Rate My Professor Ross Mueler

Ross A. Oakes Mueller, Ph.D., is a Full Professor of Psychology at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California, where he began teaching in 2007 and progressed from Assistant Professor (2007–2010) to Associate Professor (2010–2014) before achieving full professorship in 2014. He served as Department Chair from July 2015 to July 2018. A licensed clinical psychologist (PSY #22020), Mueller holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (2006), M.A. in Psychology (2002), and M.A. in Theology (2005) from Fuller Theological Seminary, as well as a B.A. in Psychology from Brown University (2000, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with honors). His early career included a post-doctoral residency at the Family Stress Center (2006–2007), pre-doctoral internship at VA Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Center (2005–2006), research consulting at Fuller Graduate School of Psychology (2005–2007), and research fellowship at Fuller's Center for Research on Child and Adolescent Development (2000–2005).

Mueller's research focuses on moral psychology, including the formation of virtues such as gratitude and empathy, the role of moral emotions in promoting prosocial behaviors and inhibiting vice-like responses, and character development in physicians-in-training through projects like the Good Physician initiative in collaboration with the University of Chicago. He directs the Moral Psychology and Compassion Lab, advising undergraduate research on compassion, faith's influence on moral behaviors, and applications in medical education, community service, and relationships. Key publications include Leffel et al. (2018), 'Project on the good physician: Further evidence for the validity of a moral intuitionist model of virtuous caring' in Teaching and Learning in Medicine; Shepherd et al. (2018), 'Developing the Good Physician: Spirituality affects the development of virtues and moral intuitions in medical students' in The Journal of Positive Psychology; Leffel et al. (2017), 'Project on the Good Physician: A proposal for a moral intuitionist model of virtuous caring' in Teaching and Learning in Medicine; and Krueger & Mueller (2002), 'Unskilled, unaware, or both?' in Journal of Personality & Social Psychology. Awards include PLNU's Excellence in Teaching Award (2018–2019) and Fuller's John Stauffer Memorial Merit Fellowship (2005). He teaches courses such as Psychology of Personal Development, Moral Psychology and Cultural Values, Research Methods and Statistics, and Pursuing Goodness: The Science of Moral Change.