Quirky Little Things

The science of the queer and the quotidian.

Jesse Bering is an experimental psychologist and Director of the Institute of Cognition and Culture at the Queen's University, Belfast. See full bio

May 15, 2008

The Sneaky F*cker Theory (and Other Gay Ideas)

In my last post, I invited you to submit your questions to me about any aspect of human behaviour that you'd like to know more about but hadn't the time, energy, or know-how to track down the answers. Quite a few of you responded, on topics ranging from the best treatment for spider phobias to whether "evil" people are self-aware. There were many interesting questions for me to choose from, but because several questions dealt with one particular topic - the natural foundations of homosexuality - I've decided to focus here on that issue. Read More

May 7, 2008

It's Your Birthday Too?! No Way!!

If you really want to be a scoundrel and use your psychological know-how to persuade a stranger to do something they wouldn't otherwise do, here's a little trick of the trade: convince them that you share the same birthday. Read More

May 2, 2008

A Death in Zakopane

It's almost as if we each secretly believe that we're special, privileged, likely to be rescued from death no matter how grim things look. After all, death is what happens to those other people. Read More

April 29, 2008

Adam's Limp Wrist

Look closely at the very moment of creation in Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and you'll notice something very interesting. Read More

April 24, 2008

Name and Shame

Have you ever noticed the pervasiveness of the "name and shame" strategy for promoting good behavior? It's usually a very effective one. Read More

April 12, 2008

Meet the Does

I find it absolutely astounding that so many people could live and die as if they never lived at all. Read More

April 8, 2008

"Explanation as Orgasm," Says Leading Researcher

Scientists who are intrinsically motivated to solve their complicated research problems, says developmental psychologist Alison Gopnik, are like big children, perpetually chasing after the explanatory highs so endemic to a curious childhood. Read More

April 3, 2008

Dogs Are Social Lubricants

Gulliver might have only been an 8-week-old Border Terrier puppy, but he was able to accomplish something I'd never been especially good at, which is getting people to smile. Read More

March 28, 2008

Babies Don't Like Foreigners

I’ve lived in Northern Ireland for a few years now and I still feel like a two-dimensional cartoon character. It seems all I have to do to conjure up images in peoples’ heads of George Bush, Britney Spears, and old episodes of Friends, is to open up my mouth and say a few lines with my stereotypically flat, Midwestern accent. Read More

March 27, 2008

How To Tell Us Psychologists Apart

There are two types of psychologists... Read More

Evolutionary Psychology Basics

Our bodies evolved over eons, slowly calibrating to the African savanna on which 98 percent of our ancestors lived and died. So, too, did our brains. Evolutionary psychology postulates that the mind is shaped by pressure to survive and reproduce. We jealously guard romantic partners and cherish our closest relatives above all others, lest we fail to pass on our genes.

Go to the Evolutionary Psychology Basics page for more on Evolutionary Psychology including:

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