Christian Bean

Assistant Professor, Psychology

School of Psychology and Cognitive Science

College of Liberal Arts

cabgla@rit.edu

Office Location

EAS-2322

Christian Bean

Assistant Professor, Psychology

School of Psychology and Cognitive Science

College of Liberal Arts

Bio

Dr. Christian A. L. Bean is a clinical psychologist and director of the Life Stress and Role Transitions (STAR) Lab at RIT. Prior to joining RIT, Dr. Bean completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University and a predoctoral clinical residency at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care. He received his PhD in clinical psychology (with a Concentration in Quantitative Methods) from Kent State University and his BS in psychology and philosophy from the College of William & Mary. He has received early career awards from the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, and Postpartum Support International.

Research in the STAR Lab focuses on improving our ability to predict the onset of depression and anxiety during major life transitions (e.g., starting university, pregnancy, new parenthood). There is a strong methodological emphasis on using smartphones and wearable biosensors to explore how thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and physiological functioning contribute to psychological adjustment. Dr. Bean is available to serve as primary advisor for applicants to the Experimental Psychology Masters Program.

cabgla@rit.edu

Personal Links

ORCID

Curriculum Vitae

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Journal Paper

Quinn, Madison E., et al. "Interpretation Biases Predict Changes in Depression, Social Anxiety, and Generalized Anxiety Over time." Cognitive Therapy and Research. (2026): 1-11. Web.

Bean, Christian A. L., et al. "Maternal Outcomes of a Dyadic Positive Affect Intervention for Mothers with Depression Symptoms and Their Children: A Pilot Study." Cognitive Therapy and Research. (2026): 1-14. Web.

Abitante, George, et al. "Relations of Positive and Negative Emotion Reactivity to Depressive Symptoms: A Multimethod Approach." Behavior Therapy. (2026): 1-25. Web.

Faivre, Meredith, et al. "Salivary Cortisol, Progesterone, and Estradiol Levels across the Perinatal Period and Associations with Depressive Symptoms." Psychoneuroendocrinology. (2026): 1-41. Web.

Hill, Kaylin E., et al. "Early Parenting is Associated with the Development of Neural Reward Responsiveness from Childhood through Adolescence." Communications Psychology. (2026): 1-40. Web.

Currently Teaching

PSYC-101

Introduction to Psychology

3 Credits

Introduction to the field of psychology. Provides a survey of basic concepts, theories, and research methods. Topics include: thinking critically with psychological science; neuroscience and behavior; sensation and perception; learning; memory; thinking, language, and intelligence; motivation and emotion; personality; psychological disorders and therapy; and social psychology.

PSYC-221

Psychological Disorders

3 Credits

This course will serve as an introduction to the study of psychopathology and mental illness. The course examines the major categories of mental disorder not only from the descriptive point of view, but also in terms of the major theoretical explanations of the causes of disorder. The major treatment modalities also are covered.

PSYC-250

Research Methods I

3 Credits

This course will serve as an introduction to research methods in psychology, with the goal of understanding research design, analysis and writing. Topics include examining the variety of methods used in psychology research, understanding research ethics, developing empirical hypotheses, designing experiments, understanding statistical concepts, interpreting results, and writing research and review papers in APA style. This is a required course for all psychology majors, and is restricted to students in the psychology program.

PSYC-641

Applied Psychology Methods

3 Credits

This course explores various types of applied research methods as well as important methodological issues and concepts in areas of applied psychology. Methodologies studied include experimentation, quasi-experimentation, content analysis, surveys, and interviews. Methodological issues cover research ethics, reliability, threats to internal and external validity, demand characteristics, volunteer participant problems, and issues in sampling.