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David Levy (psychologist)
Encyclopedia
David Anthony Levy is an American psychologist
, professor
, author
, stage director and actor
. He has provided psychological perspectives on current events in numerous broadcast and publication media, and is co-author of an internationally best-selling textbook on cross-cultural psychology
and critical thinking
.
in Inglewood, CA, from 1968–1970, and West High School (Torrance)
, CA, from 1970-1972. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA) in 1978 with a B.A. degree in theater arts, where he was a recipient of the Hugh O'Brian
Acting Awards. He received a M.A. degree in psychology from Pepperdine University
in 1984, a second M.A. in psychology from UCLA in 1987, and a Ph.D. in psychology from UCLA in 1990, where he specialized in social psychology
, with minors in psychological assessment and personality psychology
.
of Psychology at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology
, where he has been teaching graduate courses since 1986. In 1991 he served as Visiting Professor of Psychology in the Soviet Union
, where he delivered lectures and workshops in psychology and psychotherapy at Leningrad State University (now St. Petersburg), the Leningrad Academy of Science, and the Bekhterev PsychoNeurological Institute. He was honored as a Harriet and Charles Luckman
Distinguished Teaching Fellow at Pepperdine (1994–1999), and was a recipient of the Shepard Ivory Franz Distinguished Teaching Award (1989–1990) at UCLA, and the Charles F. Scott Fellowship (1989–1990) at UCLA.
and in marriage and family therapy (MFT). He has worked extensively in private practice and inpatient psychiatric settings, he has supervised clinical interns, and he has utilized his expertise in psychological testing
(particularly the MMPI
) in forensic cases.
, CNN
, NBC
, CNBC
, PBS
, NPR
, Fox
, A&E
, Nat Gio
, KABC
, and E!
), Levy, a specialist in celebrity psychology, has provided psychological perspectives on current events, and he has examined issues and trends in the mental health field. He has also been quoted extensively in print and online media, most notably providing sport psychology
analyses of the Los Angeles Lakers
for the Los Angeles Times
.
, Shelley Taylor
, Robert Carson, David Myers, and Anne Peplau, with a foreword by Thomas Szasz
.
Levy collaborated with Eric Shiraev (George Mason University
) on Cross-Cultural Psychology: Critical Thinking and Contemporary Applications, which became an internationally best-selling textbook. He is the author of Family Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice, which was the first textbook on the topic to be available to Russian readers. His Levy Optimism-Pessimism Scale (LOPS) has been utilized internationally in a variety of research contexts.
He is also the author of numerous satirical articles, including "The Emperor’s Postmodern Clothes: A Brief Guide to Deconstructing Academically Fashionable Phrases for the Uninitiated", "How to Be a Good Psychotherapy Patient", "Psychometric Infallibility Realized: The One-Size-Fits-All Psychological Profile", "Stinks and Instincts: An Empirical Investigation of Freud’s Excreta Theory" and "A Proposed Category for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM): Pervasive Labeling Disorder".
Levy co-wrote 60 episodes of the daytime television serial Secret Lives, (produced by Dan Enright
of Barry & Enright Productions
).
and Ira Gershwin
. Levy also directed the west coast premiere of William Gibson
’s Golda: A Partial Portrait, starring Liz Sheridan
. He assisted Steve Allen
in directing Seymour Glick is Alive But Sick (with Bill Maher
), a satirical musical revue produced and written by Allen.
, where he portrayed the leader of Frasier
’s “low self-esteem” therapy group. He accrued numerous other professional acting credits, including: One Day at a Time
, The World's Greatest Lover
(directed by Gene Wilder
), Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women (portraying Irving Berlin
), Power, Bobby Vinton’s Rock ‘n Rollers, Little Vic, and The McLean Stevenson Show.
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
, professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, stage director and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He has provided psychological perspectives on current events in numerous broadcast and publication media, and is co-author of an internationally best-selling textbook on cross-cultural psychology
Cross-cultural psychology
Cross-cultural psychology is the scientific study of human behavior and mental process, including both their variability and invariance, under diverse cultural conditions...
and critical thinking
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is the process or method of thinking that questions assumptions. It is a way of deciding whether a claim is true, false, or sometimes true and sometimes false, or partly true and partly false. The origins of critical thinking can be traced in Western thought to the Socratic...
