Gideon Jan (Don) Mellenbergh (9 August 1938 – 27 March 2021) was a Dutch

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

, who was Professor of Psychological methods at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

, known for his contribution in the field of

psychometrics Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally refers to specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and ...

, and Social Research Methodology.

Biography

Born and raised in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, Mellenbergh received his MA in psychology from the University of Amsterdam in 1965, and his PhD in psychology in 1971 under the supervision of Professor

Adriaan de Groot Adrianus Dingeman (Adriaan) de Groot (Santpoort, 26 October 1914 – Schiermonnikoog, 14 August 2006) was a Dutch chess master and psychologist, who conducted some of the most famous chess experiments of all time in the 1940s-60. In 1946 he ...

with a dissertation about educational tests, entitled "Studies in studietoetsen" (Studies on educational tests).dhr. prof.dr. G.J. (Don) Mellenbergh
Vitae. University of Amsterdam, Accessed May 18, 2013 In 1965 Mellenbergh started his academic career as Assistant professor Psychological Methods at the University of Amsterdam. Late 1969 he was visiting research assistant at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, studying educational methods. From 1975 to 1978 he was Associate professor

Psychometrics Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally refers to specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and ...

at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

, and then returned to the University of Amsterdam where he was Professor, Psychological Methods from 1982 to 2003. Among his PhD students were

Henk Koppelaar Hendrik (Henk) Koppelaar (born February 1953) is a Dutch computer scientist and emeritus professor at the Delft University of Technology, knows for his work in knowledge engineering.

and

Denny Borsboom Denny Borsboom (born November 9, 1973) is a Dutch psychologist and psychometrician. He has been a professor of psychology at the University of Amsterdam since 2013. His work has included applying network theory to the study of mental disorders and ...

. In 1991 and 1993 he had been Visiting professor at the

University of Santiago de Compostela , established = , type = Public , budget = €228 million (2011) , rector = Prof. Dr. Antonio López Díaz , city = Santiago de Compostela , state = Galicia , country = Spain , undergrad = 23,835 , postgrad = 1,716 , doctoral = 2,697 ...

, Spain. Mellenbergh performed many administrative functions in Dutch research institutes, is member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

(KNAW) since 1993, the

Psychometric Society The Psychometric Society is an international nonprofit professional organization devoted to the advancement of quantitative measurement practices in psychology, education, and the social sciences. The society publishes a scientific journal calle ...

, the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

(APA), the

International Statistical Institute The International Statistical Institute (ISI) is a professional association of statisticians. It was founded in 1885, although there had been international statistical congresses since 1853. The institute has about 4,000 elected members from gov ...

(ISI), and the Interuniversity Graduate School of Psychometrics and Sociometrics (IOPS). And Mellenbergh was editor at

Psychometrika ''Psychometrika'' is the official journal of the Psychometric Society, a professional body devoted to psychometrics and quantitative psychology. The journal covers quantitative methods for measurement and evaluation of human behavior, including ...

, on the editorial Board of ''Psychological Methods'' and member of the editorial council of ''

Psicothema ''Psicothema'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed open access scientific journal covering psychology. It was established in 1989 in Asturias, Spain, and is published by the University of Oviedo's Psychology Faculty and the Psychological Association of ...

''. He died on 27 March 2021.

Publications

Books and papers, a selection: * 1970. ''An Application of a Model of Rasch'' * 1999. ''Research Methodology in the Social, Behavioural and Life Sciences''. With

Herman J. Ader Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Minnes ...

* 2008
Advising on Research Methods: a consultant's companion
'' With Herman J. Adèr and David J. Hand (eds.). Johannes van Kessel Publ. p. 244. * 2011. ''A Conceptual Introduction to Psychometrics'' Articles, a selection: *

Flier, H. Hendrik (Henk) van der Flier (born 1945) is a Dutch psychologist, and Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and at its Kurt Lewin Institute (KLI), known for his work on comparability of psychological te ...

, Mellenbergh, G. J., Adèr, H. J., & Wijn, M. (1984). An iterative item bias detection method. Journal of educational measurement, 21(2), 131-145.

References

External links

Gideon J. Mellenbergh
webpage at the University of Amsterdam. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mellenbergh, Gideon J. 1938 births 2021 deaths Dutch psychologists University of Amsterdam alumni University of Amsterdam faculty Scientists from Amsterdam Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Quantitative psychologists