Neil J. Kressel

Neil J. Kressel is a psychologist with background in social, clinical, and forensic psychology. Kressel currently is Professor of Psychology at William Paterson University. Previously, he taught at Harvard, New York University, Stevens Institute of Technology, and elsewhere. He was a Visiting Associate Professor at the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism, housed at Yale University’s Institution for Social and Policy Studies. In addition, he was trained in Rational-Emotive Therapy by Albert Ellis, the founder of the approach.

Kressel directed the William Paterson Honors Program in the Social Sciences from 2004 through the middle of 2023. He has also been chairperson of the Department of Psychology. In May 2023, he received the university’s Faculty Recognition Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Expression. Earlier in the year, he received a special Outstanding Service Award from the Honors College at William Paterson University.

Kressel’s scientific and scholarly work has covered many topics in social, clinical, and political psychology. For the past decade, he as focused intensively on the psychology of religion. Throughout his career, however, he has been driven by a desire to understand the social psychology of extremism in its various forms. This has led him to write books on genocide, terrorism, political extremism, religious extremism, antisemitism, and related matters. He is also interested in the social psychology of the American jury system and has co-authored a book on that topic with his wife, Dorit F. Kressel, who is an attorney.

The author or editor of seven books with major publishers, Kressel has appeared on NPR, MSNBC, ABC-TV, Fox News, the History Channel, the Joan Rivers Show, Voice of America, and many other broadcasts. His work has been widely cited in print and online media, including Forbes, the Economist, Reader’s Digest, The Washington Post, the New York Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Corporate Board Member magazine, the Jerusalem Post, Slate, and elsewhere. He has also penned many columns and op-eds.

In Autumn 2024, Cambridge University Press published Kressel’s The Psychology of Religion: A Social Force, a university-level textbook. In an early review, prominent psychologist of religion Ralph Hood wrote that the book “. . . is destined to become a classic. It is unsurpassed in range and scope.” Crystal Park, another leader in field wrote: “Neil Kressel offers a comprehensive and engaging approach to the psychology of religion, weaving together thought-provoking case studies, historical insights, and cutting-edge research. By balancing classic and contemporary sources, this book provides an in-depth understanding of religious behaviors and decisions within sociological, psychological, and biological contexts.” View books.

Kressel’s teaching over the years has included social psychology, personality theory, political psychology, forensic psychology, research methods, history of psychology, and several clinical psychology courses. He has created or redesigned many courses for the William Paterson psychology department. He also likes to introduce psychology to fresh minds by teaching the general psychology course. Finally, Kressel has taught the Cognitive Behavior Therapy course and the History and Systems of Psychology course to students in William Paterson’s doctoral program in clinical psychology.

KresselN@wpunj.edu

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