Assistant Professor
Director, Interdisciplinary Quantitative Methods Collaboratory

Office: Heyne 123B
Phone: (713) 743-1446
E-mail: klitson@uh.edu
Website: Coming Soon
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Dr. Litson will be reviewing PhD student applications for the 2025-26 academic year. 

Biographical Summary

I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston, presently affiliated with the Industrial-Organizational Program. As an interdisciplinary quantitative psychologist, my expertise lies in the development and application of structural equation models using constructively defined latent variables, engaging in work that intersects the areas of quantitative psychology, education, industry, and health. I prioritize not only the development of statistical models, but also their application to applied research, and have applied such methods to examine 1) the stability of graduate students’ research self-efficacy across the PhD, 2) comparing multiple working memory models under the assumption of ergodicity, 3) examining groups of soft skills among doctoral students as they move into the workforce. My lab and I develop and apply approaches to construct latent variables that reflect psychological concepts, considering theoretical meanings of the measured concepts alongside statistical best-practices. We develop statistical and theoretical methods to better capture variability in combinations of longitudinal process data, multi- and mixed-methods data, nested data, and subgroup data. Present research areas include:

• Measurement of black-box cognitive phenomena and processes (e.g., creativity, cognitive load)
• Measurement of soft skills (e.g., networking, communication) and their impact on career trajectories
• Latent interaction effects using SEM and finite mixture modeling approaches across combinations of binary, categorical, and continuous variables
• Relationships among SEM fit indices and interpreted effects

Education

• 2012, B.S. in Psychology, Utah Tech University
• 2019, Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology, Utah State University
• 2020, Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biostatistics, Temple University

Publications

A complete list of Dr Litson’s published work can be found on their Google Scholar page: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2Te_TMEAAAAJ&hl=en