Neil J. Kressel is a psychologist with a broad background in social, clinical, and forensic psychology. He holds a doctorate in social psychology from Harvard and has 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 currently is Professor of Psychology at William Paterson University. He directed the William Paterson Honors Program in the Social Sciences from 2004 through the middle of 2023, and he has also been chairperson of the Department of Psychology. In May 2023, Kressel 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 recent teaching includes social psychology, personality theory, forensic psychology, history of psychology, psychology of social issues, and several clinical psychology courses. He 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.

His research has focused on the social psychology of extremism in its various forms. This has led him to write books on genocide, terrorism, religious extremism, antisemitism, and related matters. He is also an expert on the social psychology of the American jury system.

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.com, the Economist, Reader's Digest, the Washington Post, the New York Post, Chronicle of Higher Education, Corporate Board Member magazine, the Jerusalem Post, Slate.com, and elsewhere.

In Autumn 2024, Cambridge University Press published Kressel's The Psychology of Religion: A Social Force. 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." In January 2025, his chapter on "The Psychology of Contemporary Antisemitism" appeared in the 3rd edition of Todd Nelson's Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping and Discrimination (Routledge).

His 2012 book, "The Sons of Pigs and Apes": Muslim Antisemitism and the Conspiracy of Silence, was named Book of the Year for 2012 by the Journal for the Study of Antisemitism. The book received praise from feminist psychologist Phyllis Chesler, Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, the former British Minister for Europe Denis MacShane, German scholar Matthias Küntzel, Israeli historian Robert S. Wistrich, San Diego State University Professor Khaleel Mohammed, and former White House Deputy National Security Advisor Elliott Abrams.

Kressel's other books include Bad Faith: The Danger of Religious Extremism (Prometheus, 2007); Mass Hate: The Global Rise of Genocide and Terror (Basic Books/Westview, rev. ed. 2002), Stack and Sway: The New Science of Jury Consulting (Basic Books/Westview, 2002, co-authored with attorney Dorit F. Kressel), and Political Psychology (Paragon House, 1993).