Victor Benassi graduated from the City University of New York in 1975 with a Ph.D. in psychology. His primary research interests focus on the psychology of personal control and judgment of contingency. His articles address effects of situational and individual difference variables on illusory control and contingency judgments and on effects of feedback on judgmental accuracy. Other research interests include judgmental biases and errors, belief in putative paranormal phenomena, and belief persistence. Benassi has maintained a research collaboration with Gary Goldstein in the area of college teaching and with Lee Seidel on issues related to college teaching as a professional field of study and preparing future faculty.

Benassi has taught a variety of courses, including introductory psychology, research methods, statistics, meta-analysis, social psychology, abnormal behavior, psychology of depression, belief in alleged paranormal phenomena, and human judgment. He has been involved since the early 1980s in preparing doctoral students for faculty careers. He teaches the Psychology Department's Practicum and Seminar in the Teaching of Psychology as well as a course on Classroom Research and Assessment through the Graduate School's Preparing Future Faculty Program.

Benassi has joint appointments as Professor of Psychology (Psychology Department) and Professor of College Teaching (Graduate School). He has received several UNH awards—the Excellence in Teaching Award, the Outstanding Use of Technology in Education Award, and the College of Liberal Arts’ Lindberg Outstanding Scholar/Teacher Award. In 2003, he received the American Psychological Foundation's Distinguished Teaching of Psychology award.