Michael J. Apter (born 1939) is a British psychologist who was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham and grew up in Bristol.

[1] He was educated at Clifton College (1965) and at Bristol University where he gained both his Bachelor of Science degree and his Doctorate in Psychology in 1965,[2] having also spent a doctoral year at Princeton University.

[4] He also taught at Northwestern University where he received a teaching award.

[5] He has held visiting positions at several additional universities and is a chartered psychologist and fellow of the British Psychological Society.

[6] Apter's work has been mainly in motivation and phenomenology, particularly through the lens of reversal theory.