.
Educational background
Levy attended Morningside High SchoolMorningside High School
Morningside High is a public high school in Inglewood, California.-History:In 1951, the first two classes of students came to the Morningside Park area of Inglewood to attend the new Morningside High School. Incoming 9th graders came from the surrounding junior high schools, and a class of 10th...
in Inglewood, CA, from 1968–1970, and West High School (Torrance)
West High School (Torrance)
West Torrance High School is a public high school in Torrance, California, United States. The mascot is the Warrior.-History:West Torrance High was established in 1962. It serves area bounded by 190th Street, Hawthorne, Sepulveda and west city boundary. The school colors are brown and gold. The...
, CA, from 1970-1972. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(UCLA) in 1978 with a B.A. degree in theater arts, where he was a recipient of the Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...
Acting Awards. He received a M.A. degree in psychology from Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
in 1984, a second M.A. in psychology from UCLA in 1987, and a Ph.D. in psychology from UCLA in 1990, where he specialized in social psychology
Social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
, with minors in psychological assessment and personality psychology
Personality psychology
Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that studies personality and individual differences. Its areas of focus include:* Constructing a coherent picture of the individual and his or her major psychological processes...
.
Professor
Levy is ProfessorProfessor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Psychology at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
, where he has been teaching graduate courses since 1986. In 1991 he served as Visiting Professor of Psychology in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, where he delivered lectures and workshops in psychology and psychotherapy at Leningrad State University (now St. Petersburg), the Leningrad Academy of Science, and the Bekhterev PsychoNeurological Institute. He was honored as a Harriet and Charles Luckman
Charles Luckman
Charles Luckman was a businessman and an American architect, famous as the "Boy Wonder of American Business" when he was named president of the Pepsodent toothpaste company in 1939 at the age of thirty...
Distinguished Teaching Fellow at Pepperdine (1994–1999), and was a recipient of the Shepard Ivory Franz Distinguished Teaching Award (1989–1990) at UCLA, and the Charles F. Scott Fellowship (1989–1990) at UCLA.
Psychotherapist
Levy holds professional licenses both in psychologyPsychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and in marriage and family therapy (MFT). He has worked extensively in private practice and inpatient psychiatric settings, he has supervised clinical interns, and he has utilized his expertise in psychological testing
Psychological testing
Psychological testing is a field characterized by the use of samples of behavior in order to assess psychological construct, such as cognitive and emotional functioning, about a given individual. The technical term for the science behind psychological testing is psychometrics...
(particularly the MMPI
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is one of the most frequently used personality tests in mental health. The test is used by trained professionals to assist in identifying personality structure and psychopathology....
) in forensic cases.
Media consultant
In his featured appearances on over seventy television and radio programs (including CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
, PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
, Nat Gio
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
, KABC
KABC-TV
KABC-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Los Angeles, California. KABC-TV's studios are located in Glendale, California...
, and E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
), Levy, a specialist in celebrity psychology, has provided psychological perspectives on current events, and he has examined issues and trends in the mental health field. He has also been quoted extensively in print and online media, most notably providing sport psychology
Sport psychology
Sport psychology is an interdisciplinary science that draws on knowledge from the fields of kinesiology and psychology. It involves the study of how psychological factors affect performance and how participation in sport and exercise affect psychological and physical factors...
analyses of the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
for the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
.
Author
Levy’s 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 and won the endorsements of some of the nation’s most prominent psychologists, including Elizabeth LoftusElizabeth Loftus
Elizabeth F. Loftus is an American psychologist and expert on human memory. She has conducted extensive research on the misinformation effect and the nature of false memories. Loftus has been recognized throughout the world for her work, receiving numerous awards and honorary degrees...
, Shelley Taylor
Shelley Taylor
Shelley Elizabeth Taylor is a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University, and was formerly on the faculty at Harvard University...
, Robert Carson, David Myers, and Anne Peplau, with a foreword by Thomas Szasz
Thomas Szasz
Thomas Stephen Szasz is a psychiatrist and academic. Since 1990 he has been Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse, New York. He is a well-known social critic of the moral and scientific foundations of psychiatry, and of the social...
.
