Jesse Bering

Jesse Bering (born May 1975) is the Director of the Institute of Cognition and Culture and a Reader in the School of History and Anthropology at Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

A research psychologist by training, he writes the popular weekly Bering in Mind, a featured blog/column for the Scientific American website. Bering is notable for his frank and humorous handling of controversial issues in psychological science, especially those dealing with human sexuality. The column was named a 2010 Webby Honoree for the blog-cultural category by members of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. He also received the 2010 "Scientist of the Year Award" by the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP), an affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

"Openly atheistic and comfortable gay" he is the author of The God Instinct, The Psychology of Souls, Destiny and the Meaning of Life.

Publications

 * Secrets of the phallus: Why is the penis shaped like that? 2009-04-27 Scientific American http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=secrets-of-the-phallus
 * The "bitch" evolved: Why girls are so cruel to each other 2009-05-27 Scientific American
 * http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=evolutionary-enigma-dream|title=Dreaming of nonsense: The evolutionary enigma of dream content 2009-06-25 Scientific American http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bitch-evolved-girls-crue
 * Are there asexuals among us? On the possibility of a "fourth" sexual orientation 2009-10-29 Scientific American http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=are-there-asexuals-among-us-on-the-2009-10-29
 * Animal lovers: Zoophiles make scientists rethink human sexuality 2010-03-24 Scientific American http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=animal-lovers-zoophiles-make-scient-2010-03-24