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 explanation, interpretatio ...

, who was Professor of Psychological methods at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

, 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 covers specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and rela ...

, and Social Research Methodology.

Biography

Born and raised in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, 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 At the University of Amsterdam, Mellenbergh began his academic career as an assistant professor of psychological methods in 1965. Late 1969 he was visiting research assistant at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, 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 covers specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and rela ...

at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...

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

University of Santiago de Compostela The University of Santiago de Compostela - USC (, ) is a public university located in the city of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. A second campus is located in Lugo, Galicia. It is one of the world's oldest universities in continuous o ...

, 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 (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

(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 called ...

, the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

(APA), the

International Statistical Institute The International Statistical Institute (ISI) is a professional association of statisticians. At a meeting of the Jubilee Meeting of the Royal Statistical Society, statisticians met and formed the agreed statues of the International Statistical ...

(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 dedicated to psychometrics and quantitative psychology. The journal focuses on quantitative methods for the measurement and evaluation of human behavior, in ...

, on the editorial Board of ''Psychological Methods'' and member of the editorial council of '' Psicothema''. 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 * 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., 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 Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam Scientists from Amsterdam Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Quantitative psychologists