Daphne Xin Hou

Assistant Professor

Contact

Office: PCD 4127
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Bio

Dr. Daphne X. Hou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of South 91精品. She earned her Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Purdue University, where her research focused on vocational interests and interest assessments. She also holds an M.S. in Human Resource Management from Purdue.

Dr. Hou鈥檚 research centers on how people navigate careers and find fulfillment in the rapidly evolving world of work. Her interests span career development and vocational interests, with a focus on career choice, transitions, and adaptability. She is particularly interested in how emerging technologies鈥攕uch as AI, automated interviews, and virtual reality鈥攁re reshaping employee selection, training, and development, and what these changes mean for the aging workforce and those in gig or precarious work arrangements. Additionally, Dr. Hou鈥檚 work involves methodological investigations and innovations as well as cross-cultural issues. At the heart of her work is a commitment to understanding how individuals can pursue meaningful careers while maintaining well-being in the face of technological, demographic, and economic change.

Education

Ph.D. in Industrial Organizational Psychology, Purdue University, 2025

Research

Career and vocational interests, future of work, ML-based assessment, cross-cultural psychology

SPECIALTY AREA

Industrial-Organizational

Selected Publications

Su, R. & Hou, D. X. (2024). 鈥淰ocational Interests in the Future of Work鈥, Behrend, T. (Ed.) Future of Human-Technology Partnerships at Work, Cambridge University Press. [In Press].

Dang, L., Hou, D. X., Hoff, K. A., & Behrend, T. S. (2025). Addressing labor gaps with the science of workplace learning. Industrial and Organizational Psychology18(1), 119-122.

Du, Y. Y. L., Jain, D., Cho, Y. M., Hou, D. X., Guntuku, S. C., Ungar, L., & Tay, L. (2024). Exploring a language-based interest assessment: Predicting vocational interests on social media using natural language processing. Journal of Career Assessment, 10690727241289125.

Hou, X. D., Guntuku, S. C., Cho, Y. M., Sherman, G., Zhang, T., Li, M., ... & Tay, L. (2024). A cross-cultural examination of temporal orientation through everyday language on social media. Plos one19(3), e0292963.

Hou, D. X., Su, R., & Tay, L. (2024). Measuring SETPOINT vocational interest dimensions: The development and validation of three short scales. Journal of Vocational Behavior149, 103959.

Honors and Awards

Graduate Research Publication Award, 2025

Best Graduate Student Methodological Paper Award, 2025

Dr. William H. Hendrix Research Excellence Award, 2024