Curriculum Vitæ

Professional Summary

Behavioral researcher with over a decade of experience blending data science and qualitative methods to understand motivation and build systems that support people. Specializes in psychometrics, mixed-methods design, and advanced modeling across education, health technology, and engagement. Partners with product, policy, and health teams to translate evidence into action. Proficient in R, Python, SQL, and tools for modeling, visualization, and automation.

Core Competencies

• Psychometrics & Scale Validation
• Behavioral Research Design
• Multilevel & Longitudinal Modeling
• Data Storytelling & Stakeholder Communication
• Product & UX Research

Technical Skills

• Data & Languages: R, Python, SQL, Stata, SPSS
• Analysis & Modeling: Psychometrics (CFA, IRT), predictive modeling (regression, multilevel, SEM), machine learning (predictive, unsupervised, NLP, genetic algorithms)
• Data Visualization: R Markdown/Quarto, Tableau, ggplot2
• Survey Tools: Qualtrics, Alchemer, SurveyMonkey
• Platforms & Ops: Git, Linux

Experience

Head of Research (July 2025 – Present)

Level, Austin, TX

Principal Researcher (November 2024 – July 2025)

Immersyve, Inc., Orlando, FL

• Led R&D and analytics for health tech, education tech, and workforce platforms used by Fortune 500 clients, including a national insurer and a national graduate medical education program.
• Integrated validated motivation measures into enterprise engagement platforms; supported data strategy and reporting for over 250,000 survey responses.
• Built transformer-based topic modeling pipeline with NLTK, BERTopic, and local LLMs.
• Co-led diabetes management app development from UX prototyping to personalized recommendation algorithm design.
• Authored technical report and executive briefing for commercial global vitality scale validation across 7 languages and 10 countries.

Senior Researcher (May 2017 – November 2024)

Immersyve, Inc., Orlando, FL

• Led mixed-methods studies across health, education, immersive tech, and cybersecurity; optimized engagement and retention using SEM, multilevel models, and evidence-based recommendations.
• Spearheaded cross-functional projects with designers, engineers, and clinicians to align research with stakeholder needs and best practices.
• Built predictive models to identify users for targeted health interventions by applying insights from 10,000+ survey responses to a 5 million+ user behavioral dataset.
• Conducted program evaluations and outcome assessments to measure the impact of workplace interventions.
• Co-inventor, U.S. Patent 11,321,328 for personalized content delivery in digital learning.

Researcher (May 2015 – May 2017)

Immersyve, Inc., Orlando, FL

• Developed psychometrically validated survey instruments and scoring logic powering a wellness platform for 50,000+ users.
• Created dashboards and automated reporting for individuals, managers, and executives.

Instructor (Summer 2014)

University of Rochester, Rochester, NY

• PSY 181: Theories of Personality and Psychotherapy

Graduate Teaching Assistant (September 2010 – May 2015)

University of Rochester, Rochester, NY

• PSY 181: Theories of Personality and Psychotherapy
• PSY 211: Applied Statistics for Psychology
• PSY 262: An Approach to Human Motivation

Statistical Support Specialist (September 2010 – May 2016)

Center for Research Computing, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY

• Led high-performance computing workshops and consultations in R & Stata.
• Supported projects in data modeling, simulation, and high-performance computing.

Education

• Ph.D. in Social-Personality Psychology (January 2013 – May 2018)
  University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
  Dissertation Title: Conditions of Living Well: Three Models
• M.A. in Social-Personality Psychology (August 2010 – March 2013)
  University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (August 2006 – May 2010)
  University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
  Dr. Herbert L. Zimmer Award in Undergraduate Research
  Undergraduate Honors Thesis: Development of Human Sexuality

Professional Development

• R — DataCamp (2022)
• ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers — OpenAI and DeepLearning.AI (2025)
• SQL Tutorials — Mode Analytics (2025)
• Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Ethics — Coursera and UC Davis (2025)