Levy collaborated with Eric Shiraev (George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
) on Cross-Cultural Psychology: Critical Thinking and Contemporary Applications, which became an internationally best-selling textbook. He is the author of Family Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice, which was the first textbook on the topic to be available to Russian readers. His Levy Optimism-Pessimism Scale (LOPS) has been utilized internationally in a variety of research contexts.
He is also the author of numerous satirical articles, including "The Emperor’s Postmodern Clothes: A Brief Guide to Deconstructing Academically Fashionable Phrases for the Uninitiated", "How to Be a Good Psychotherapy Patient", "Psychometric Infallibility Realized: The One-Size-Fits-All Psychological Profile", "Stinks and Instincts: An Empirical Investigation of Freud’s Excreta Theory" and "A Proposed Category for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders...
(DSM): Pervasive Labeling Disorder".
Levy co-wrote 60 episodes of the daytime television serial Secret Lives, (produced by Dan Enright
Dan Enright
Daniel "Dan" Enright was one of the most successful game show producers in American television. Enright worked with Jack Barry from the 1940s until Barry's death in 1984. They were partners in creating programs for radio and television...
of Barry & Enright Productions
Barry & Enright Productions
Barry & Enright Productions , was a United States television production company that was formed in 1947 by Jack Barry and Dan Enright.-History:Jack Barry and Dan Enright first met at radio station WOR in New York, where...
).
Stage director
Levy co-created and directed the world premiere of Let's Call the Whole Thing Gershwin, which marked the first theatrical revue of the music and lyrics of George GershwinGeorge Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
and Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
. Levy also directed the west coast premiere of William Gibson
William Gibson (playwright)
William Gibson was an American playwright and novelist. He graduated from the City College of New York in 1938.He was of Irish, French, German, Dutch and Russian ancestry...
’s Golda: A Partial Portrait, starring Liz Sheridan
Liz Sheridan
Elizabeth "Liz" Sheridan is an American actress.-Background:Sheridan was born in New York City, the daughter of Elizabeth Poole-Jones, a concert singer, and Frank Sheridan, a classical pianist. Sheridan began her career as a dancer working in New York City in nightclubs and musicals. There, she...
. He assisted Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
in directing Seymour Glick is Alive But Sick (with Bill Maher
Bill Maher
William "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
), a satirical musical revue produced and written by Allen.
Actor
Levy had a starring role in the children’s television series Wonderbug , for which he received an Emmy nomination in 1977. In 1992 Levy was a guest star on the series CheersCheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
, where he portrayed the leader of Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
’s “low self-esteem” therapy group. He accrued numerous other professional acting credits, including: One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time is an American situation comedy on the CBS network that aired from December 16, 1975 until May 28, 1984. It portrays Ann Romano, a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters Julie and Barbara Cooper and Schneider, their building superintendent .The show...
, The World's Greatest Lover
The World's Greatest Lover
The World's Greatest Lover is a 1977 comedy film starring Gene Wilder and Carol Kane.-Plot:Set in the silent film era, Rainbow Studios figure they are losing revenue to a rival studio because they don't have Rudolph Valentino...
(directed by Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder is an American stage and screen actor, director, screenwriter, and author.Wilder began his career on stage, making his screen debut in the film Bonnie and Clyde in 1967. His first major role was as Leopold Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers...
), Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women (portraying Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
), Power, Bobby Vinton’s Rock ‘n Rollers, Little Vic, and The McLean Stevenson Show.
External links
- David Levy faculty homepage via Pepperdine University
- Tools of Critical Thinking: Metathoughts for Psychology publisher, information and distribution
- Reviews of Tools of Critical Thinking
- “Fighting Truthiness with Critical Thinking”
- “Pervasive Labeling Disorder”
- “The Emperor’s Postmodern Clothes”
- Cross-Cultural Psychology: Critical Thinking and Contemporary Applications publisher, information and distribution
- Los Angeles Times: Levy analyzes L.A. Lakers, part 1
- Los Angeles Times: Levy analyzes L.A. Lakers, part 2
- Los Angeles Times: Levy analyzes L.A. Lakers, part 3
- Los Angeles Times: Levy analyzes L.A. Lakers, part 4
- David Levy via Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
- Wonderbug theme and opening credits