World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Psychology

D-Index
91
Citations
27950
World Ranking
925
National Ranking
582

Overview

Richard K. Olson is affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder in the United States. Their research primarily spans the fields of psychology and social sciences, with a focus on developmental and educational psychology, genetics, education, statistics and probability, and cognitive neuroscience.

Their main topics of study include:

  • Reading and Literacy Development
  • Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Writing and Handwriting Education
  • Parental Involvement in Education
  • Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills
  • Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Language Development and Disorders

Richard K. Olson has contributed extensively to academic literature with several recent papers, including:

  • Genome-wide association study reveals new insights into the heritability and genetic correlates of developmental dyslexia (2020), published in Molecular Psychiatry
  • Genome-wide analyses of individual differences in quantitatively assessed reading- and language-related skills in up to 34,000 people (2022), published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • How Specific Are Learning Disabilities? (2021), published in Journal of Learning Disabilities
  • Discovery of 42 Genome-Wide Significant Loci Associated with Dyslexia (2021), published in bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • Genome-wide association analyses of individual differences in quantitatively assessed reading- and language-related skills in up to 34,000 people (2021), published in bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

The frequent co-authors collaborating with Richard K. Olson include:

  • Erik G. Willcutt
  • Bruce F. Pennington
  • John C. DeFries
  • Beaté St Pourcain
  • Shelley D. Smith

Their work is regularly published in several journals and venues, notably:

  • Reading and Writing
  • Journal of Learning Disabilities
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • Scientific Studies of Reading
  • Molecular Psychiatry

Best Publications

  • The Nonword Reading Deficit in Developmental Dyslexia: A Review.

    John P. Rack;Margaret J. Snowling;Richard K. Olson

  • Reading Comprehension Tests Vary in the Skills They Assess: Differential Dependence on Decoding and Oral Comprehension.

    Janice M. Keenan;Rebecca S. Betjemann;Richard K. Olson

  • Neuropsychological Analyses of Comorbidity Between Reading Disability and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: In Search of the Common Deficit

    Erik G Willcutt;Bruce F Pennington;Richard K Olson;Nomita Chhabildas

  • Specific Deficits in Component Reading and Language Skills: Genetic and Environmental Influences

    Richard Olson;Barbara Wise;Frances Conners;John Rack

  • The heritability of general cognitive ability increases linearly from childhood to young adulthood

    Claire M. A. Haworth;M. J. Wright;M. Luciano;N. G. Martin

  • A comparison of the cognitive deficits in reading disability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

    Erik G. Willcutt;Bruce F. Pennington;Richard Boada;Jamie S. Ogline

  • Processing speed deficits in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and reading disability.

    Michelle A. Shanahan;Bruce F. Pennington;Benjamin E. Yerys;Ashley Scott

  • DCDC2 is associated with reading disability and modulates neuronal development in the brain

    Haiying Meng;Shelley D. Smith;Karl Hager;Matthew Held

  • Pitch as a medium: a new approach to psychophysical scaling.

    Fred Attneave;Richard K. Olson

  • Measurement of word recognition, orthographic, and phonological skills.

    Richard Olson;Helen Forsberg;Barbara Wise;John Rack

  • Individual and developmental differences in reading disability

    Richard K. Olson;Reinhold Kliegl;Brian J. Davidson;Gregory Foltz

  • Comorbidity Between Reading Disability and Math Disability Concurrent Psychopathology, Functional Impairment, and Neuropsychological Functioning

    Erik G. Willcutt;Stephen A. Petrill;Sarah Wu;Richard Boada

  • Etiology and neuropsychology of comorbidity between RD and ADHD: the case for multiple-deficit models.

    Erik G. Willcutt;Rebecca S. Betjemann;Lauren M. McGrath;Nomita A. Chhabildas

  • Predicting Word Reading and Comprehension with Executive Function and Speed Measures Across Development: A Latent Variable Analysis

    Micaela E. Christopher;Akira Miyake;Janice M. Keenan;Bruce Pennington

  • A multiple deficit model of reading disability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: searching for shared cognitive deficits

    Lauren M. McGrath;Bruce F. Pennington;Michelle A. Shanahan;Laura E. Santerre-Lemmon

  • Eye fixation patterns among dyslexic and normal readers: Effects of word length and word frequency.

    Jukka Hyönä;Richard K. Olson

  • Quantitative-Trait Locus for Specific Language and Reading Deficits on Chromosome 6p

    Javier Gayán;Shelley D. Smith;Stacey S. Cherny;Stacey S. Cherny;Lon R. Cardon

  • Individual prediction of dyslexia by single versus multiple deficit models.

    Bruce F. Pennington;Laura Santerre-Lemmon;Jennifer Rosenberg;Beatriz MacDonald

  • Independent genome-wide scans identify a chromosome 18 quantitative-trait locus influencing dyslexia.

    Simon E. Fisher;Clyde Francks;Angela J. Marlow;I. Laurence MacPhie

  • Training phonological awareness with and without explicit attention to articulation.

    Barbara W. Wise;Jerry Ring;Richard K. Olson

  • Classification of learning disabilities: An evidence-based evaluation.

    Jack M. Fletcher;G. Reid Lyonm;Marcia Barnes;Karla K. Stuebing

Frequent Co-Authors

John C. DeFries
John C. DeFries University of Colorado Boulder
Bruce F. Pennington
Bruce F. Pennington University of Denver
Erik G. Willcutt
Erik G. Willcutt University of Colorado Boulder
Brian Byrne
Brian Byrne University of New England
Stefan Samuelsson
Stefan Samuelsson Linköping University
Sally J. Wadsworth
Sally J. Wadsworth University of Colorado Boulder
Janice M. Keenan
Janice M. Keenan University of Denver
Robin P. Corley
Robin P. Corley University of Colorado Boulder
Simon E. Fisher
Simon E. Fisher Max Planck Society
Anthony P. Monaco
Anthony P. Monaco Tufts University

If you think any of the details on this page are incorrect, let us know.

Report an issue

We appreciate your kind effort to assist us to improve this page, it would be helpful providing us with as much detail as possible in the text box below:

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Choosing to study Psychology in the USA opens doors to a wide range of online degrees and career pathways. Aspiring professionals can pursue specialized fields such as Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT), a rewarding area that allows you to support individuals and families facing mental health challenges.

Earning an online psychology degree can be the first step toward becoming an MFT, but it’s important to note that licensing requirements vary by location. For example, if you want to meet the Indianapolis mft certification requirements, you’ll need to complete specific graduate-level courses, supervised clinical experience, and pass required exams.

The process is similar in other cities but often involves local variations. Learn more about how to become a marriage and family therapist in Irvine, how to become an mft in Irving, and how to become a marriage and family therapist in Jacksonville to better understand the unique steps and regulations for each area.

Online programs make it easier than ever to complete your education and training, allowing for flexibility as you work towards licensure and launch your career in this meaningful field.

Best Scientists Citing Richard K. Olson

Trending Scientists