Jonathan is a PhD. candidate in the Department of Psychology and the Department of Philosophy at University of Otago, New Zealand. His empirical research is in the cognitive science of religion (CSR), looking at the relationship between death-related cognitions and religious belief, whereas his philosophical research is on the philosophical implications of CSR for theistic belief. As an undergraduate, he also completed research projects on factors underlying perceptions of facial attractiveness, and the relationship between religiosity and sense of humour.
On top of his doctoral research, Jonathan is a regular contributor to Critic Te Arohi, University of Otago’s award-winning student publication. The magazine features his popular science articles and reviews of books on science, philosophy, and theology.
Publications
- Jong, J. (2010). Religion explained? Critic, 18, 22-27.
- Halberstadt, J., & Jong, J. (2007). The role of familiarity in the attractiveness of average ingroup, outgroup, and alien faces. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Memphis, TN.