Publications

• Bradshaw, E. L., Ferber, K. A., DeHaan, C. R., & Ryan, R. M. (2025). Fundamental freedoms and optimal functioning: Nussbaum’s capabilities predict wellness in a dual-process model via basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration. Motivation and Emotion. doi:10.1007/s11031-025-10152-y
• DeHaan, C. R., Bradshaw, E. L., Diaz-Castillo, S., Trautman, T., Rigby, C. S., & Ryan, R. M. (2024). Energy in the workplace: Job demands, job resources, and employees’ inner resources as pathways to organizational outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413901
• Bradshaw, E. L., DeHaan, C. R., Curren, R., Duineveld, J. J., Di Domenico, S. I., Parker, P. D., & Ryan, R. M. (2023). The perceived conditions for living well: Positive perceptions of primary goods linked with basic psychological needs and wellness. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 18(1), 44–60. doi:10.1080/17439760.2021.1991446
• de Jong, D. C., Reis, H. T., Peters, B. J., DeHaan, C. R., & Birnbaum, G. E. (2019). The role of implicit sexual desire in romantic relationships. Personality and Individual Differences, 149. doi:10.1016/j.paid/2019.05.042
• Legate, N., Weinstein, N., Ryan, W. S., DeHaan, C. R., & Ryan, R. M. (2018). Parental autonomy support predicts lower internalized homophobia and better psychological health indirectly through lower shame in lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults. Stigma and Health. doi:10.1037/sah0000150
• Wray-Lake, L., DeHaan, C. R., Shubert, J., & Ryan, R. M. (2017). Examining links from civic engagement to daily well-being from a Self-Determination Theory perspective. Journal of Positive Psychology, 14(2), 166–177. doi:10.1080/17439760.2017.1388432
• DeHaan, C. R., Hirai, T., & Ryan, R. M. (2016). Nussbaum’s capabilities and self-determination theory’s basic psychological needs: Relating some fundamentals of human wellness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17(5), 2037–2049. doi:10.1007/s10902-015-9684-y
• Weinstein, N., Balmford, A., DeHaan, C. R., Gladwell, V., Bradbury, R. B., & Amano, T. (2015). Seeing community for the trees: The links among contact with natural environments, community cohesion, and crime. BioScience, 65(12), 1141-1153. doi:10.1093/biosci/biv151
• Legate, N., DeHaan, C. R., & Ryan, R. M. (2015). Righting the wrong: Reparative coping after going along with ostracism. The Journal of Social Psychology, 155(5), 471-482. doi:10.1080/00224545.2015.1062352
• Legate, N., DeHaan, C. R., Weinstein, N. & Ryan, R. M. (2013). Hurting you hurts me too: The psychological costs of complying with ostracism. Psychological Science, 24(4), 583-588. doi:10.1177/095679761245795
• Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R., & Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(4), 1841-1848. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014
• Weinstein, N., Ryan, W. S., DeHaan, C. R., Przybylski, A. K., Legate, N., & Ryan, R. M. (2012). Parental autonomy support and discrepancies between implicit and explicit sexual identities: Dynamics of self-acceptance and defense. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102, 815-832. doi:10.1037/a0026854
• Weinstein, N., DeHaan, C. R., & Ryan, R. M. (2010). Attributing autonomous versus introjected motivation to helpers and the recipient experience: Effects on gratitude, attitudes, and well-being. Motivation and Emotion, 34, 418-431. doi:10.1007/s11031-010-9183-8

Book Chapters

• Ryan, R. M. & DeHaan, C. R. (2023). The Social Conditions for Human Flourishing: Economic and Political Influences on Basic Psychological Needs. In R. M. Ryan, The Oxford Handbook of Self-Determination Theory (pp. 1149–1170). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197600047.013.57
• Behzadnia B., Deci E. L., DeHaan C. R. (2020). Predicting Relations Among Life Goals, Physical Activity, Health, and Well-Being in Elderly Adults: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective on Healthy Aging. In: Ng B., Ho G. (Eds.) Self-Determination Theory and Healthy Aging. Springer, Singapore: doi:10.1007/978-981-15-6968-5_4
• Martela, F., DeHaan, C. R., & Ryan, R. M. (2016). On enhancing and diminishing energy through psychological means: Research on vitality and depletion from Self-Determination Theory. In E. R. Hirt, J. J. Clarkson, & L. Jia, (Eds.), Self-Regulation and Ego Control (pp. 67-85). Academic Press. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-801850-7.00004-4
• Legate, N., DeHaan, C. R., & Deci, E. L. (2016). Needs. In H. L. Miller (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Psychology (pp. 596-597). SAGE Publications. doi:10.4135/9781483346274.n206
• DeHaan, C. R. & Ryan, R. M. (2014). Symptoms of wellness: Happiness and eudaimonia from a self-determination perspective. In K. M. Sheldon & R. E. Lucas (Eds.), Stability of Happiness: Theories and Evidence on Whether Happiness Can Change (pp. 37–55). Academic Press. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-411478-4.00003-5 Book Preview
• Weinstein, N. & DeHaan, C. R. (2014). On the mutuality of human motivation and relationships. In N. Weinstein (Ed.), Human Motivation and Interpersonal Relationships: Theory, Research, and Applications (pp. 3–25). Springer Netherlands. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-8542-6_1

Poster Presentations

• DeHaan, C. R., & Deci, E. L. (2016). Autonomous Motivation and Decision Regret. Presented at the 6th International Conference on Self-Determination Theory, Victoria, BC. Poster PDF
• DeHaan, C. R., & Deci, E. L. (2016). Motivation for Financial Decisions and Regret. Presented at the 17th Annual Convention of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, CA. Poster PDF
• DeHaan, C. R., Ryan, R. M., Wray-Lake, L., Shubert, J., & Curren, R. (2015). Civic Engagement, Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction, and Well-Being. Presented at the 8th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Motivation, New York, NY.
• DeHaan, C. R., & Ryan, R. M. (2015). Autonomous Decisions and Regret. Presented at the 16th Annual Convention of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, Long Beach, CA.
• DeHaan, C. R., Weinstein, N., & Deci, E. L. (2013). Autonomous Life Decisions and Regret. Presented at the 5th International Conference on Self-Determination Theory, Rochester, NY. Poster PDF
• DeHaan, C. R., Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2012). Parental Autonomy Support and Implicit-Explicit Religious Identity Discrepancy. Presented at the 13th Annual Convention of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, CA.
• DeHaan, C. R., Weinstein, N., & Ryan, R. M. (2011). Outgroup, but Not the Enemy: Transcending Ingroup/Outgroup Boundaries in Natural Environments. Presented at the 12th Annual Convention of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, San Antonio, TX.
• DeHaan, C. R., Weinstein, N., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). The Natural Way to Strive: Aspirations in the Context of Natural and Non-Natural Environments. Presented at the 2nd Annual Undergraduate Research Exposition, Rochester, NY.
• DeHaan, C. R., Weinstein, N., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). The Natural Path to Freedom: The Effect of Nature on Salience of Introjects. Presented at the 10th Annual Conference of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, Tampa, FL.