimental psychologist by training, Bering's primary research area is the cognitive science of religion and he has published extensively in that field. He began his career at the University of Arkansas as an Assistant Professor of Psychology (2002-2006). He then served as Director of the Institute of Cognition and Culture at the Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he was Reader in the School of History and Anthropology (2006-2011). Presently, he is the Director of the Centre for Science Communication.
To learn more about Jesse's work, visit www.jessebering.com.
Current Teaching
- SCOM 402 The Craft of Storytelling
- SCOM 432 The Craft of Storytelling (Distance)
- SCOM 404 Science Communication Internship
- SCOM 434 Science Communication Internship (Distance)
- SCOM 5a Science Communication Thesis Preparation
Research Interests
- Cognitive science and religion
- Human sexuality
- Suicidology
- Evolutionary psychology
- Social psychology and science communication
Potential Postgraduate Projects
- Communicating controversial scientific topics in conflict with religious ideologies
- Development of efficacious science communication practices in prisons
- Experimental (lab-based) approaches to social psychology and science communication
- Evolved psychological functioning applied to biases in science communication
Current PhD Students
- Evan Balkcom - The maintenance of unbelief in light of experiences that challenge it
- Susan Hamel - The creation and use of e-learning material in science communication
- Emma Harcourt - The use of scientific language by anti-abortion groups
- Manon Knapen - How do homeopathy users perceive homeopathy?
- Bonnie Scarth - Perceptions of suffering, suicide, and physician-assisted suicide
- Daniel Silva-Luna - Awe in science communication
Publications
Bering, J. M., Curtin, E. R., & Jong, J. (2017). Knowledge of deaths in hotel rooms diminishes perceived value and elicits guest aversion. OMEGA. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/0030222817709694
Bering, J., Medvecky, F., & Curtin, E. (2016). Scientists behaving badly. Proceedings of the 14th International Public Communication of Science and Technology Conference. (pp. 148). Retrieved from http://pcst-2016.org/
Bering, J. (2015). Perversões: Os comportamentos sexuais desviantes [Translation of Perv: The sexual deviant in all of us]. Lison, Spain: Temas e Debates, 320p.
Bering, J. (2015). [Review of the book Fuckology: Critical essays on John Money's diagnostic concepts]. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 41(6), 693-694. doi: 10.1080/0092623x.2015.1064636
Bering, J. (2014). Penisin şekli neden öyle? Ve anatomi, parafili, inanç ve Evrim üzerine düşünceler [Translation of Why is the penis shaped like that? And other reflections on being human]. Ankara, Turkey: Big Bang, 366p.
Other Research Output
Bering, J. (2014, February). The bittersweet beauty of unrequited love. TEDx Malibu. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opJ1-DzrH2U. [Research Presentation].
Bering, J. (2014, April). Kinky science: Fetishes, paraphilias, and other sexual deviances. Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. [Public Lecture].
Bering, J. (2013, December). Perv: The sexual deviant in all of us. Interview on Chelsea Lately, E! Television. [Television Broadcast].
Bering, J. (2013, November). PERV: A science author salon. Presented by the Museum of Science and The Welcoming Committee, BoConcept, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. [Public Lecture].
Bering, J. (2013, October). Perv: The sexual deviant in all of us. Interview on Conan, TBS Channel. [Television Broadcast].
Bering, J. (2012, August). Did we invent god? Interview on Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, Discovery Channel. [Television Broadcast].
Bering, J. (2012, July). Stubbornly queer: Sexual reorientation attempts through the lens of history. GLBT History Museum, San Francisco, California, USA. [Public Lecture].
Bering, J. (2012, July). Why is the penis shaped like that?. Museum of Sex, New York, USA. [Public Lecture].
Authored Book - Research
Bering, J. (2013). Perv: The sexual deviant in all of us. New York: Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 288p.
Bering, J. (2012). Why is the penis shaped like that? And other reflections on being human. New York: Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 320p.
Bering, J. (2011). The belief instinct: The psychology of souls, destiny and the meaning of life. New York: W. W. Norton, 272p.
Authored Book - Other
Bering, J. (2015). Perversões: Os comportamentos sexuais desviantes [Translation of Perv: The sexual deviant in all of us]. Lison, Spain: Temas e Debates, 320p.
Bering, J. (2014). Penisin şekli neden öyle? Ve anatomi, parafili, inanç ve Evrim üzerine düşünceler [Translation of Why is the penis shaped like that? And other reflections on being human]. Ankara, Turkey: Big Bang, 366p.
Bering, J. (2014). Perv: Viaggio nellenostre perversioni [Translation of Perv: The sexual deviant in all of us]. Torina, Italy: UTET, 365p.
Bering, J. (2014). Pervers: Seksuele afwijkingen in ieder van ons [Translation of Perv: The sexual deviant in all of us]. Torina, Italy: De Bezige Bij, 298p.
Journal - Research Article
Bering, J. M., Curtin, E. R., & Jong, J. (2017). Knowledge of deaths in hotel rooms diminishes perceived value and elicits guest aversion. OMEGA. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/0030222817709694
Shackelford, T. K., Liddle, J. R., Bering, J., & Shalkoski, G. (2014). Unbidden confession as an evolved pre-emptive strategy against punishment: A preliminary investigation with prisoners. Personality & Individual Differences, 61-62, 86-90. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2014.01.010
Heywood, B. T., & Bering, J. M. (2014). “Meant to be”: How religious beliefs and cultural religiosity affect the implicit bias to think teleologically. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 4(3), 183-201. doi: 10.1080/2153599X.2013.782888
Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles
Bering, J. (2015). [Review of the book Fuckology: Critical essays on John Money's diagnostic concepts]. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 41(6), 693-694. doi: 10.1080/0092623x.2015.1064636
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Bering, J., Medvecky, F., & Curtin, E. (2016). Scientists behaving badly. Proceedings of the 14th International Public Communication of Science and Technology Conference. (pp. 148). Retrieved from http://pcst-2016.org/
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Bering, J. (2014, October-November). Does lust make us stupid? The effects of sexual arousal on human decision-making. Plenary presentation at the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) 33rd Annual Research and Treatment Conference, San Diego, CA.
Bering, J. (2013, November). Perv: The sexual deviant in all of us. Plenary presentation at the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality Annual Meeting: Connections: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Sexuality, San Diego, CA.
