Michael A. Kisley, Ph.D.

Dr. Kisley joined the UCCS Psychology Department in 2002. Before becoming the Chairperson in 2014 - 2017, he served as the department's Director of Graduate Training for 5 years. Dr. Kisley teaches, conducts research and mentors graduate and undergraduate psychology students in their research and professional development. He was the Associate Dean for the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences from 2019-2021.

• Ph.D. Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, 2000
• M.S. Aerospace Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 1994
• B.S. Aerospace Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 1992

Anthro-zoology; Emotion beliefs; Human beliefs about non-human animal emotions; the relationship between humans and animals.

Professor Kisley teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Emotion, Animal Psychology, Biopsychology, and Neuroscience for the UCCS Psychology Department.

• PSY 1100 - The Profession of Psychology
• PSY 3270 - Introduction to Biopsychology
• PSY 4270 - Seminar in Biopsychology
• PSY 4470 - Social Neuroscience
• PSY 6120 - Neuroscience
• PSY 6430 - Contemporary Issues in Psychology

*Indicates a student author who was supervised by Dr. Kisley

The core of my research program addresses the psychology of the human-animal relationship. My students and I are especially interested in people's beliefs about the emotional lives of animals: what do they believe about animal emotion states, and how does that influence their behaviors toward non-human animals? We primarily employ self-report measures, experimental manipulation studies, and multi-variate statistical models to study these and related concepts. You can see some examples of our work in the list of representative publications above, and by following this link: Colorado Anthrozoology Lab

I recently published a scale intended to measure people’s beliefs about nonhuman animal emotions, the Beliefs about Animal Emotions Scale

• UCCS College of Letters, Arts & Sciences, LAS Service Award 2021
• University of Colorado System, Excellence in Leadership Program, 2015-16
• Outstanding Faculty Member, PSI CHI & Psychology Club, 2013
• Outstanding Research Award for the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, 2013
• Outstanding Teaching Award for the UCCS Campus, 2011
• Outstanding Teaching Award for the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, 2006

• UCCS College of Letters, Arts & Sciences Associate Dean, 2019-2021
• UCCS Psychology Department Chairperson, 2014-2017
• UCCS Psychology Director of Graduate Training, 2009-2014
• Served on several NIH Grant Review Study Sections including most recently the special emphasis panel on "Social Neuroscience and Neuroeconomics of Aging"
• Served as ad hoc peer reviewer for more than 40 scientific journals

Michael A. Kisley, Ph.D.