David Levy

Biography

Dr. David A. Levy has extensive experience as a teacher, therapist, writer, and researcher. He is a Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University's Graduate School of Education and Psychology, where he has been teaching graduate courses since 1986. He received his B.A. degree in theater arts from UCLA, a M.A. degree in psychology from Pepperdine University, a second M.A. degree in psychology from UCLA, and his Ph.D. in psychology from UCLA, where he specialized in social psychology, with minors in psychological assessment and personality psychology. He served as a Visiting Professor of Psychology in the Soviet Union, where he delivered lectures and workshops in psychology and psychotherapy at Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) State University, the Leningrad Academy of Science, and the Bekhterev Psychoneurological Institute. He was honored as a Harriet and Charles Luckman Distinguished Teaching Fellow and the Howard A. White Award for Teaching Excellence at Pepperdine, and he was a recipient of the Shepard Ivory Franz Distinguished Teaching Award and Charles F. Scott Fellowship at UCLA.

In 2024, he created and funded the Dr. David A. Levy Scholarship for Excellence in Critical Thinking at Pepperdine University.  Dr. Levy holds professional licenses both in psychology and in marriage and family therapy.

His numerous theoretical and empirical research studies have been published in scientific journals and presented at professional conferences. His book, Tools of Critical Thinking: Metathoughts for Psychology, garnered widespread acclaim in both academic and clinical settings for its innovative approaches to improving thinking skills. Levy co-authored Cross-Cultural Psychology: Critical Thinking and Contemporary Applications, which became an internationally best-selling textbook. His most recent book is Shots of Wisdom: Laughing, Wincing, and Learning Through Life's Lessons. Levy is also the author of several satirical articles, including "The Emperor's Postmodern Clothes: A Brief Guide to Deconstructing Academically Fashionable Phrases for the Uninitiated," and "A Proposed Category for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM): Pervasive Labeling Disorder."

As a media consultant, Levy has appeared on dozens television and radio broadcasts (including CNN, CBS, NBC, PBS, A&E, and E!), providing psychological perspectives on current events, and examining issues and trends in the mental health fields.

Education

• PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
• MA, University of California, Los Angeles
• MA, Pepperdine University
• BA, University of California, Los Angeles