Ellen Louise "E.L." Hamaker (born February 13, 1974) is a Dutch-American

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 ...

, and

statistician A statistician is a person who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, and statisticians may wor ...

. Since 2018 she has been a

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Utrecht University 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 ...

, holding the chair Longitudinal Data Analysis at the Department of Methodology and Statistics. Her work focuses on the development of statistical models for the analysis of intensive longitudinal data in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

, mainly within the frameworks of

structural equation modeling Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a label for a diverse set of methods used by scientists in both experimental and observational research across the sciences, business, and other fields. It is used most in the social and behavioral scienc ...

and

time series analysis In mathematics, a time series is a series of data points indexed (or listed or graphed) in time order. Most commonly, a time series is a sequence taken at successive equally spaced points in time. Thus it is a sequence of discrete-time data. Exa ...

Biography

Education

Hamaker received a bachelor's and master's degree in psychology from Utrecht University, in 1997 and 1999 respectively. She earned her PhD in psychological methods in 2004 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 ...

, under the supervision of

Peter Molenaar Peter C. M. Molenaar (born 1946) is a Dutch developmental and mathematical psychologist who is Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). He is the editor-in-chief of ''Multivari ...

and

Conor Dolan Conor Vivian Dolan (born 5 April 1962 in Blenheim, New Zealand, also sometimes known as C.V. Dolan) is a New Zealand psychologist and professor in the Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The Vrije Univ ...

, for her thesis: "Time series analysis and the individual as the unit of psychological research"

Academic career

In 2005 Hamaker became a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Psychology,

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. Hamaker returned to the Netherlands in 2006, being appointed assistant professor at the Department of Methodology and Statistics, Utrecht University. She was promoted to associate professor in 2011, before being promoted to full professor with the chair Longitudinal Data Analysis in 2018. Since 2014 she has also been a research fellow at the Research Group of Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences,

KU Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

, in Belgium.

Research focus

Hamaker's early research focused on the application of time series techniques within psychology, to study process that unfold within individuals over time. Increased availability of data collected using the

experience sampling method The experience sampling method (ESM), also referred to as a daily diary method, or ecological momentary assessment (EMA), is an intensive longitudinal research methodology that involves asking participants to report on their thoughts, feelings, beha ...

in psychology led to increased interest in this methodology in applied psychological research. Most notable of her papers is her critique of the cross-lagged panel model, in which she proposes to better account for stable trait-like differences between individuals through the use of

multilevel models Multilevel models (also known as hierarchical linear models, linear mixed-effect model, mixed models, nested data models, random coefficient, random-effects models, random parameter models, or split-plot designs) are statistical models of param ...

with random intercepts. She is also an advocate of within-person thinking in social sciences, pointing out that conclusions based on cross-sectional data do not necessarily generalize to the processes within a particular person. Since 2015 Hamaker has collaborated frequently with Bengt O. Muthén and Tihomir Asparouhov in the development of the Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling, a module that allows for

Bayesian Thomas Bayes (/beɪz/; c. 1701 – 1761) was an English statistician, philosopher, and Presbyterian minister. Bayesian () refers either to a range of concepts and approaches that relate to statistical methods based on Bayes' theorem, or a follower ...

Time Series In mathematics, a time series is a series of data points indexed (or listed or graphed) in time order. Most commonly, a time series is a sequence taken at successive equally spaced points in time. Thus it is a sequence of discrete-time data. Exa ...

analysis in the software package Mplus. Hamaker has stated that the overarching goal of her research is to establish a connection between innovative statistical techniques and applied psychological research.

Achievements and awards

Throughout her academic career, Hamaker has served as

associate editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''

Multivariate Behavioral Research ''Multivariate Behavioral Research'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology. The editor-in-chief is Peter Molenaar ( Pennsylvania State University). ...

''. In 2019 she was appointed a fellow of the

Association for Psychological Science The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in ...

Personal life

Hamaker is the granddaughter of Dutch scientist Hugo Christiaan Hamaker, noted for his contributions to physics (the

Hamaker constant The Hamaker constant ''A'' can be defined for a van der Waals (vdW) body–body interaction: :A=\pi^2C\rho_1\rho_2, where \rho_1 and \rho_2 are the number densities of the two interacting kinds of particles, and ''C'' is the London coefficient in ...

) and statistics.

References

External links

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Faculty PageLab Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamaker, Ellen 1974 births Living people University of Amsterdam alumni Dutch psychologists Academic staff of Utrecht University Women statisticians Dutch statisticians Dutch women psychologists Utrecht University alumni Fellows of the Association for Psychological Science Place of birth missing (living people) Quantitative psychologists