Rate My Professor Michael Nielsen

Michael Nielsen is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Georgia Southern University, where he has taught since 1993, initially joining for a one-year teaching position that evolved into a long-term career commitment. He holds a B.A. in music and psychology from Southern Utah University (1986) and a Ph.D. in social-organizational psychology from Northern Illinois University (1992). His academic interests center on religious conflicts, particularly how people define group boundaries in religious settings, including contexts of religiously influenced polygamy. Additional research areas include altered states of consciousness, philosophical aspects of psychology, and peace psychology. Dr. Nielsen regularly teaches courses in Psychology of Religion, Social Psychology, History of Psychology, Statistics, and Research Methods.

Dr. Nielsen has made significant contributions to the field through numerous publications, such as 'Religion-related child physical abuse: Characteristics and psychological outcomes' (Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 2003), 'Is God Really Watching You? A Response to Shariff and Norenzayan' (2008), 'Religiousness, Social Psychology, and Behavior' (2013), and 'Strategies and Resources for Teaching Psychology of Religion' (2015). He maintains an award-winning website on the Psychology of Religion and has delivered invited lectures on the topic in Kyiv and Istanbul. In leadership roles, he is President-Elect of the Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (APA Division 36), co-editor of the Archive for the Psychology of Religion (journal of the International Association for the Psychology of Religion), and serves on editorial boards for the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion and Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, as well as the advisory board of the Pakistan Journal of Psychology. He has received service awards from the American Psychological Association and Georgia Southern University.