BDSM Research Team

Dr. Brad Sagarin is a professor of social psychology at Northern Illinois University and the head of the Science of BDSM Research Team (www.scienceofbdsm.com). Brad’s current research focuses on consensual BDSM, social influence, and statistics. Brad has been published in a variety of scholarly journals, has given radio, television, and podcast interviews, has consulted for radio and television programs, and has delivered invited lectures to academic and non-academic organizations. His research has been cited in newspapers and magazines, including The Economist and New Scientist. He holds Doctorate and Master’s degrees in Social Psychology from Arizona State University, and a Baccalaureate degree in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Homecoming 2026 Classes

Power Exchange in the Ivory Tower (1)
Brad Sagarin
Late last year, Kevin Casey and Brad Sagarin published a “target article” titled “Authority Transfer Relationships: Illuminating a Consensual Inegalitarian Relationship Form” in Archives of Sexual Behavior. As a target article, the editors invited scholars with a range of perspectives to write responses—and respond they did. In “Power Exchange in the Ivory Tower”, Brad will describe Kevin and his efforts to illuminate Master/slave and other types of Authority Transfer Relationships for the academic community and share the academic community’s response. Come hear an account of an academic cage match from inside the cage! (Those who would like to delve into the details can find copies of Kevin and Brad’s paper and the commentaries at www.scienceofbdsm.com.)

The Invisible Switch (1)
Brad Sagarin and Kimberly
Open any book on kink and what do you see? Doms and subs. Tops and bottoms. Sadists and masochists. What about those who live on both sides of the slash? In “The Invisible Switch” we take a tour through two decades of academic research from the Science of BDSM Research Team and answer the question, “What do we know about switches?” We’ll explore evidence that switches transcend more than the BDSM binary, data that people who sometimes switch are not the same as those who call themselves switches, and insights into altered states that would not be possible without switches. Come help us shine a well-deserved spotlight on the invisible switch.

The Science of BDSM: Full Circle (1)
Phil Braun, Jenna Riane, Genevieve Canal, and Brad Sagarin
Over the past two years, attendees at Kinky Kollege have generously spent their time at KK donning EEG headsets, filling out surveys, and sharing their stories. In “The Science of BDSM: Full Circle” we are excited to share the results of the research you made possible! Hear about how feedback from Kinky Kollege challenged the way psychologists measure relationship satisfaction, how those of us who were born kinky differ from those who learned about kink later in life, and how our desires and limits change when we’re flying high from a scene. As a bonus, we’ll reveal evilgeniusofevil’s nefarious plan to test whether AI feels jealousy and understands safewords.

Ask A Scientist! (RT)
Ask all the burning science questions.